Nutrition During Lactation

What Should I Eat While I’m Breastfeeding?

After all the rules of foods to avoid during pregnancy, many women wonder what they can and can’t eat while breastfeeding. The good news is there aren’t any foods you have to avoid while you’re breastfeeding! However, during lactation your energy and nutrient needs are still high, so you will need to continue to eat and drink water frequently to meet your needs. You don’t need to eat any special foods to breastfeed or make nutritious milk, but focusing on eating often and incorporating a variety of foods will keep you nourished and help you make enough milk throughout your breastfeeding journey.

Aim to Eat Every 2-3 Hours

To meet the energy demands of lactation, aim to eat at least every 2-3 hours, or sooner if you feel hungry. In the early days of breastfeeding, this might look like having something to eat after each time you breastfeed or express milk. You may also find it helpful to set reminders or alarms on your phone to help you remember to eat. Keep a basket of snacks in all the places you typically breastfeed or express milk to provide easy opportunities to nourish yourself between meals. Consider including water bottles and foods such as granola/protein bars, trail mix/nuts, dried fruit, nut butter, fruit cups, and whole grain crackers.

Normalize Being Hungrier Than Usual – And Respond by Eating!

There’s so much pressure on moms from our culture to restrict calories, lose weight, and get their “pre-baby bodies” back. However, it’s normal to feel especially hungry during the postpartum period as your body heals and throughout the course of lactation – and it’s a GOOD thing to eat regularly! Lactation is energy-intensive and there are protective mechanisms in place to keep the nursing mom’s body from losing too much energy and nutrient stores. Learning to accept and trust our bodies the way they’re designed to support both our health and that of our babies during pregnancy and breastfeeding is an important part of normalizing the increased hunger associated with these life stages.

Rather than worrying about adding a certain number of calories each day, follow your hunger cues and eat about every 2-3 hours or sooner if you feel hungry. If you’re not sure if you’re having regular hunger cues, consider consulting a registered dietitian to make sure you’re eating enough and to provide you with individualized nutrition advice.

Include Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats

Instead of focusing on adding special foods to your diet to boost your milk supply (there aren’t any foods that have been shown by research to do this!), focus on getting a variety of foods that include protein, complex carbs, and unsaturated fats to meet your energy needs. Aim to include carbs, protein, fat, and fiber at each meal. At snacks, pairing carbs with a source of protein, fat, and fiber will help you feel full and satisfied for a longer period of time.

Protein is important for all different functions in the body and serves as the building block for many structures, such as bone, muscle, skin, blood, hormones, antibodies, and vitamins. Vary your protein intake with both animal (e.g. chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, beef, pork, eggs, dairy) and plant sources (e.g. beans, lentils, nuts/seeds, nut butter, tofu) to help meet your needs for other nutrients like vitamin D, iron, zinc, and fiber.

Carbohydrates provide us with energy to sustain us through the day and keep our brain and other organs functioning, which is especially important for breastfeeding. They also help maintain our blood sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates like whole wheat breads/pastas, oats, brown rice, beans, and starchy vegetables provide fiber (to keep you full longer and help with digestion) in addition to B vitamins, iron, magnesium, and selenium.

Fats in the food we eat provide us with energy and support an adequate milk supply. They also help us absorb certain vitamins, protect our organs, contribute to hormone production, and support many cellular functions. Unsaturated fats are particularly beneficial and are found in foods like nuts/nut butter, avocado, chia seeds, flaxseed, olive oil and other plant-based oils, and fatty fish (such as salmon, sardines). The types of fat you eat influence the types of fat in your breast milk, so adding more healthy fats will help your baby get more healthy fats through your milk!

Eat a Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other compounds that meet our daily nutrient needs while protecting against chronic diseases. Different colored fruits and vegetables often have different vitamin and mineral contents, so a common nutrition mantra is to “eat a rainbow” of fruits and vegetables – this continues to apply during lactation! With higher vitamin and mineral needs during lactation, breastfeeding moms benefit from eating all colors of fruits and vegetables to help meet their needs. Many fruits and vegetables are also good sources of fiber to help with digestion. Foods like smoothies and soups can be easy ways to fit in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Frozen vegetables are great to keep on hand for an easy side. Fruits and raw vegetables (such as carrots, grape tomatoes, snow peas, broccoli, cucumbers, peppers, and celery) make great additions to snacks.

Keep Meals Simple

Nourishing yourself and your baby is a full-time job. If you don’t enjoy cooking or just want to minimize time cooking meals, think about simple meal components vs. cooking a more complex recipe. For example, you can pair a grain (from a microwaveable pouch to save even more time) with pre-made rotisserie chicken and a frozen vegetable or salad kit to make a complete meal.

Drink Water to Thirst

The general recommendation for fluid intake during lactation is 16 cups per day, but needs vary from person to person. Make sure you’re drinking water to thirst, and use your urine color as a reference point (darker color urine usually indicates the need to drink more water).

To help make sure you’re hydrated, keep water with you wherever you go, including wherever you usually nurse in your home. Add a splash of fruit juice, cucumber slices, or fruit (such as berries, citrus, pineapple, peaches, melon) to add flavor and help you drink more water!