Really, REALLY, Do Not Microwave Breastmilk

Nearly every new parent book we read says that you shouldn’t microwave expressed breastmilk. Why not gets wrapped in talk about uneven heating and blah blah blah scientific damage to the milk.

I happily dicated to all sitters and to Jill that no one giving Noah a bottle was allowed to microwave it. And since I generally feed him straight from the tap, and no one is going to put me in the microwave, this caused me no inconvenience whatsoever.

On Thursday, at day care, for the second time, they exploded one of Noah’s bottles of expressed breastmilk, by putting it in the microwave. Apparently, the explosion took place after approximately 4 seconds of heating.

So they really mean those warnings. And all those scientific reasons are no doubt valid. But I recommend not putting breastmilk in the microwave BECAUSE IT WILL EXPLODE.

And yes, every day for the next month or more, I will be writing, "Do not put milk in the microwave" on Noah’s "Parent’s Daily Report."

3 Responses to “ Really, REALLY, Do Not Microwave Breastmilk ”

Comments:

Dave says:
March 5th, 2008 at 3:58 am

Having a microwaved, closed container explode IS a scientific reason. It’s not specific to bottles; putting any tightly closed container in a microwave can cause it to explode.

Common Sense says:
April 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Sorry, but that is complete B.S. A bottle WILL NOT explode after being microwaved for just 4 seconds.

Here’s a simple tip. Warm the milk in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, and then pour it into the bottle. The act of transfering the milk into the bottle will sufficiently mix it eliminating any “hot spots” that uninformed nay-sayers are always warning us about, and using an open container eliminates the possibility of it exploding if you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing and overheat the milk.

Liza says:
April 10th, 2008 at 2:03 pm

“Common Sense” — I take it you’ve never sent an infant to day care?

You have to send “ready to go” bottles which they heat, usually by immersion in a warm water container, and feed to your child.

Anything involving transferring milk between containers increases the odds that your baby is going to be drinking someone else’s breastmilk, formula, or whatever. I doubt many places would be willing to go to the extra effort.