Should boiled, cooled water for formula be kept in fridge....

(35 Posts)
Clarabell78 Wed 24-Jul-13 21:22:09

Or is it ok left on the side if the bottle is sealed and sterilized? If ok on side how long before I should throw away if unused? Thanks! :-)

KittieCat Thu 25-Jul-13 09:10:17

Yes, Jim that's important.

Maybe a MN campaign would help?!

thistlelicker Thu 25-Jul-13 09:11:39

Where I work in a central hospital we advise to,leave water for 30min to cool to 70 degrees as there has been babies who have died from the bacteria that's found in incorrectly made bottles of formula! If ure that concerned or unsure then buy ready made milk

tiktok Thu 25-Jul-13 09:59:12

It is extraordinary that this issue raises so many questions - why are HCPs still confusing mothers? The instructions on the pack are clear enough - the water has to be 70 deg C in order to make the formula safe.

We have had the guidance about 70 deg C for several years now.

AmIGoingMad Thu 25-Jul-13 11:08:37

I agree that its crazy that so many hcps are telling women that its fine to make up the feeds by just adding powder to cold pre boiled water! As so many have said, cold water won't kill the bacteria in the milk!

It's hard to find the safe pre prep recommendations on Nhs but the world health organisation previously linked to is great!

Figgygal Thu 25-Jul-13 14:04:57

Agreed i dont understand why there is so much confusion about making up bottles safely my Ante natal group were the same half of them were making bottles with cold pre boiled water if i tried to explain to them the risks it was like i had grown another head.

tiktok Thu 25-Jul-13 14:07:28

I wonder if there is some sort of folk memory about water not being safe? I mean going back 100-200 years when water borne disease was not uncommon in the 19th century stews where the urban poor lived?

InsanelyBrainDeprived Thu 25-Jul-13 14:14:18

I was told by my midwife and hv to never add formula to cold water.

Boil kettle with fresh water, leave to cool for 20mins. Make up bottle with formula and flash cool. Yes ideally use straight away but if cooled within 20 mins you can store at back of fridge for 12 hours. Discard after then. For out and about use a cool bag but use within 2 hours.

Did this with both of mine and so far they are fine

InsanelyBrainDeprived Thu 25-Jul-13 14:16:52

I also see lots of people making up formula with cold water. My friend did and still does this even though I pointed out the water needs to be above 70 to kill bacteria in the formula. She thinks warming it up is sufficient. That's what she was told

jomaynard Thu 25-Jul-13 14:24:52

When I had my first it was perfectly fine to make up bottles with cooled boiled water. (He's 17.)

The advice changed sometime after there was a problem with some cartoons of pre-mixed formula from a leading manufacturer.
So maybe Fairy's midwife needs retraining?

NoComet Thu 25-Jul-13 14:25:52

And if you don't make bottles up in advance baby will scream, mum will have a nervous break down and pour boiling water on her foot in the middle of the night.

Realistically the risk from milk made up at 70°C, cooled quickly, stored in the fridge for less than 24 hours and drunk immediately on warming is absolutely tiny.

Generations of babies have survived perfectly well on formula made up in a 101 'wrong ways' my own DD1 included.

The bug in formula is nasty, but illness from it is very rare.

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