It is completely safe to warm expressed breast milk or formula in a bottle. There are a few ways to do this.
- Place the bottle in a bowl of warm water and seal it with a teat over the cap. Once the bottle is warmed to room temperature, shake to ensure an even temperature throughout. Do not warm for more than 15 minutes as this can cause bacteria to develop.
- Use an electric bottle warmer. Our Electric Bottle and Food Warmer makes it quick and easy to heat both milk and food safely.
- If you are out and about, you may want to consider a Travel Bottle Warmer.
Remember, NEVER heat milk in a microwave and NEVER boil breast milk as this will destroy valuable nutrients in the milk. These methods can create localised hot spots in the milk and destroy important nutrients.
If you haven't time to warm up a bottle, you may find your baby is happy with milk at room temperature.
Testing Breast Milk Temperature
Once you have warmed the breast milk, it is important to test the temperature. There are a number of ways to do this, but we recommend squirting a little onto your inner wrist. The skin on your inner wrist is thin and sensitive, just like baby’s, so this serves as a reliable guide. The milk should feel warm, not hot.
For more information about breast milk, you may want to view our storing breast milk advice section.