How much to eat while breastfeeding | Happy Mother Biography (2023)

FAQs

How much should a breastfeeding mom eat a day? ›

An additional 330 to 400 kilocalories (kcal) per day is recommended for well-nourished breastfeeding mothers, compared with the amount they were consuming before pregnancy (approximately 2,000 to 2,800 kcal per day for breastfeeding women verses 1,600 to 2,400 kcal per day for moderately active, non-pregnant women who ...

Many breastfeeding moms feel extra hungry, which makes sense: Your body is working nonstop to produce breast milk for your growing baby. Eating several small meals per day, with healthy snacks in between, is a good way to keep your hunger in check and your energy levels high.

Do I need extra calories when breastfeeding? Breastfeeding mums need around 500 more calories a day than non-breastfeeding mums,⁵ but every woman is different, and your energy needs will change during your breastfeeding journey.

Signs of Poor Nutrition Postpartum

You may not be getting enough to eat as a new mom if you find yourself experiencing any of the following signs and symptoms: Feeling sluggish, lack of energy, and chronically fatigued. Recurring headaches. Lethargy.

You cannot overfeed a breastfed baby, and your baby will not become spoiled or demanding if you feed them whenever they're hungry or need comfort.

Breastfeeding makes you hungry.

In the first 3 to 12 months postpartum, your body burns between 300-500 calories a day producing breast milk – definitely enough to make you hungry.

Include protein foods 2-3 times per day such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and seeds. Eat three servings of vegetables, including dark green and yellow vegetables per day. Eat two servings of fruit per day. Include whole grains such as whole wheat breads, pasta, cereal and oatmeal in your daily diet.

A slow, gradual weight loss of 1 pound per week or 4 pounds per month is a safe goal for breastfeeding moms who wish to lose weight. Women who eat less than 1,800 calories per day may reduce the amount of milk their bodies make. Stress, anxiety and fatigue also can decrease milk production.

Restricting calories too much, especially during the first few months of breastfeeding, may decrease your milk supply and much-needed energy levels. Fortunately, breastfeeding alone has been shown to promote weight loss, especially when continued for 6 months or longer.

Will my milk supply decrease if I don't eat enough? ›

When you are nursing a baby, your body needs extra calories to make breast milk. Reducing the amount of food you eat, whether on purpose or by accident, can affect your breast-milk production, make nursing more difficult and derail your breast-feeding efforts entirely.

It may only take your baby about 5 to 10 minutes to empty each breast and get all the milk they need; however, this is different for everyone.

The first few days: Your breast milk coming in

Around day three after your baby's birth, your breast milk 'comes in' and your breasts may start to feel noticeably firmer and fuller.

Breastmilk oversupply, or overproducing breastmilk, is defined simply as producing more milk than one's baby needs. Since all mamas and babies are different, there is no set measurement to help diagnose breastmilk oversupply.

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest that mothers across the globe exclusively breastfeed infants for the first six months of life. This means no other food or drink besides breast milk for the first half year of a baby's life.

Bottle-fed babies

Newborn: every 2 to 3 hours. At 2 months: every 3 to 4 hours. At 4 to 6 months: every 4 to 5 hours. At 6+ months: every 4 to 5 hours.

Your body produces more prolactin (the hormone that promotes milk production) when you breastfeed at night, so night feedings help to keep up milk production. As well, mothers vary in the amount of milk they can store in their breasts, so for many women night feedings are essential to meeting their babies' needs.

Sweets and fatty foods are the mostly craved items by mothers in general during breastfeeding which is related to changes in brain activity due to the baby's need for milk. Certain foods may cause a chemical reaction in the body that increases one's desire for them.

Which fruit increase breast milk? ›

Yes! You can enjoy pizza while breastfeeding. Just pay attention to cues from your baby to make sure they're not sensitive to dairy. It's generally recommended that you can eat whatever you like unless you notice a clear reaction in your baby to a particular food you ate.

With all you have on your plate as a breastfeeding parent, you may find yourself snacking or grazing more throughout the day — and that's totally fine. Padding your diet with extra snacks can be a healthy way to reach your extra calorie requirements.

Peanuts and breastfeeding

Unless you're allergic to peanuts, there's no evidence to suggest you should avoid them (or any peanut based foods like peanut butter) while breastfeeding. If you're worried about it, or concerned about your baby developing a food allergy, speak to your doctor or health visitor.

Breastfeeding. It takes about 500 extra calories a day to make breast milk. You get those extra calories from the foods that you eat every day and the fat that is already stored in your body. Using up those fat stores helps you to lose weight gained in pregnancy faster.

The reasons why some women may have a harder time losing their baby weight while breastfeeding can be diverse. For one, breastfeeding tends to increase hunger. Studies show that some women eat more and move less while nursing — compensating for the extra calorie burn of breastfeeding ( 17 ).

Drink more water. Breastmilk includes lots of water, so it can be a struggle to increase your breast milk production if you aren't well hydrated. In addition to drinking regular water, you may want to consider some lactation tea.

While nursing, you should not consume less than 1500-1800 calories per day, and most women should stay at the high end of this range.

What are the recommended guidelines for weight loss? Breastfeeding mothers should consume at least 1800 calories a day and can safely lose around 1 lb/week (La Leche League, 2010; Lauwers & Swisher, 2015). Aim to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while minimizing empty carbohydrates and junk food.

Women who breastfed exclusively for at least 3 months had a 1.3-pound (0.59 kg) (95% CI: 0.2,2.5 pounds, p<0.05) greater weight loss at 6 months postpartum, relative to those who did not breastfed or breastfed non-exclusively.

What are 5 factors that affect milk production? ›

Genetic background, climate, diseases, feeding, year and season of calving have been reported to affect milk production, lactation length and dry period [2, 3]. Breed, age, stage of lactation, parity and milking frequency also influence performance production [2, 3].

I would definitely stay away from it, even if your breastfeeding child is older. The 5:2 diet, where you eat 500 to 600 calories on two days per week is a diet that will likely decrease your milk supply over time, since eating less than 1500 calories per day has been shown to decrease milk supply.

Your body will generally hold on to an extra 5-10 pounds above your pre-pregnancy weight, until several weeks after weaning and this is to protect your ability to produce milk, in case of illnesses or famine/severe calorie restriction, which is often seen in fad diets.

A Word From Verywell

How much water you need to drink while breastfeeding varies per individual. You may need more than the recommended 128 ounces a day—especially in hot weather or if you are more active than the average person. Check your urine color to determine if you are drinking the right amount of water for you.

Eat at least 1500-1800 calories per day

While nursing, you should not consume less than 1500-1800 calories per day, and most women should stay at the high end of this range. Some mothers will require much more than this, but studies show that going below this number may put supply at risk.

To maintain your milk supply and your own health, if you're exclusively breastfeeding, you need to get about 300 to 500 calories per day more than what you needed to keep your pre-pregnancy weight. The best diet for a nursing woman is simply a normal, healthy, balanced diet rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

When your baby nurses again, you will get another surge of the make milk hormone, prolactin. As your baby gets older they may shorten how long a feeding lasts. Some babies will get 60 to 150 ml (2 – 5 ounces) in five minutes time. However, some babies continue to take 20 to 40 minutes per feeding.

Symptoms of dehydration while breastfeeding

Decreased milk production. Fatigue. Muscles cramps. Headaches.