Wondering what other policies are re: Warming Bottles

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Specializes in LDRP and Nursery.

Does your hospital have a policy on warming of formula/breast milk bottles? Do you feed at room temperature? I am asking mostly about term/healthy newborn-routine care & feeding (not in the NICU). Thank you for your feedback!

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

For formula we have the ready-made bottles that we don't warm up. Room temp for those.

If we have breastmilk in the fridge, we put it in a clean plastic container/syringe (or empty out a bottle of water from the formula company and put the breastmilk in it) and put it in warm/hot water. (Our nursery has temp gauges on the faucet so we keep the temp of the water between 98-105F.) Incidentally, I have taken breastmilk out of the fridge cold and not fully warmed it up (pinched for time) and baby has taken it fine.

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Agree with Elvish...room temp for commercial premixed formulas and heated up in warm water for cooled breast milk. Note of caution...do not put formula in the microwave...that leads to possibility of getting it too hot and burning yourself or the baby.

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Specializes in Pedatrics, Child Protection.

We use a small crock pot filled 1/3 of the way with water to warm our bottles for any formulas/breastmilk that has been refrigerated. We set the pot to low to prevent boiling and change in temperature. Works nicely and is safe and accessible to families.

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We use a small crock pot filled 1/3 of the way with water to warm our bottles for any formulas/breastmilk that has been refrigerated. We set the pot to low to prevent boiling and change in temperature. Works nicely and is safe and accessible to families.

You don't worry about cross contamination? Breast milk is a bodily fluid you know. And a warm water bath seems like a nice place to grow bacteria.

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Specializes in LDRP and Nursery.
We use a small crock pot filled 1/3 of the way with water to warm our bottles for any formulas/breastmilk that has been refrigerated. We set the pot to low to prevent boiling and change in temperature. Works nicely and is safe and accessible to families.

This sounds like a nice idea and it would keep the water at a great temperature. My concern is that we'd never be able to use the same device & water to warm milk from different patients.

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Specializes in LDRP and Nursery.

When I started the thread, I wondered if hospitals have POLICIES for warming milk. We were taught to use hot water from the tap to warm refrigerated milk and we use formula at room temp. I've seen water heated in the microwave used to warm bottles. This seems very dangerous to me as overheating can occur very quickly. I thought I'd check around and see whether other hospitals have a policy. Thanks!

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

The only policy we have is for storage of formula and breastmilk....and no microwave. No official policy on warming it up. :)

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

no prep for pre-packaged formula. Frozen or frig breast-milk goes in a bottle then a cup of warm water from tap until room temp.

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Specializes in L&D, PP, a little WB, note taker NICU.

We have a penquin bottle warmer for all breastmilk from the fridge or freezer. Our policy is simply to use it per manufacterer protocol. It will do warming and/or defrosting. We leave formula at room temperature.

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Specializes in Pedatrics, Child Protection.
You don't worry about cross contamination? Breast milk is a bodily fluid you know. And a warm water bath seems like a nice place to grow bacteria.

No...there is only enough water in the pot to come about 1/4 of the way up the bottle (even the small ones) and if the milk/formula was ever spilled then the crockpot would be washed out.

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