Can you heat breast milk in the microwave? How to warm up breast milk from the refrigerator, freezer: methods, tips

In this topic, we’ll look at whether breast milk can be heated in a microwave oven, and we’ll also take a look at all the possible heating methods.

There are situations when a young mother simply does not have the opportunity to breastfeed her baby. For example, if she urgently needs to leave for work or study. In this case, pre-expressed, frozen milk comes to the rescue, which at a temperature of -19 ° C can retain its beneficial and nutritional properties for up to six months. But in order to feed the baby in this case, you need to warm up the breast milk. A simple and quick option immediately comes to mind - a microwave oven, but we will study the benefits and harms of this method in more detail.

Does heating affect the beneficial properties of human milk?

Heating, if done incorrectly, greatly affects the constituents of mother's milk. For this reason, it is not recommended to boil the product even after freezing. Some women sterilize their own milk during infectious diseases so as not to infect the child, but this gives the opposite result. When exposed to high temperatures, the benefit of immunoglobulins, which could help the infant’s immune system cope with the causative agent of the disease, is lost.

Experts

Natalie Olsen

She is a registered dietitian and exercise instructor specializing in the treatment and prevention of diseases. Her technique is based on the idea that the mind and body can be brought into balance by eating natural and organic foods. She has two Bachelor of Science degrees - in Health and Wellness Support and in Dietetics. She is an ACSM certified exercise instructor. Natalie works for Apple as a corporate nutritionist and consults at a holistic health and wellness center called Alive + Well, and also runs her own business in Austin, Texas. Natalie has been recognized by Austin Fit Magazine as one of the "Top Nutritionists in Austin." She enjoys being outdoors, warm weather, trying new recipes and restaurants, and traveling.

How to warm up expressed milk

Expressed milk must be heated gradually. Sudden temperature changes are unacceptable. Depending on how the product was stored, an individual heating method is selected.

Frozen in the refrigerator

If the milk was stored in the freezer, to defrost it must be placed on the refrigerator shelf and wait until it becomes a homogeneous liquid consistency. It will take from 3 to 12 hours depending on the serving size. After this, the product must be carefully mixed and make sure that there is no ice left.

The next step is heating using a water bath, a special bottle system or warm running water.

Chilled in the refrigerator

Baby food that has been refrigerated or defrosted should be brought to a comfortable temperature. Warm water or a special heating device is used for heating.

Recently expressed

If the milk was recently expressed, it can be at room temperature for 6 to 10 hours. To warm up the food before feeding, simply place the bottle in a container of warm water.

Heating Recommendations

If parents of a newborn child are interested in the full and harmonious development of their baby, then they should familiarize themselves with the rules for using and storing expressed breast milk. These rules include:

• Before heating frozen milk, it must be thawed at room temperature;
• Thawed or reheated food cannot be re-frozen in the refrigerator;
• It is strictly forbidden to bring expressed breast milk to a boil;
• The temperature of the heated product does not exceed 37 degrees;
• Before feeding your baby, it is recommended to shake the milk and make sure it is warmed evenly;
• It is permissible to warm up baby food no more than once;
• A liquid thermometer is used to estimate the temperature of the product.

By following all the rules and regulations for the use of expressed breast milk, parents of a newborn do not expose their baby to the risk of receiving poor-quality nutrition.
And nutrition, as you know, is the basis of all life. Subscribe to our VKontakte group

Heating methods

Parents can choose any safe method of heating baby food: a warmer or water.

In a bottle warmer

When using a special system, you must study the instructions. On the device, select the desired temperature and set the heating time. With the help of the water in the device, any baby food will heat up quickly and without loss of quality.

Under running water

You can place the bottle under running warm water. It needs to be hot, but not scalding. If the product was stored in the refrigerator, the flow temperature should be increased gradually so that there are no strong changes.

In a water bath

To use this method, you need to take a pan of water and heat it over a fire. It is important not to bring the liquid to a boil. After turning off the gas, a bottle of milk at room temperature is placed in water. During heating, you should rotate the container with baby food so that the temperature changes evenly.

Can breast milk be heated in the microwave?

Microwave ovens today are objects of massive controversy, because they have not come to a common denominator - whether the devices are harmful or not. Especially, a lot of doubts creep in among mothers who want to warm breast milk in this way. But in order to understand everything, it is worth studying the principle of action and the very effect on the products.

How does the oven itself work?

• In a microwave oven, food heats up very quickly. After all, the water molecules found in any food begin to move under the influence of magnetron waves millions of times faster.
• To be precise, they make movements almost 5 billion times per second. Therefore, due to this “friction” of particles, rapid heating occurs. But they also move chaotically. Therefore, the end result is that due to electrical waves, food may lose its beneficial properties as molecules are destroyed.

The microwave still attracts a lot of debate regarding the benefits of its heating

Important: In 1991, American scientist Lita Lee proved that beneficial amino acids and antibodies found in food are destroyed and converted into compounds hazardous to health. And they can cause cancer and other terrible diseases in the future.

How does microwave oven affect breast milk?

