Breastfeeding Myths: The Great Caffeine Debate

In recent years, breastfeeding has become a more popular choice for many mothers that desire to offer their child the best possible start in life. However, breastfeeding myths still seem to prevail. In part five of this series; we'll explore the belief that a breastfeeding mom can't have caffeine.

Most women choose to avoid caffeine when they are pregnant (although moderate caffeine intake appears to be okay). But what about after baby arrives? Do you still need to give it up?

Enjoy Your Venti, Mocha Cappuccino! But . . .

The American Academy of Pediatrics has approved caffeine for consumption by breastfeeding mothers. While caffeine does enter the breast milk, it will not hurt your baby, especially if you had the occasional cup of joe while pregnant.

However, many babies are sensitive to caffeine, especially when they are under 6 months old. If you do drink caffeine, watch your child and make sure they aren't too fussy or wakeful. As a baby gets older his or her body will better be able to process the caffeine. In the early weeks, my son went through a fussy spell and cutting back on caffeine for a bit seemed to help. Bear in mind, it may take a few weeks before you get caffeine completely out of your system and you should always cut back on caffeine slowly.

How Much is Too Much?

Sorry, no one size fits all answer hear. Some babies can tolerate quite a bit of caffeine while some can hardly tolerate any. A good rule of thumb seems to be no more than 5 5-oz cups of coffee a day. KellyMom.com offers a handy chart to help you identify the amounts of caffeine in various foods and drinks (http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/caffeine.html).

Will it Affect Milk Supply?

This appears to be another breastfeeding myth. Many nursing mothers indulge in caffeine, yet no study has ever shown a connection. Now, if caffeine is making your baby so jittery they can't latch on properly, you may find a drop in supply, but if that's the case, you should probably cut back on your consumption for many reasons.

Caffeine Lingers