Why Choose a Silicone Baby Bottle?

• The round silicone baby bottle, a gentle (r)evolution
• Choosing a silicone baby bottle for safety
• Selecting a silicone bottle to avoid microplastics
• Silicone bottles: a healthy material for your child's nutrition
• And what about bottle nipples?

Bottle-feeding mom or breastfeeding mom, all mothers face the same question: choosing the best bottle for their baby. Milky silicone bottle, fruity round bottle, or just a simple bottle of fresh water, these accompany little ones and big babies at every meal and through their greatest adventures. For this reason, manufacturers—including Elhée—compete in inventiveness.

Glass, plastic, silicone, and even stainless steel bottles: shatterproof, flexible, or anti-burn—how do you make the right choice? Why opt for a silicone bottle, and why pair it with a physiologically shaped nipple made from the same material? Because everything comes down to trust, especially when it involves children’s health, Elhée explains everything about the benefits of the silicone baby bottle.

The round silicone baby bottle, a gentle (r)evolution

The bibRond Elhée was born from a simple observation: since babies naturally seek out the nourishing breast at birth, why not try to recreate this miracle of curves and generosity that is the female breast?

For Elhée, that motivation was enough. To revolutionize the too-narrow world of baby bottles so that they truly live up to their name. That the bottle transcends its origin as a "beak-shaped vase" to finally flourish as a gentle and generous container: the bib (from Latin biber[e] “drink”)—round, paying homage to feminine curves. But if the Elhée bottle is so round, it's also to make it easier to hold, more fun to use, and more visually appealing.

Semi-rigid, it is made almost entirely of medical-grade silicone. This innovative texture, delicate and soft to the touch, evokes the sensation of skin, breast, and mother.

Choosing a silicone baby bottle for safety

When browsing baby bottles, it's all too easy to get lost among the options. The first stumbling block: the material itself. Historically, baby bottles were made of glass. Not that the material was flawless, but at the time, it was the only one used.

Yet, even though it's durable and attractive, glass is heavy, can break, and heats up. Even today, shatterproof glass bottles can still break, or be served too hot, thus presenting a danger for babies.

Flexible silicone for worry-free feeding

By contrast, the silicone baby bottle poses no risk of breakage—quite the opposite. If it slips from your hands or is tossed by baby, the round silicone bottle just rolls. It's flexible enough for its body to be squeezed—helpful for baby's first feedings and later by a young child, but it never loses shape.

For little ones who prefer their milk warm, the dense, protective material doesn't heat up. Both you and your child can handle it right away.

Selecting a silicone bottle to avoid microplastics

For several years, plastic bottles containing Bisphenol A (BPA) have been banned from sale in France. Classified as category 3 reproductive toxins, the effects of BPA are said to be “concerning for human fertility.”

But beyond the risks posed by the chemical substances in some plastics, microplastics represent an even greater problem. Consumed daily, especially during meals, their presence in the human body continues to increase.

In 2019, a report commissioned by WWF from Newcastle University in Australia quantified the problem at about 5 grams of microplastics per person per week. The following year, the journal Nature Food relayed a study by Trinity College Dublin highlighting another major source of microplastic ingestion: plastic baby bottles. Depending on the bottle, the plastic, and water temperature, 12-month-old babies could ingest on average 1.5 million microplastic particles per day.

What are the effects on babies' health?

While the authors of the study “Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation” caution that more information is needed regarding the effects of microplastics on babies’ health (they may all be expelled by the body), UFC Que Choisir reports animal studies suggesting a real and negative impact on the gut microbiota, metabolism, and even the brain.

Silicone bottles: a healthy material for your child's nutrition

Glass is often cited as an alternative to plastic bottles. However, it too has drawbacks, such as weight and fragility.

With the medical-grade silicone bottle, Elhée pushes innovation boundaries and offers parents and children a healthy, unbreakable bibRond suitable for food use.
Medical-grade silicone is non-allergenic, contains neither Bisphenol A (BPA) nor Bisphenol S (BPS), and no other chemicals known or suspected to have adverse health effects. It does not come from the petrochemical industry.

Composed of silicon and oxygen, it remains stable even when heated and comes in different forms, such as the soft and semi-rigid silicone used for Elhée bibRonds.

And what about bottle nipples?

If the material of the bottle itself is essential, so is the composition of the nipple that tops it. In direct contact with the child’s mouth and lips, the nipple is also sucked on, chewed, and even torn once those first teeth come in. So, it needs to be durable and safe, pleasant and comfortable—this is why we talk about physiologically shaped nipples—and even high-performance. This is the case with anti-colic nipples.

To make the right choice, several factors should be considered:

• With a wide or narrow neck, depending especially on the bottle's design,
• Slow, medium, or fast flow—adapted to breast milk, formula, or thick liquids,
• Physiological nipple (asymmetrical and designed to resemble the breast) or not (round and symmetrical nipple),
• Anti-colic nipple with a valve system to prevent air ingestion during feeding, or not,
• Made of latex, rubber, or silicone.

You may need to try several nipples before finding the one your newborn prefers. Also, the choice is especially important if you practice mixed feeding (breastfeeding and bottle) during the breast-to-bottle transition or if your newborn is premature. In these cases, opt for a physiological nipple, suited to infants' palates, and a slow flow rate.

Rubber, latex, or silicone nipple: how to choose?

As with baby pacifiers, you might end up buying several before you find the right one.

• The natural rubber nipple is brown. It's recommended for babies who have trouble feeding due to its softness and flexibility. On the other hand, it stays fairly fragile against the small teeth of older kids.
• The latex nipple is also natural as it's made from rubber tree sap. Soft and flexible, it is also suitable for newborns but may cause allergic reactions in some children.
• The silicone nipple offers the advantage of being neutral. With no taste or odor, it's favored by babies and parents alike, who can easily clean it thanks to its transparency. At Elhée, the nipple and the bibRond are made of medical-grade silicone for children's health protection.

The Elhée bottle: for happy babies

Thank you for following us this far! You now have enough information to answer the question: “Why choose a silicone bottle?”

Because innovation is also part of the bottle, Elhée chose to optimize its round silicone bottle by using medical-grade silicone. The BibROND can be heated, sterilized, washed by hand or in the dishwasher, placed in the microwave or freezer. Baby can also squeeze it, throw it, chew on its extra-soft nipple... It withstands all activities without ever losing its qualities, its beauty, and always with zero health impact.

Designed in France, in the Rhône-Alpes region and via short supply chains, the BibROND silicone bottle is therefore as responsible as you are when you choose it for your baby!

• What are the advantages of a silicone bottle?

  Flexible and soft to the touch, the silicone bottle is easy to handle even for little hands. It won't break and contains no Bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol S (BPS), or any other chemicals.

• Why choose medical-grade silicone?

  Made from natural elements, silicone is formed from silica and oxygen. Hence, a silicone bottle does not come from the petrochemical industry (unlike plastic). Its material, in addition to being highly resistant to both heat and cold, has no impact on health. Medical-grade silicone is also non-allergenic and suitable for food contact.

• Why choose a bottle nipple made of medical-grade silicone?

  Free from Bisphenol A (BPA) and Bisphenol S (BPS), the silicone nipple is both flexible and durable. It has no smell or color and can be cleaned effectively thanks to the transparency of its material.