Can You Reheat Breast Milk

Pumped breast milk should be brought to a drinking temperature of 37 degrees before feeding. You can find out here how this works, what you should definitely pay attention to and what you should definitely not use to heat breast milk.

Pumping has many advantages: the breastfeeding mother can go away for a few hours and dad can then give the bottle. Expressed breast milk is well stored in the fridge or freezer. In order to be able to give it to the baby, the breast milk has to be warmed up.

Why Can’t I Give My Baby Cold Breast Milk?

It is already possible to feed a baby cold breast milk, this is still better than if the breast milk is heated too hot. However, this should only be done in emergencies. Because breastfeeding children are used to the milk coming out of mom’s breast at 37 degrees. And they may only accept it warmly. At this temperature, there is no need to worry about losing nutrients. Another advantage of warming breast milk: the food can be digested better and the little one is spared unnecessary pain.

What Happens If I Warm The Breast Milk Too Much?

If the temperature of the breast milk is almost 40 degrees after heating – it is only slightly too warm – you don’t have to worry. The baby cannot get burned while drinking and all the nutrients are preserved. The situation is different if the breast milk is accidentally heated to over 40 degrees. Then there is a danger of burns in the baby’s mouth. Important nutrients that the little one needs for its development are destroyed, including cells and enzymes that support the digestion.

How Can I Check If Breast Milk Is At The Right Temperature?

A degree more or less doesn’t matter. So you don’t have to measure with a thermometer to know if you warmed up the breast milk correctly. Instead, the wrist way has proven itself: Simply drip a drop of the warmed milk onto your wrist. If it doesn’t feel too hot, you can be sure that everything is fine.