Foods To Avoid While Breastfeeding: Pre-Natal Nurse Advice
By: Claire B. Crompton, RNC-NIC
Claire is a registered nurse with a certification in neonatal intensive care nursing. She has years of experience taking care of moms and babies in postpartum and neonatal intensive care units and has taught childbirth education classes to new parents.
Motherhood is a powerfully transformative experience that begins in pregnancy and continues throughout the postpartum period and beyond. Caring for your new bundle of joy brings about adaptive, and sometimes challenging, changes for your body, emotions, and lifestyle.
Your new baby is constantly developing and changing as well. Whether you decide to breast or bottle feed, based on what is best for your family’s unique circumstances, within a matter of months your little one will be sitting up on their own and ready to start trying solid foods. 4moms® is dedicated to supporting new parents and their babies throughout their feeding journey with products such as the Connect High Chair®. Its reclining seat can help position your baby comfortably and adjusts easily even through toddlerhood.
If you choose to breastfeed, whether you nurse for a few weeks, months, or years, it is important to know about the connection between how you feed and hydrate your body and breastfeeding. Knowing how to choose a nutritious breastfeeding diet and what foods to avoid while breastfeeding can give the confidence to make smart food choices.
Common Breastfeeding Diet Concerns
Your OB care provider has probably given you recommendations about foods to avoid while pregnant. But what about after delivery? Thankfully, the list of foods to avoid while breastfeeding isn’t very long. Foods to avoid while breastfeeding contain substances that can impact your milk production and breastmilk quality. They can also affect your baby’s sleep quality, neurological, and overall development when consumed in large amounts. Some foods may even change how your breastmilk tastes. Some babies don’t seem to mind a variety of flavors, but others may occasionally refuse to nurse.
Q: What Foods Should I Avoid When Breastfeeding?
A: Breastfeeding foods to avoid or limit include:
Alcohol:
According to CDC recommendations, the most reliable way to protect your baby from the effects of alcohol is to not drink any while breastfeeding. However, drinking one drink per day and waiting 2 hours before breastfeeding or pumping is considered a safe alternative. Examples of one drink include:
- 12 oz of beer with 5% alcohol by volume
- 5 oz of wine with 12% alcohol by volume
- 1.5 oz of liquor with 40% alcohol by volume
Consuming more than this amount while breastfeeding can affect your body’s letdown reflex, making milk production more difficult over time. It can also impact your baby’s ability to sleep, grow, and achieve healthy development.
Caffeine:
Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and foods such as chocolate. If you drink excessive amounts of caffeine while breastfeeding, your baby may be fussier and have more difficulty sleeping. According to CDC recommendations, a safe caffeine amount is 300 mg per day. One cup of coffee contains about 95 mg of caffeine. If you suspect your baby is being affected by your caffeine habit, try cutting back over a couple of weeks to see if their symptoms improve.
Certain Kinds of Fish:
Eating fish can be part of a healthy diet, however, breastfeeding moms must steer clear of fish containing high levels of methylmercury. Fish such as shark, swordfish, marlin, king mackerel, bigeye tuna, and tilefish tend to have higher levels of methylmercury. These are definitely foods to avoid while breastfeeding because exposure to methylmercury over time can be toxic for your baby and have harmful effects on their brain and nervous system development. This chart made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can help you make safer fish choices while breastfeeding.
Highly Processed Fatty and Sugary Foods:
Ready-to-eat snack foods such as cookies, cakes, prepackaged meals, and soda are often low in fiber and other key nutrients. These foods may be tempting and convenient but if you aren’t mindful, they can take the place of healthier food choices in your diet, making it more difficult to meet your nutritional needs during lactation.
What about gassy foods?
It’s a common misconception that high-fiber, gas-causing foods, such as beans, broccoli, and cabbage, are among the foods to avoid when breastfeeding. However, current research shows limited proof that these foods cause increased gas and fussiness for all babies. Gas is a normal part of digestion, and regular burping can provide relief from gas.
How to Address Baby’s Reactions to Breastmilk
Some foods may cause your baby to be fussier or gassier than normal or cause diarrhea. These are also foods to avoid during breastfeeding, that specific to your baby. You are the expert on your baby. If you notice changes in your baby’s behavior, stool patterns, or a rash after nursing, talk to their healthcare provider. You can narrow down which foods are causing the issue by keeping track of the foods you eat in a food diary. Eliminating the suspected food from your diet for several weeks can help you see if your baby’s symptoms improve. You can try to reintroduce the food again to determine if it is still a food to avoid when breastfeeding.
Q: How do I know if my baby has an allergy to what I eat?
A: After feeding your baby, whether you are holding your baby on your lap or they are sitting securely elevated in their 4moms Connect High Chair®, watch for signs of an allergic reaction. This can include a rash or wheezing. Allergic reactions can also appear as green diarrhea with small amounts of blood. If you notice any of these, talk to your baby’s healthcare provider ASAP. While rare, any food you eat could cause a food allergy for your breastfed baby. The most common foods include dairy and soy products, eggs, and wheat. Foods that cause allergic reactions less commonly in breastfed babies include fish, peanuts, and corn.
Q: What is the best diet for breastfeeding moms?
A: To keep up with the demands of breastfeeding, women typically need to consume 340-400 more calories per day than they did pre-pregnancy. You may notice that your appetite increases while breastfeeding, so eating frequent meals and snacks will help you feel satisfied and energized. When choosing foods for breastfeeding, you’ll want to meet your increased calorie needs with nutrient-dense foods. These give your body vitamins and minerals without loads of extra sugar, saturated fat, or sodium. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about your breastfeeding diet caloric needs because demands can vary based on your pre-pregnancy weight, the amount you gained during pregnancy, or if you had multiples.
Also, pay attention to your body to guide when it’s time to eat or drink. To make sure you stay well hydrated, a good practice is to drink a glass of water every time you breastfeed or pump. A good indicator of hydration is the color of your urine. If it has a dark yellow appearance, it’s time to drink more water.
You may find yourself short on time for food preparation. Research suggests that planning your meals and snacks for several days in advance can make it easier to eat a high-quality diet that includes a variety of foods.
So what should a breastfeeding mother eat?
Q: What is a healthy breastfeeding menu?
A: Healthy foods for breastfeeding include protein-rich foods such as unsalted nuts and seeds, peanut butter, beans, fish, lean meats and poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, including dark green and yellow, and whole grains from whole wheat bread, pasta, and oatmeal. Breastfeeding increases the demand for iodine and choline, which can be found in foods such as dairy products, eggs, iodized salt, beans, and peas. Be sure to prepare your meals without adding lots of sugar, saturated fat, or sodium.
Having nutritious foods available that you can eat with one hand can make it easier to nourish yourself while taking care of your baby. Examples include trail mix, peeled orange slices, grape tomatoes, cheese cubes, or a fruit and yogurt smoothie that has leafy green vegetables or flax seeds.
Q: What About Supplements?
A: According to the CDC, continuing to take a prenatal vitamin after delivery might give you more iron and folic acid than you actually need. Talk with your OB healthcare provider about taking prenatal or other multivitamin supplements while breastfeeding.
4moms Is Here to Help
Keep in mind each snack and meal is an opportunity for you to make nutritious food choices that will benefit you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about foods to avoid while breastfeeding and for personalized recommendations. Be sure to explore 4moms feeding products like the Connect High Chair® as well as other supportive 4moms products for help during your breastfeeding journey and beyond.
