Spicy Foods or Alcohol If You Are Breast-feeding

myth
No spicy foods or alcohol if you are breast - feeding!
reality
You can have a beer with your enchiladas.

the facts
If you’re consuming a healthful, balanced diet, you needn’t be obsessive about restricting certain foods and beverages from your diet. Even if you make poor food choices, your baby will still extract the nutrition he requires from your breast milk; but chances are you’ll feel a lot better if you eat a good diet. So, is it true that if you eat garlic or onions or cabbage, and drink liquor, your baby will have an upset tummy or suffer from the effects of your alcohol consumption?

Some studies have shown that babies get gassy after their mothers eat foods from the cabbage family (like Brussels sprouts, kale, or caulifl ower), or that they balk at “ garlicky ” tasting milk. But unless your infant is truly sensitive and colicky, he can handle a varied diet. It takes about fi ve hours for the foods you eat to pass into your milk supply, so if you’re concerned about the “ tummy connection, ” pay attention to what you eat and when you eat it.

As for alcohol, you avoided it during your pregnancy, but now that you’re breast - feeding, can you resume drinking an occasional serving of beer, wine, or other liquor? Many doctors agree that no harm will come from occasional or light (not heavy) alcohol consumption — a few drinks over the course of a week, for instance. Very little alcohol makes it into the breast milk supply, especially if you consume food with the alcohol. If you ’ re at all concerned, then breast - feed (or express milk) before having a drink. By the time your baby is ready for his next feeding, you will have metabolized the alcohol (in a 120 - pound woman consuming an average drink, this takes about two and a half hours).

There is no evidence that having an occasional alcoholic drink during breast - feeding harms babies permanently; so no need to “ pump and dump ” your milk if you ’ ve had a single drink. However, you may prefer that your baby not be exposed to milk that may contain any alcohol if you suspect he has a reaction to even the smallest amount. In one study, babies who nursed after their mothers ingested a small serving of alcohol sucked more frequently during the fi rst minute of feeding, but then took in less milk in later feedings. Researchers could discern a different odor in the milk of alcohol - consuming mothers, so perhaps the babies drank less because they didn ’ t like the smell of the milk. However, the babies also took shorter but more frequent naps, which suggests that perhaps they consumed less milk because they were sleepy.

What about caffeine? Unless you can clearly connect its consumption to ill effects in your baby (irritability or wakefulness, for instance), you needn ’ t avoid it completely. However, babies are unable to eliminate caffeine from their systems effectively, so it may build up and cause problems for days or even weeks after you ’ ve ingested it. Pay attention to your consumption of caffeinated beverages (not just coffee and colas, but energy drinks, certain caffeine - containing cold remedies, and substances like chocolate — though white chocolate has no caffeine) and moderate your consumption accordingly.

Posted in: Baby Feeding,Breast Feeding