• Therefore, the first thing a mother who decides to heat breast milk in a microwave needs to know is uneven heating of the liquid. As a rule, the bottom and near the glass walls will overheat in seconds, and the inside will be icy.
• Another danger is that breast milk should not be boiled! And near the walls, the rapid rotation of molecules in liquids often causes the boiling process.
• As a result, scientists have proven that the molecular compounds of certain sections of the protein, which heat up faster, are destroyed under the influence of electrical waves, and milk becomes not only useless and non-nutritious, but also dangerous for the child.
• The main advantage of milk over other products is the presence of antibodies, which have a beneficial effect on the human body, including children. And now these valuable antibodies are converted into isotopes!
• Particles such as immunoglobulins, which are vital for children's immunity, are also affected.
• In addition to all this, some scientists insist that carcinogens appear in products that are dangerous to the body.
• Mother's milk is enriched d -isomers. They attack the baby’s not fully formed nervous, cardiovascular and urinary systems.

Convenience and speed weigh on the significant disadvantages of this method.
But there are also advantages:

• you will spend much less time. The milk will heat up quickly. So much so that you need to make sure that it doesn’t run away;
• less hassle and more convenience - put a glass or bottle, open the lid, and after a couple of seconds take out the warm product.

Important: It is because of this uneven heating, overheating and “underheating” that certain particles are destroyed, which we talked about above. Therefore, children are prohibited from heating breast milk in the microwave!

But for older children, regular food can be heated in the microwave. By the way, even the famous doctor Komarovsky approves of this. But that's another conversation.

Using a water bath

A water bath is often used to warm breast milk. Fill the pan with water ½ volume and set to heat. When the water boils, remove the pan from the stove. To ensure that the bottle of food heats evenly, place a second pan in the pan and pour water into it. Place a container with chilled food in the water of the second pan. In 6-10 minutes it will reach the required temperature.

We recommend reading: Packages for freezing breast milk

There is also another good option. Place a container of water on the fire, place a colander, and put a bottle of food in it and cover with a lid. The steam will quickly heat the container, so you should monitor the process carefully. The bottle of product must be turned over periodically. Frozen milk should first be thawed in the refrigerator.

Using the Heater

The use of special modern devices for heating breast milk greatly simplifies the process of preparing for feeding. There are a variety of heaters on the market. The main advantage of using a heater is that it is impossible to overheat the container with the product. After reaching the required temperature, the device automatically turns off. Also, heating is carried out more evenly, which has a positive effect on quality. In addition to the difference in cost, they differ in their functionality:

• heat one or more bottles at the same time;
• equipped with several temperature settings for heating;
• suitable for heating not only milk, but also complementary foods;
• different times to reach the optimal temperature of the product;
• versatility - some heaters are suitable for heating any baby bottles, and some are exclusively for the company of the same name;
• heating method - steam or water;
• the presence of a function for defrosting or sterilizing bottles.

For mothers who often travel with their children in personal vehicles, it is convenient to use a heater powered by the car’s cigarette lighter.

Water bath heaters use hot water for heating. The water is first heated in the container, then a bottle of food is placed there.

We recommend reading: How long does breast milk last?

Steam heaters also require water to operate. However, the device heats the liquid to such a temperature that it turns into steam. The steam then heats the container containing the expressed milk. The advantage of a steam heater is that heating occurs gradually and evenly.

For steam and water heaters, there is a general rule: water for heating is used once, and after each portion of power it must be changed.

Heaters are also used to warm up complementary foods, if there is a special compartment.

Adviсe

1. Before giving warmed expressed breast milk to your baby, check his temperature. To do this, you need to put a couple of drops on your wrist. The substance should be given warm, but not very hot.
2. Do not heat food in a microwave oven. All the substances that the infant needs so much will be killed.
3. Do not refreeze the product from the refrigerator, or bring it to a boil. This destroys the nutritional components necessary for the child's immunity.

Sources

• https://eda-land.ru/moloko/mozhno-li-gret-v-mikrovolnovke/
• https://mschistota.ru/sovety/moloko-v-mikrovolnovke.html
• https://SodaSan.su/sovety/skolko-gret-moloko-v-mikrovolnovke.html
• https://mirgv.ru/grudnoe-moloko/kak-podogret-grudnoe-moloko
• https://katuna.ru/mozhno-li-gret-moloko-v-mikrovolnovke
• https://kidabout.ru/malenkie-deti/mozhno-li-moloko-gret-v-mikrovolnovke/
• https://teplo.guru/poleznyie-sovetyi/mozhno-li-gret-v-mikrovolnovke-grudnoe-moloko.html
• https://ProGrudnoe.ru/osnovy/mozhno-li-gret-grudnoe-moloko-v-mikrovolnovke.html
• https://heaclub.ru/mozhno-li-gret-grudnoe-moloko-v-mikrovolnovke-kak-razogret-grudnoe-moloko-iz-holodilnika-morozilki-metody-sovety
• https://ogrudnichke.ru/grudnoe-vskarmlivanie/kak-podogret-stsezhennoe-grudnoe-moloko-iz-holodilnika.html
• https://grudnichky.ru/mamam/kak-podogret-grudnoe-moloko-iz-holodilnika.html

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Why is it not recommended to heat dairy products in the microwave?

