Baby bottle

From ArticleWorld

A baby bottle is a specialized bottle for feeding an infant baby formula or breast milk. It can also be used to allow a young child who cannot yet handle a cup the opportunity to drink a liquid by him or her self.

Design

A bottle holds anywhere from 150-270 mL and consists of the bottle a nipple (or teat) and a ring that seals the nipple to the bottle, as well as a cap to cover the nipple and, optionally, a disposable liner (to make washing them easier).

• Nipples. The teat is slimmer and more flexible than a mother’s nipple, which makes feeding from a bottle easier for some babies than breastfeeding. In order not to confuse babies who both breastfeed and use a bottle, there are some teats that are designed to resemble nipples. They come in a variety of flow rates, regulated by the hole size.

• Bottles, which are typically vented to allow air to enter while the baby drinks without the need to break the suction. Or, a bottle liner can be used, which encloses the formula .

Sterilization

For babies younger than six months of age, bottles should be sterilized by boiling them in hot water with a specialty appliance (typically it uses steam) or in a specialized container that can be microwaved.

History

Bottles with hard spouts existed in prehistory. Soft teats of a variety of material had been tried but were difficult to clean. When vulcanized rubber was invented, it was finally feasible and New York’s Elijah Pratt patented the first rubber teat in 1845. In the 1900s technology was perfected and the soft teat finally became a practical and safe alternative.