Congratulations! You’ve chosen the best infant formula for your baby and stocked up on several baby bottles. Decide between tap water and purified water for mixing. Feeding your little bundle of joy is straightforward. Just measure the formula and mix it with water. But, which water is best?
Tap water is the most easily accessible water source for everyone. You can find it almost everywhere, even in your kitchen sink. But is tap water safe for infant formula? Can you use bottled water for formula preparation, too?
Fortunately, both purified and tap water are practical choices when mixing infant formula. Here’s what you need to know about each of them to make the right choice.
Choosing Water To Make Baby’s Formula
When making infant formula, parents and caregivers can use purified, tap, well, or fluoridated water. Let’s get a closer look at each of them.
Fluoridated Water
Fluoridated water is one of the most commonly used water sources when making formula. However, doctors advise parents not to use it in every feed to prevent babies from excessive fluoride intake, which could potentially result in dental stains over time.
Baby formula has the right amount of fluoride that your baby needs. So, using water with too much fluoride could only increase the risk of developing dental fluorosis.
Dental fluorosis causes faint white lines on a person’s permanent teeth. Although it may not have any serious adverse effects, dental fluorosis can affect how your baby’s developing teeth in the future.
Suppose you’re planning to use fluoridated water. In that case, it’s best to check with your local water company to ensure that the water supply fluoride level is less than 0.7 per million parts of water.
Well Water
If you get your water supply from a well, the American Academy of Pediatrics highly suggests getting the water tested for potential nitrate contamination every three months each year to ensure it’s safe for baby formula use. Nitrates are naturally occurring chemicals found in plants and are often used in fertilizers.
However, there are instances when it can penetrate deep into the groundwater, which may lead to nitrate exposure in infants. When this happens, it may lead to methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal condition that may interfere with the person’s oxygen circulation in the blood.
Even boiling water cannot address the nitrate concentration and could increase the level as the water evaporates. Even using mechanical filters will not do anything to address the situation.
Tap Water
Another option is tap water. Water from a local company in the country goes through stringent processes to turn it into safe drinking water. However, since tap water contains fluoride, the American Dental Association expresses their concern that using it for making baby formula can lead to fluoride exposure to your baby’s teeth.
As previously discussed, fluorosis isn’t a tooth disease. Instead, it’s discoloration that occurs on a person’s developing teeth. It may appear as streaks or white spots on the teeth’ enamel. If left untreated, discoloration may occur on the person’s baby teeth and can extend to their permanent teeth.
Purified Water
The last on the list is purified water. Purified water is an excellent choice when you don’t want to use tap water because it might contain too much fluoride for your baby or tap water isn’t available in your current area. You might even find purified water labeled as “nursery water,” marketed for preparing baby formula.
There are many bottled water options available on the market today. Besides purified water, you can also choose between deionized, distilled, demineralized water, or even bottled water products prepared using the reverse osmosis method. Based on the law, bottled water products purchased in the country should pass the Food and Drug Administration’s standards to ensure water quality.
Although bottled water is ideal when you prepare infant formula, you must remember that the fluoride content in bottled water product types may vary [1]. So, if your baby is exclusively consuming mixed infant formula, then there’s a big chance that they may develop dental fluorosis because of drinking water that contains too much fluoride.
To reduce the chances of fluorosis, using low-fluoride bottled water can be a practical choice. An alternative to bottled water is purchasing a home-based reverse osmosis filter unit. Most low-fluoride bottled water products may be expensive, but they can provide you with a source of clean and safe drinking water for the entire family.
Fluoride and Baby Formula
Most prepared formula products already contain the right amount of fluoride your baby needs. So, fluoridated water when preparing infant formula powder may put your child at risk of developing faint white streaks on their teeth.
Minimizing exposure to mild dental fluorosis is the best choice for those concerned about mild dental fluorosis. For instance, you need to be the mind of what prepared formula you’ll be using to feed your baby.
Also, ensure that it contains as little fluoride as possible or simultaneously use low-fluoride and fluoridated water when preparing powdered formula. You must also speak with your baby’s doctor about your child’s potential exposure to fluoride to know the correct amount or if there are any other ways to remove or reduce your baby’s exposure to it.
Using Distilled Water for Baby Formula
Distilled water goes through the distillation process, where all the impurities or minerals are removed. It’s an excellent choice for preparing formulas because it is efficient at removing harmful pathogens that may cause water-related diseases.
Although it’s an excellent choice for mixing baby formula, it’s also best to consider other water sources later on as it doesn’t contain any beneficial mineral essential to your child’s growth. Also, it doesn’t even have a few drops of fluoride supplements. So, there’s a considerable chance that your baby isn’t getting enough protection for his growing teeth.
Choosing Drinking Water for Baby Formula
Any type of bottled water is ideal for mixing powder formula. That’s why it’s many parents consider it to be safe for consumption. When choosing bottled water, it’s essential to know if it’s been fortified with various additives such as fluoride or electrolytes to determine how much fluoride your baby is getting. Doing so prevents excessive exposure to this additive, which may be detrimental to your child’s health.
When to Boil Water
Product packaging used to have labels printed stating that you need boiling water when making infant formula. However, you’ll never see these prints these days as most labels usually say to connect with a healthcare provider to know whether or not you should boil water before using it for your baby’s formula.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that parents should use water from a safe source to prevent bacterial contamination, especially when they use it to mix infant formula. Meanwhile, if you’re concerned about the water’s safety using boiled water to kill bacteria is advisable. Let the water sit for half an hour until it cools before making baby formula.
Conclusion
Choosing the best water system is crucial to ensure your child’s safety. Although boiling water is a possible solution to eliminate bacteria, connecting with your healthcare provider should be the first step. So, whether you prefer tap or purified water for your baby’s formula, it’s essential to ensure its safety before using it.
We’re always here to help. If you have any questions or concerns about this article, comment below.
