What to drink to increase breast milk naturally at home
- what you should eat when breastfeeding
- what you should not eat when breastfeeding
- what should you avoid when breastfeeding
- what food you should avoid when breastfeeding
Symptoms of not eating enough while breastfeeding.
17 foods to avoid while breastfeeding
What not to eat and drink when breastfeeding
If your baby is sensitive to certain foods or drinks, you may need to avoid them. This is because traces of what you eat and drink can pass through to your breast milk.
If you have any concerns, talk to your health visitor or GP.
Caffeine
It's not just tea and coffee that contains caffeine – it's in chocolate, and various energy drinks and soft drinks.
It's sensible to cut caffeine out while breastfeeding because it's a stimulant so can make your baby restless.
If you do drink caffeine, try not to have more than 300mg a day.
To give you an idea of what that looks like:
- 1 mug of filter coffee = 140mg
- 1 mug of instant coffee = 100mg
- 1 mug of tea = 75mg
- 1 (250ml) can of energy drink = 80mg (larger cans may contain up to 160mg caffeine)
- 1 (354mls) cola drink = 40mg
- 1 (50g) plain chocolate bar = up to 50mg
Alcohol
It's safer not to drink any alcohol while breastfeeding, but an occasional drink is unlikely to harm your baby – 1 or 2 units of alcohol, once or twice a week, should be fin
- what you should eat while breastfeeding
- what you should not eat while breastfeeding