There are many horror stories about the adverse effects of microwaves. This miracle of technology never ceases to amaze many users, and not in a good sense of the word. There were also many statements that reheating dairy products is never recommended. Disputes on this issue still do not subside. Such gossip usually occurs on the Internet between people who are not entirely educated in the field of science and the design of the device.

Thus, many argue that heating dairy products in the microwave is completely unsafe for health, since they contain a considerable amount of amino acids, which turn into neuro- and nephrotoxic isomers within five minutes. They have a negative effect on the nervous system and kidneys.

In addition, there is an opinion that microwaves produce radiation, cause many mutations and deprive food of all useful substances. As for the last statement, there is a place for it, since in reality, heat treatment inside the device destroys some of the substances in the composition of the products. True, this still does not make it completely useless. As it turns out, there are quite a few allegations about the harmful effects of microwaves on many foods. True, most of them are real inventions.

As for dairy products, there is no clear answer. For example, most people do not recommend heating breast milk in the microwave. The point is not even that microwave radiation is extremely harmful to the human body, since it is not advisable to use any methods of temperature exposure other than natural ones. Only in this case can we assume that it is completely harmless to the baby. There is also information that milk in the microwave can change its composition and cause E. coli in the baby.

Harm and benefits of microwave

The debate about the harmful effects of microwaves on food continues. Fans of these household appliances refer to research results that indicate:

• Food cooked or heated in the microwave does not lose its beneficial properties;
• Vitamins are preserved better under the influence of microwaves than when frying or baking in the oven;
• Adding oil and fats is not required, so the food is dietary and healthy;
• The radioactive influence of microwaves is a myth, since the magnetron does not emit ionizing waves.

So, cooking in the microwave seems like a pretty safe solution. However, there are opponents of this theory, and they also have their own arguments.

How does an oven actually work?

The main aspect that causes concern among housewives is the very principle of operation of microwaves. After all, a microwave oven does not heat food convectively, that is, from hot air or dishes to cold food upon their contact. The operation of a microwave oven is based on a more complex process that you need to understand before sounding the alarm and throwing the unit out of the house.

Without going into details, which are easy to find in any physics textbook, ultrahigh-frequency radiation causes the water molecules themselves (and not only) to move faster, as a result of which the products heat up. And there is nothing unnatural in this movement; accordingly, it cannot radically change the properties of food, much less the structure of water. In any case, no more than heat treatment by any other method. And there is no talk of radiation at all - it simply has nowhere to come from.

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Advantages and disadvantages

Since many mothers still use the quick microwave method, it's worth talking about the advantages and disadvantages of this method. Among the main advantages:

• convenience;
• speed.

Perhaps this is where the benefit ends, since there are many more disadvantages:

• useful compounds die;
• milk can “run away”;
• pathogenic compounds are formed that negatively affect health.

No one says that you can’t heat, but you shouldn’t do it while caring about your health and the condition of your loved ones. Numerous studies put forward more factors “against” than “for”. Another proof of this is the fact that in Spain scientists have proven that such healthy broccoli, heated in a microwave, loses 98% of its beneficial qualities. So, whether or not to heat milk in the microwave is up to everyone to decide for themselves.

Microwave risks

Risks associated with cooking or heating baby food in a microwave oven:

• Microwaves heat food unevenly. Even at the optimal temperature for the child, some pieces may be very hot. In the general mass, “hot pockets” often form that can burn the baby’s mouth.
• Using cheap plastic when heating or microwaving baby food can be harmful to children's health.
• The radiation emitted when a microwave oven is turned on can be dangerous to children.

Reduced nutritional value

Cooking dishes for children in a microwave oven inevitably reduces their nutritional value and changes the composition at the cellular level:

• The content of vitamin B12 decreases. It is important for the formation of red blood cells, preventing anemia and maintaining the health of the baby's nervous system.
• The concentration of flavonoids is reduced by 97%. These substances are powerful natural antioxidants and have anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
• In breast milk, the level of antibodies (immunoglobulins) decreases, which should protect the baby from infections and contribute to the formation of its own immune defense.
• Breaks down enzymes that help your baby digest bacteria from breast milk. Babies need these enzymes to develop a healthy digestive system that can digest food, absorb nutrients from it, and protect itself from pathogens from the inside.

As you can see, constantly heating baby food (and especially breast milk for a newborn) in the microwave is a bad idea. Therefore, the device should be used only in extreme cases, when the mother does not have time to heat up any dish on the stove. And for infant formula and breast milk, it is better to use a special bottle warmer.

But this does not happen with all nutrients. For example, cooking baked apples in a microwave can only be beneficial: due to the high cooking speed, more vitamin C remains in the fruit. More details in this video:

Plastics leaching into food

Baby food placed in plastic containers should not be heated in a microwave. Many of them (as well as plastic wrap) contain carcinogens that easily leach into food.

Heating breast milk and infant formula in plastic baby bottles is also prohibited. When heated, such containers release toxins that affect nervous and reproductive health. Even in low doses, they can lead to cancer, early puberty, obesity and diabetes in the future.