Can I Microwave Breast Milk?

Microwaving breast milk: Does it diminish the nutrients?
—Anonymous

There are a couple of reasons not to microwave breast milk. The main one (in my opinion) is that microwave heating is uneven. Think about when you microwave soup and the middle is cold while the outside is boiling. The same pattern happens in milk, and your kiddo can get burned.

A microwave cooks a meal against a yellow background. — Getty Images

The second issue is that some of the components of breast milk, such as various antibodies, break down at temperatures above about 105, which could easily be achieved in the microwave. The basic nutritional content (calories, etc.) is maintained, but you lose some of the immune components.

Putting all this aside, though, a good reason not to microwave breast milk is that you don’t need to and it’s an annoying extra step. If you’re starting from scratch, I highly recommend you get your kid used to drinking cold breast milk. Even if they need it warm, they don’t need it that warm. Running the bottle under some warm water for a bit would be sufficient. (Or you can use a bottle warmer, although really I think that’s overkill.)