Why are they saying that steralising is BAD now?

Question

Bottles etc, should be steralised, right? My partner's mother is friends with a mothercraft nurse who believes it's just so out of fashion now. (!)

Is the reason they don't want us steralising things because they think babies should be exposed to more bugs?

Is anyone not steralising anymore? What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The more we sterilize everything the more bugs we kill. Wash bottles in normal water and soap and it will be fine. Not all bugs are bad.  

Answer 2

I have the Avent bottles and steam sterilizer. I use it every day. Not only do I like that the bottles are really really clean, the sterilizer is a handy place ot keep them until I need to use them.  

Answer 3

It depends on where you live. In England we are told to sterilize bottles until they are 12 months old.

Answer 4

I steralize the nipples, the tops, and the inside thing that goes in the Dr. Browns bottles when I wash them and I wash them in hot soapy water.  The bottles i just wash and then rinse with HOT HOT water

Answer 5

Letting your kids live in a sterile bubble is having consequences. They aren't allowed to go outside and get messy and have scrapes like we did. We turned out fine, but now kids are getting more allergies and it's a theory that it's because of less exposure. No matter how much you sterilize for your kids they'll still get sick and when they do it'll be worse because their immune systems don't get exposed to things and therefore kids don't build up an immune system. Drug and such resistant strains of bugs pop up all the time and I think sterilizing everything just helps to speed it up.

My point is: Let kids get sick. Not everything is bad and it builds up their immune systems. If they're going to catch anything "dangerous" it'll be at school. Soap and water is just fine.

Answer 6

Almost everyone still sterilizes at least initially (boiling is sterilizing).  That is a must.  Read the instructions for boiling nipple, pacifiers, etc.  Don't need to sterilize everytime though.  There was a concern with heating up bottles with BPA but now you can get BPA free bottles.

The mothercraft nurse might be out of touch with reality.  In the hospital, a lot of the disposable bottles/nipples come in pre-sterilized packets. Maybe she has been using too much of these.

Answer 7

I believe the main reason to sterilize is in case you live in an area with a bad water supply. Washing in hot, soapy water will get them clean and kill any germs.  

Here's a little info on sterilizing:

When something is sterilized it only remains sterile if it is in special packaging that does not allow air or water to penetrate through.  An example of this would be ready-to-feed infant formula.  Once the seal is broken, it is no longer sterile.  Therefore, sterilizing bottles is fine for killing germs, but as soon as they are taken out of the sterilizer they are no longer sterile.  It is not going to affect how many bugs the baby is exposed to.  That comes from contact with other sick people.    

Answer 8

I never steralize the bottle.  I personally believe that if you are never exposed to any germs as a child you will have a bad immune system.  Not that I dont clean the house or wash the bottles but I am not going to over do it and steralize everything.  they actually did a study and one of the conclusions that they can me to is that being too clean is one of the reasons why so many kids have allergies now days

Answer 9

there are a TON of bottles that put out a toxic chimical when heated....  so the heat of serlizing is considerd bad,,,

that one reason

Answer 10

I boil my son's new bottles and nipples, but after that I wash them with hot water and soap.  I will collect his binky's on a regular basis and boil them, but other than that, no I do not sterilize.  

Answer 11

u should follow directions on your bottles about boiling parts, or bottles or whatever it says;  no more..sterilizing is not necessary; nothing else in your home, on your skin or baby's skin or clothes, toys , etc is sterile, so why worry so much about bottles, etc?

hot, soapy water and a good brush with a good hot rinse is all that is needed other than the recommended times for boiling parts....just unnecessary, something to make ppl think they need to buy it and spend more money bc ppl are so worried about their baby's health, so they play and market towards that....

Answer 12

Since my son was born till now 16mths old, all his bottles we will only sterilized them once per day or the most twice per day. I think it got nothing to do with fashion or not but rather at time we should let kids exposed to bug as well so that their immune system will be stronger and of course it all depends on how old is your baby. If below 5mths old then i think you should just stick to sterilizing.

Answer 13

With my daughter's new nipples and nukis, we boil them before we use them and then just wash them with soap and water after that. I don't think they need to be boiled all the time. Sometimes when people are too clean, they don't let their children come in contact with other germs which builds up their immune system. I was once a friend of a girl who's mom would lysol EVERYTHING and the girl was sick every week in school. She got every cold and flu going around. Not to mention if you do it too much, the germs and bacteria will become immune to whatever products you're using. A little dirt won't hurt.  

Answer 14

I sterilize bottles, nipples, soothers. My twins were preemies, so I feel that it is good to sterilize everything. They are moresusceptiblee to germs as it is!! I use whatever dishsoap is on sale and a microwavable sterilizer. I also have glass bottles so BPA free. The only thing I have EVER done for a quick fix is dump previously boiled water (from the kettle) on a soother.

Answer 15

I do! my daughter is a preemie so we try to be extra careful, I wash everything in soapy water rinse in hot and I have an electric steam steralizer, i put my milk storage bottles, her bottles, and binkies in it. I just figure better safe than sorry. I spent the money on it, why not use it.

Answer 16

My pediatrician advised against sterilizing after the first wash and really does not like antibacterial soaps for regular use.

We have immune systems for a reason, and if they are not given the little germs to work on and make them stronger, then medium germs will make us really sick instead of just getting the sniffles.

Boiling rubber or plastic causes trace chemicals to leach out into the surrounding area.

I sterilized in boiling water any new bottle or item that would go into their mouths for the first few months but washed them regularly in hot, soapy water.

I do carry anti-bacterial hand sanitizer for when we are out and there is no soap or water but am not a fanatic about it. I have healthy kids that will catch some of the bugs that make the rounds but they typically bounce back quickly.  

Answer 17

Hi

I still steralise my bottles etc and dummys every now and again however i don't wash and sterilise things just coz they drop on the ground etc. I feel they have to be exposed to things.others have different views. and i say this with exceptions.  

Answer 18

I sterilize my sons bottles maybe once a week, I wash them thoroughly with hot water and dawn after every use though, I boil his pacifiers at that time too

Answer 19

Because sterlizing doesn't prevent illness and stops the baby's immume system from growing.  

Washing with soap and water is fine.  The only problem is if you live in an area with a bad water supply.  

Most people I know don't sterlize and they have perfectly healthy babies.  Actually, I don't know anyone who does it.

Answer 20

I'm a lot more laid back because I think its a little ridiculous. I don't sterilize my own glass and plate each time I use it.  If my baby doesn't finish his bottle (of formula), it gets refrigerated for later, not thrown out.  He eats his baby food right out of the jar and if he doesn't finish, it gets refrigerated just like the leftovers from my own dinner.  He's not super slobbery so I'm not worried about it.  He's fine and has never been sick ever, and he is 5 1/2 months old.