Breastfeeding: Tips for Nutrition and Baby Food Sensitivities to Your Diet

Tips for Breastfeeding Nutrition

Talk to your doctor about continuing a prescription prenatal vitamin with DHA while breastfeeding, even though it may contain more iron than needed. Breastfeeding women should take some type of regular multivitamin with 100% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA).
Talk to your doctor about taking supplements, especially for calcium, vitamin D, and DHA. AAP recommended values for breastfeeding women are calcium = 1000 mg, vitamin D = 600 IU or micrograms, DHA = 200-300 mg per day. If you take a calcium supplement, you may not know that calcium supplements from natural sources, such as oyster shell or bone meal, can be high in mercury. Vegans may need a vitamin supplement that contains vitamin B12.
Drink plenty of water. The average breastfeeding woman produces 25 ounces (750 to 800mL) of breast milk each day and needs to replenish fluids. If plain water is too bland, add slices of lemon, lime, or cucumber. Prioritize milk and sparkling water over juice and soda.
Eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), such as wild salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, walnuts, flaxseeds, tofu, and kidney and pinto beans. The AAP recommends 200 to 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per day, which is equal to one to two servings of fish each week.⁵⁰
Eat a variety of different foods. This should change the flavor of your breast milk and help baby accept various solid foods in the future. It also reduces your exposure to chemicals in certain foods.
Check out this Breastfeeding Grocery List for nutrient-dense foods for you and baby.

Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding

Alcohol
- Most physicians suggest no more than one drink after baby has nursed, to allow time to pass through your system, 3-4 hours. If you ingest more than one drink, or if you feed within 3 hours of drinking, consider “pumping and dumping” the milk.
Caffeine
- No more than 1 cup of coffee (caffeine can interfere with baby’s sleep and cause irritability)
Allergenic foods
- If one parent is allergic, talk to your doctor about introducing allergens, such as peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and shellfish.
High-mercury fish
- Bigeye tuna
- Tilefish
- Shark
- Swordfish
- Marlin
- Orange roughy
- King mackerel

Drinking Alcohol and Breastfeeding

If you drink alcohol while breastfeeding, wait at least three hours to feed after a drink or “pump and dump” your breast milk.

Alcohol does pass from your bloodstream into breast milk. If you drink alcohol while breastfeeding, wait at least three hours to feed after a drink or “pump and dump” your breast milk. Pumping does not clear the alcohol from your system faster, but it does keep your supply steady.

Here are some other tips:

If you pump just before drinking an alcoholic beverage, you will have milk to feed during the wait period.
Time your drink with one of baby’s longer sleep stretches.
Drink water to dilute alcohol levels.
Definitely don’t stop breastfeeding because you want to have an occasional drink.
To remove all the guesswork from the process, try Milkscreen test strips for detecting alcohol in breast milk.

Food Sensitivities While Breastfeeding

Exposing baby to various flavors is a good thing, and research shows that an infant’s palate is shaped in utero and through breastfeeding.⁵¹ Amniotic fluid and breast milk are naturally flavored by the foods that Mom eats, just as the taste of dairy milk is affected by cows grazing on garlic and onions.

With that, don’t be too quick to diagnose every gastrointestinal upset as a food sensitivity. More often than not, normal behavior due to an immature digestive system is the culprit. Think about it–children in India or Korea or Peru aren’t any more colicky or fussy than babies in the U.S. because they are exposed to curry, kimchi, and peppers. Nevertheless, if baby is consistently uncomfortable after eating, you may consider restricting the following foods for a few weeks:

soy products
coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate
peanuts
shellfish
gas-producing vegetables, such as peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower
acidic foods, such as tomatoes, citrus, and berries
strong spices, such as garlic, chili pepper, and curry

Elimination Diet

If baby is still uncomfortable, you may want to go cold turkey (literally) and try an elimination diet. An elimination diet consists of the least allergenic foods in each of the major food groups. Note: this diet is seriously bland, and after a few days, you may find yourself screaming for Thai green curry and chicken enchiladas! Here are a few staples of an elimination diet:

turkey
lamb
potatoes
sweet potatoes
rice
rice pasta
pears
zucchini
yellow squash

If baby seems to be doing better, gradually add the following healthy foods: apples, bananas, avocado, asparagus, carrots, rolled oats, yogurt, kefir, chicken, and wild salmon.

Gluten-Free and Breastfeeding

Popular books, such as bestsellers Wheat Belly by cardiologist William Davis and Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar – Your Brain’s Silent Killers by neurologist David Perlmutter, have helped to spearhead a mainstream gluten-free movement, maintaining that gluten and excess carbohydrates lead to inflammation in our bodies and brains. However, lactating non-Celiac women on a gluten-free diet should talk to their doctors. Many gluten-free products are made with un-enriched grains and starches that can be loaded with calories and short on vitamins and minerals.

If you are diagnosed with celiac disease, talk to your doctor. Strive to breastfeed your infant through baby’s gluten introduction; it may decrease his or her chance of acquiring celiac disease. Note: Celiac disease is a digestive and autoimmune disorder that can damage the lining of the small intestine.
If you are a non-celiac on a gluten-free diet “just because,” talk to your doctor. Without proper monitoring, a gluten-free diet can leave you depleted of B vitamins, iron, calcium, zinc, and fiber. For example, breads made with tapioca, rice, and other gluten-free flours are typically not fortified. Fortified breads and cereals are some of the top sources of B vitamins for women in the U.S. This group especially needs vitamin B_9,also known as folic acid or folate, to prevent birth defects.
To maintain a gluten-free diet, focus on good sources of gluten-free foods to boost potentially deficient areas.
- Sources of gluten-free fiber: beans, quinoa, ground flax seeds, berries, sweet potatoes with skin, nuts, kale, chia seeds, broccoli, and prunes
- Sources of gluten-free iron: beef, poultry, liver, soybeans/edamame, lentils, green peas, spinach, and amaranth
- Sources of gluten-free calcium: milk, hard cheese, yogurt, fortified milks (almond, soy, etc.), and green leafy vegetables
- Sources of gluten-free B vitamins: meats, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, beans, quinoa, GF oatmeal, brown rice,enriched products (Rice Chex, etc.)
- Sources of gluten-free zinc: poultry, beef, liver, dark turkey meat, pecans, pumpkin seeds, beans, and brown rice

For more high-quality baby content, try the following articles:

Sources

50. Eidelman, A.I., Breastfeeding and the use of human milk: an analysis of the American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Breastfeeding Policy Statement. Breastfeed Med, 2012. 7(5): p. 323-4.

51. Mennella, J.A., C.P. Jagnow, and G.K. Beauchamp Prenatal and postnatal flavor learning by human infants. Pediatrics, 2001. 107, e88.