Feeding Your Baby Without Power: Emergencies, Outages or Camping

Emergencies and power outages can happen without warning—but with some planning and a few extra supplies, you can feel more confident your baby’s needs will be met.

Stay Informed
Keep an eye on local alerts for power outages, weather warnings, or fire risks so you can act early if needed.

Prepare Ahead with Extra Supplies
A little preparation can make a big difference. Keep the following on hand:

• Extra formula, nappies, shelf-stable baby food, medicine, and wipes

• Containers with pre-boiled tap water or sealed plain bottled water

• A thermos to keep water warm for up to 12 to 24 hours

• Dishwashing liquid, bottle brush, antibacterial wipes, and hand sanitiser

• Sterilisation supplies (e.g. anti-bacterial tablets or solution, container etc.)

• A torch or headtorch with spare batteries

• Charged power bank

Managing Water Without Power
If the power goes out, here’s how to make sure water is safe for your baby:

• Pre-boil tap water in advance and store it in clean sealed bottles.

• Use a gas stove, BBQ, or camping stove to boil water.

• Ensure water is clean and clear—boiling doesn’t remove dirt or debris, only germs. Filtering would be required

• Plain sealed bottled water is also safe—just avoid sparkling or mineral.

Sterilising Bottles Without Electricity
If you know a power outage is coming, try to clean and sterilise all bottles ahead of time.

If needed, you can still sterilise on the go:

• Use cold water sterilising anti-bacterial tablets or solution with a plastic container or bucket

• Boil equipment using a gas stove or BBQ

• Use battery-powered UV sterilisers

Note: If bottles and teats aren’t available, a baby can be taught to drink from a clean open cup in emergencies. 

Warming Baby’s Milk
While it’s safe to offer room-temperature formula, some babies prefer it warm.
You can warm feeds by:

• Using hot water stored in a thermos

• Heating water over a gas stove, BBQ, or camping stove

• Using a battery-powered bottle warmer

Formula

Always try to stock up on the formula you normally use. If it is out of stock and your baby has no allergies, intolerances, or other health issues, any formula — regardless of brand — is better than none.

If your baby is close to 1 year old and no formula is available, cow’s milk may be used as an alternative, provided iron-fortified foods are also given. For more information, see our article
From Formula to Cow’s Milk: What to Know at 12 Months.

Stay safe and take care!

With a little preparation, you can feel ready—even when things don’t go to plan.