BM antibodies question

bumpuser5078523 · December 2013

If I heat up a refrigerated bottle of fresh milk in the microwave will it kill the antibodies found in super fresh milk? I know freezing it does.

Edit-for forgot to add microwave.

mommatotwo2 · December 2013

You can not heat breast milk in the microwave. Just put it in a bowl of hot water. Might have to swap out the water once.

aylafsu88 · December 2013

Heating it or freezing it will not kill the antibodies (they are proteins). It may cause them to be denatured some but they are still reactive and effective. You do not want to heat it up to the point of boiling but warming it is fine. We freeze antibodies all the time in the lab and they are fine.

bumpuser5078523 · December 2013

Why can I not heat it in the microwave?

mdlorenz · December 2013

You'll create hot spots that could burn your little one's mouth. Just heat water in the microwave (or fill with hot water from the faucet) and put the bottle in the water. Much safer!

mommatotwo2 · December 2013

You should never heat breast milk or formula in the microwave because it can create hot spots which can burn baby's mouth. It also does hurt the nutrition quality.

From the CDC:

Safely Thawing Breast Milk

As time permits, thaw frozen breast milk by transferring it to the refrigerator for thawing or by swirling it in a bowl of warm water.
Avoid using a microwave oven to thaw or heat bottles of breast milk
- Microwave ovens do not heat liquids evenly. Uneven heating could easily scald a baby or damage the milk
- Bottles may explode if left in the microwave too long.
- Excess heat can destroy the nutrient quality of the expressed milk.

VitaLuna · January 2014

Regardless of whether it will or won't damage the proteins, you should not be heating in the microwave.

BM antibodies question

Re: BM antibodies question

Safely Thawing Breast Milk

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