The Best Diet for Breastfeeding Mothers

The Best Diet for Breastfeeding Mothers

It seems that whenever a nursing infant fusses or passes gas, people blame the mother’s diet. Let’s find out whether that type of thinking is accurate.

True or false?
Nursing moms need to avoid “gassy” foods.
Nursing moms must never drink alcohol, caffeinated or carbonated beverages.
Nursing moms have to stay away from spicy foods.
Nursing moms should cut out dairy products and peanuts to avoid allergies.

Would you be surprised to learn that all the above statements are false? Let’s take down these common myths about breastfeeding women and diet, one by one.

For years, breastfeeding women have been warned that so called “gassy” foods like beans, cabbage, onions, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables would cause their babies to have painful gas. Not only does this statement needlessly restrict a new mom’s diet, it also decries a lack of understanding about the simple mechanics of lactation.

While some of these foods may cause gas in the mother, it is because of undigested carbohydrates (otherwise known as fiber!) in her digestive tract.

These carbohydrates cannot pass through the mother’s milk ducts and get into her milk, so it’s actually impossible for these foods to cause gas in a baby, unless he is allergic to that food, which is extremely rare for these types of foods (the common allergens are by far eggs, dairy, soy and wheat).

Gassiness and fussiness may be related to strong milk ejection reflex (also called the “letdown”) in the mother. Baby struggles to handle the flow of milk and so swallows a lot of air. Thorough burping may help, as well as wearing a baby upright in a sling during and after feedings.

Obviously it wouldn’t be appropriate for breastfeeding moms to drink large amounts of alcohol, primarily because it would impair her ability to care for her child properly. However, a glass of wine with dinner is not going to harm the breastfed infant. In the same vein, most babies are not bothered when mom drinks a cup or two of a caffeinated drink. Watch the baby for signs of irritability, and cut back if you think baby is sensitive to the caffeine in your milk. Since the bubbles that make carbonated drinks fizzy also cannot pass through to her milk, carbonated drinks (while not particularly healthful) won’t harm the breastfed infant. Mothers can’t make fizzy milk!

The third piece of advice, to avoid spicy foods, seems patently ridiculous when given some thought. How many millions of women the world over, eat many spicy foods as the bulk of their diet? Do they have fussy babies who suffer from painful gas? The evidence doesn’t support that. In fact the truth may actually be the opposite! More than one study has shown that babies actually preferred the taste of garlic in their mother’s milk and suckled longer, taking in more milk. There is simply no evidence that a nursing mom must eat a bland diet.

What about dairy products, peanuts and other common allergens?

Many breastfeeding experts believe that nursing moms should not needlessly restrict their diets. Life with a new infant is challenging enough. Learning to breastfeed and recuperating from birth can be stressful.

Why add to that by telling mothers to make radical changes?

The one scenario that may support mom adopting a strict allergy free diet would be if she has a strong family history of food allergy and if her baby is showing signs of allergy, including excema, extreme fussiness, vomiting, slimy (mucusy), bloody or foamy stools, and other symptoms. Keeping a detailed food diary may be the best course of action to help her decipher what foods may be causing her infant trouble.

One final note: Although postpartum mothers are often told to keep taking prenatal vitamins after their babies are born, these can and do sometimes cause uncomfortable symptoms in nursing babies. This is often due to the iron content in the supplement, which causes pain in the infant. If your baby seems to be in pain, try dropping the vitamins for a week and see if that makes a difference.

The bottom line is, breastfeeding mothers should continue eating the same healthy diet focusing on a wide variety of whole foods that they enjoy, just as they did while they were pregnant. Listening to your body and eating and drinking to hunger and thirst will ensure new moms get the nutrition they need in order to care for themselves and their infants.

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Tags: breastfeeding and diet