From moderation around caffeine to conflicting reports about alcohol, conversations about a safe diet during breastfeeding have a tendency to start to sound like conversations about eating during pregnancy. Most providers even recommend continuing to take prenatal vitamins, to help fill nutritional gaps while breastfeeding. There’s no reason for one’s diet during breastfeeding to be restrictive, though,the guidelines around nutrition during breastfeeding are mostly centered around staying generally healthy.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common food and drink questions!
Caffeine
More than anything else on the ‘potentially banned’ list, caffeine is one of those substances many new moms of newborns have a hard time doing without. Having to cut down on sleeping longer than 3 hours at a time and losing caffeine can seem practically unfair. Fortunately, medical resources from the Mayo Clinic to the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that there’s no harm in drinking a moderate amount of caffeine per day while breastfeeding. Though caffeine can be transmitted through breast milk, the transfer is small and is unlikely to impact your baby.
For most babies, the moderate amount recommended, 2 to 3 servings per day, won’t have any noticeable effects. Some babies, like those who are preterm, may be more sensitive to caffeine, so if you start to notice some extra fussiness from your baby after drinking your morning cup of coffee and nursing, you can decide how to change your intake in the way that works best for your family. That might mean anything from cutting caffeine out altogether to just switching to half-caf. Timing breastfeeding so that the first cup of the day comes just after a feeding can also help with any effects of caffeine.
Alcohol
One substance that’s a little more controversial than caffeine is alcohol. Both the Mayo Clinic and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend limiting alcohol consumption during breastfeeding because there is no level of alcohol in breast milk that’s considered safe. This means that it’s safest to wait 2 to 3 hours after having a serving of alcohol before breastfeeding. If you have more than one serving of alcohol, a safe rule is to wait to breastfeed at least 2 additional hours for each drink. On the other hand, though, the March of Dimes recommends against drinking alcohol while breastfeeding entirely. They also suggest that women who do drink alcohol during breastfeeding limit drinking to two alcoholic drinks per week, and wait at least 2 hours after having a drink before breastfeeding.
Pumping and dumping will not remove alcohol from the bloodstream and breastmilk faster than time alone. But you may need to pump if you are choosing not to nurse for several hours. Remember that being impaired may mean that you need to make different choices about childcare and sleeping (especially if you are co-sleeping).
Fish
There’s a lot to love about fish – it’s a high-quality protein, rich in omega-3s and other nutrients, and it can be an important part of a healthy diet for a breastfeeding mother and baby. It’s also well-known for containing trace amounts of mercury and other heavy metals due to pollution. For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends limiting the amount of fish and shellfish you eat while breastfeeding to about two servings (8 to 12 ounces) a week, and to cut certain large, ocean fish out of your diet entirely. These fish are:
- Shark
- Swordfish
- King mackerel
- Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico
The FDA also recommends limiting white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces per week.
They also recommend checking for local advisories and warnings before buying or eating local seafood, and following the same recommendations for young children, but with smaller portions.
Garlic, broccoli, and citrus
Some well-meaning folks will suggest breastfeeding parents avoid certain foods, especially highly spiced, flavorful, or garlic-filled dishes, but there is no evidence that babies are fussier with these foods in their systems. Although only a small amount of research has been done on the subject, it looks like the impact that different flavors can have on breastfeeding are based on a baby’s preferences and tastes. Some babies may dislike certain strong flavors when they show up in breast milk, but others may love them. In fact, the strong flavors in breast milk might be beneficial to Baby. It’s been suggested that the variations in flavors can help to prepare babies for the eventual massive variations in table foods when they’re older. It’s certainly not a guarantee against later picky eating, but every little bit helps, right?
The same outdated warnings are also given for foods like broccoli, which may cause gas and bloating in an adult. But veggies that cause you gas are unlikely to impact your baby.
Citrus fruit is another food that has been recommended against during breastfeeding in the past. While it seems possible that eating a lot of citrus while breastfeeding could cause or add to diaper rash, studies have found no evidence that it will. In fact, the Mayo Clinic suggests eating citrus fruits during breastfeeding, since the vitamin C helps the body to absorb the iron it needs during breastfeeding.
Read more
Sources
- Julie Mennella. “Alcohol’s Effect on Lactation.” National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. National Institutes of Health. Web.
- “Breastmilk and your diet.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 21 2015. Web.
- “Fish: what pregnant women and parents should know.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, June 2014. Web.
- “Food and Beverages not Likely to Make Breast-fed Babies Fussy.” Loyola Medicine. Loyola University Health System, February 12 2013. Web.
- “How a healthy diet helps you breastfeed.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 21 2015. Web.
- “Keeping breast milk safe and healthy.” March of Dimes. March of Dimes, May 2016. Web.
- “Things to avoid while breastfeeding.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 21 2015. Web.
- “What about alcohol and breastfeeding?” La Leche League International. La Leche League International, December 19 2015. Web.
