Our prenatal groups, doctors and midwives talk to us about our nutritional needs during pregnancy – more calories, iron, calcium and other important nutrients. We don’t, however, hear much about our nutrient needs after baby arrives. Anyone who has, or is now, breastfeeding knows how much it ‘takes out of you’ – I know I do!
The Basics
Calories: A breastfeeding mom need up to 500 additional calories a day to support milk production. However, if you’re hoping to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight, you may need to subtract a few calories to support weight loss. Click to learn your Individual Calorie Level for Breastfeeding.
Stick to healthy foods and spread your caloric intake over five “meals,” breakfast, lunch, after- noon snack, dinner, and an extra snack during the evening. Each snack time is also an opportunity to drink water, eat a low-fat dairy product, and a piece of fruit. As your body is continually producing milk, it needs your caloric intake to be regular.
Eat more protein. The basic rule is to eat 1 gram of protein each day for every pound you weigh.
Vitamin C & Vitamin A: Increased requirements. Eating an extra fruit, and vegetable, each day is all you need. Be careful about taking Vitamin A supplements – this fat-soluble vitamin can be harmful if you take too much. Anyone who eats enough carrots, vegetables, butter, fish, and meat will absorb enough vitamin A.
Take zinc supplements. According to a British study, pregnant and nursing women also often lack zinc. They should consume 15 to 20 milligrams per day. Zinc is found in eggs, meat, whole flour, and oats.
Consume 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day. A balanced diet only provides 800 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily. Because nursing mothers need 1,200 milligrams, a calcium supplement is probably necessary – a liquid calcium citrate is best.
Increase your water consumption so that you are drinking a total of 2.5 to 3 L. Nursing women tend to be thirstier anyway, especially during feeding sessions, because part of their water consumption goes directly to milk production. But don’t overdo it: too much liquid also can reduce milk production.
Hope this helps some of you breastfeeding mommies!
Danielle Van Schaick
Registered Dietitian
www.danihealth.com
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This is great info- I wish I’d had it when I was breastfeeding. I did some of this stuff but it would have been helpful to have it all laid out like you’ve done here.
http://www.alternet.org/health/81773
I found this article online and thought it very relevant as far as getting the right nutrition while breastfeeding. It’s a very informative (albeit long) read.
“A study led by Lukas Rist, head of research at the Paracelsus Hospital in Switzerland, demonstrated how farm practices affect health even several levels up the food chain. Rist analyzed milk samples from 312 breastfeeding mothers. He found that mothers consuming at least 90 per cent of their dairy and meat from organic sources have 36 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk than mothers eating conventional dairy and meat. Rumenic acid is one of a group of compounds that nutritional research suggests have anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, and immune-modulating effects, and that favorably influence body fat composition.”
This is a well-meaning article, but has several inaccuries in it. As this is an important topic, I think it would be very helpful to have it reviewed by an IBCLC-International Board Certified Lactation Consultant-before publishing.
I can recommend a local IBCLC if you like. It would also be appropriate to cite your sources at the bottom of the article.
There’s a few things that stand out to me. The first thing is that many moms will actually choose not to breastfeed because they think they need to eat like a saint while breastfeeding. This is not true. Everybody should eat a healthy diet, not just nursing moms. La Leche League International recommends mothers eat a “well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible” and that mothers “drink to thirst”.
“As your body is continually producing milk, it needs your caloric intake to be regular. ”
Sorry, but this is false. Milk production is alot more robust than this. The rate of milk production depends on how full a mother’s breasts are and how frequent/effective her baby is at emptying them.
Re calcium-The dairy industry has such power! Why is it that in countries where they consume less calcium/day than we do do they also have less osteoporosis?
Why are you recommending that nursing mothers need calcium supplements when “calcium intake from diet or supplements does not prevent bone loss during lactation nor does it influence the recovery of calcium-status after weaning” (Kalkwarf, & Specker, 2002) It is normal for moms to lose some bone density during breastfeeding; this bone density is restored after weaning. Breastfeeding reduces a woman’s risk of osteoporosis. There is also “no relationship between breastmilk calcium concentrations and maternal calcium intake through food or calcium supplements.”
” too much liquid also can reduce milk production. ”
Again, this is false. There was a study done back in 1985 where they asked 26 moms to drink at least 25% more water than usual for a month. At the end of the study, it was found that the moms were producing on average 17ml than at the beginning of the study. Although the results of this study have been misinterpreted, the study results clearly stated that this difference was *not* statistically significant.
So many women I know continue eating more than they need after they give birth. 500 calories is ultimately the 2 snacks a day. By adding those snacks, a woman should be able to eat a healthy, balanced diet and still lose weight. I understand that dairy intake is important during breast feeding, but what should a woman do if she’s lactose intolerant?
Hi ‘health insurance’,
Thank you for your comment. To answer your question about lactose intolerance, there are many lactose-free dairy products (milk, cheese, and even yogurts). Also, milk alternatives (soy, rice, almond milks) and other high-calcium foods can also be eaten.
I also wanted to make a comment on the NEW calcium recommendations. The current DRIs suggest that “pregnant and lactating women do not need more calcium than their non-pregnant / non-lactating counterparts because during pregnancy and lactation the body is more efficient at absorption and utilization”. Therefore, lactating moms need 1000mg/day, not 1200mg.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/vita-d-eng.php