Infant Care Guidance: Proper Bottle Hygiene and Breastfeeding Benefits

Health experts advise that baby feeding equipment should be cleaned and disinfected promptly to prevent bacterial growth. Bottles should be washed immediately after use, disassembled, scrubbed with soap and water, rinsed, and air‑dried on a clean surface. Disinfection—by boiling, a dedicated device, or other approved methods—should follow cleaning, especially for premature or immunocompromised infants, and equipment should be replaced when cracked, torn, discolored, moldy, or damaged.

Breastfeeding is described as a newborn’s “first vaccine” because breast milk supplies antibodies, immune cells, enzymes, and prebiotics that protect infants from respiratory, ear, throat, and gastrointestinal infections. According to Dr Khushboo Saxena, a senior obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, the mother’s exposure to environmental germs leads to targeted antibodies that are passed to the baby in real time, offering customized immune defense before any formal vaccinations are administered.