Recommendations for Good Nutrition in Lactating Mothers

• Incorporate a variety of foods in your diet, eating different grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, and meat alternates. There are no foods that you need to avoid when your breasts are producing milk (lactating). However, some spicy or strong-flavored foods may change the flavor of breast milk. This may make some babies fussy, but other babies will not even notice. If certain foods seem to upset your baby, just decrease the amount or frequency that you eat those foods.
• It is possible that your baby could be allergic to foods in your diet. If you feel this is the case, eliminate that food from your diet for a week. When you add the food back into your diet, watch for your baby’s reaction to return. Remember that it takes 4 to 6 hours for food to affect breast milk.
• Drink plenty of fluids, approximately 8 to 10, 8-oz glasses per day. Sipping from a glass while nursing and drinking when thirsty should be sufficient. Fluids may be in the form of water, fruit or vegetable juice, milk, or soup. You should not need to force fluids. Drink to thirst and enough to keep your urine a pale yellow color.
• Include fruits, vegetables, and other foods high in vitamin A. These include carrots, liver, eggs, milk, green and yellow vegetables, and sweet potatoes.
• Limit caffeinated drinks to 2 cups per day. Caffeine passes through breast milk, and it may cause your baby to become fussy.
• Do not use any products or diets suggesting rapid weight loss.
• Avoid alcohol. It passes through breast milk and can be detrimental to your baby.
• Avoid smoking or allowing any smoke around your baby. This may decrease your milk supply and cause respiratory problems for your baby.
• Check with your doctor before taking any medicine (prescribed or “over-the-counter”). Some medicine can pass through your breast milk.
• Avoid herbal products and supplements. They may have side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and convulsions. These effects may be passed on to your baby through breast milk.
• If you are a vegetarian, it is especially necessary for you to eat enough protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. The following are good, nonmeat sources of these nutrients:
  Protein sources: dairy products, eggs, peanut butter, legumes, nuts, tofu, and enriched grains
  Calcium sources: dairy products, dark leafy green vegetables, nuts, calcium-processed tofu, calcium-fortified orange juice, legumes, and enriched grains
  Vitamin B12 sources: dairy products, eggs, soy products, B12-fortified grains
  Vitamin D sources: vitamin D-fortified soymilk, regular sun exposure