Brenda, you asked if baby bottle warmers are safe on the composition of
breastmilk.  Ann, you asked why anyone would want a baby bottle warmer.
       I have carried the Avent bottle warmer in my office.  Back when it
first came out, it said it was safe because it never boiled the water and kept
the milk at perfect serving temperature.  Since we can also run the bottles
under warm running water, there shouldn't be any more breakdown of nutrients using
this particular bottle warmer than warm running water.  I try never to take
the manufacturer's word for anything, so I asked the local hospital to test the
bottle warmer for me.  Because of rules about foods, they couldn't test it on
breastmilk or formula.  But they stuck a gelpack in the bottle warmer for 8
hours, and when they took it out it was the perfect temperature for putting
against skin--no towel between skin and gelpack.  Now I don't advocate leaving
the bottle of breastmilk in there for 8 hours!  But I figured if it could keep
the gelpack from getting too hot when it was in there for such a long time, it
would be safe for breastmilk.  Because this was proven not to boil the water,
and thus there was no risk that the water would boil away and the milk
container would melt and all the precious milk would be ruined, it's the only one I
carried.  I can't speak for any other brand.
       As to why anyone would want one:  It can take several minutes to thaw
and warm a bottle of frozen breastmilk, especially if it contains 4 oz. or
more.  Some babies don't like to be in one place, and cry if they aren't being
walked.  So that makes it tough for the caregiver to hold the baby and thaw the
milk at the same time, if the baby woke up sooner than expected and the milk
wasn't ready yet.  I've also known a number of *adults* who couldn't stand
still, either.  They had trouble standing in front of the sink running the water
over and over the bottle, and were much happier when they could just put the
bottle in the warmer and come back when it was ready.  I've also had some
parents come buy the safe bottle warmer for a babysitter who was taking care of more
than just their baby, so that the milk wouldn't get too hot if the babysitter
got distracted, like maybe if she needed to intervene in two preschoolers
involved in World War III.
       But I really sell very few of them, and no one has bought one (at
least from my office) in several years.
       Dee

Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC
Collinsville, Illinois, in central USA

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