Foods to avoid. Most breastfeeding moms can eat a broad range of foods to avoid without it affecting their babies. But every situation is different. If you notice that your baby seems to be fussy, sleepless, or gassy after you eat a particular food, talk to your baby’s doctor about whether the cause could be your diet or something else.
Foods to avoid or limit while breastfeeding
Foods to avoid with special safety concerns for breastfeeding moms include:
Fish: Avoid eating the following high-mercury fish species:
- Swordfish
- Shark
- King mackerel
- Marlin
- Orange roughy
- Bigeye tuna
- Tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico
But fish isn’t off limits when you’re breastfeeding, as long as you limit the amount you eat and choose low-mercury fish and seafood. In fact, it’s recommended that breastfeeding moms eat 8 to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish each week, which is a great source of DHA and EPA, two omega-3 fatty acids that are difficult to find in other foods to avoid.
Plus, you can enjoy raw fish while breastfeeding! Unlike during pregnancy, there’s no need to avoid sushi, poke, or seared tuna.
Alcohol: It’s safest not to drink any alcohol while breastfeeding, but it’s okay to have an occasional drink if you:
- Time it carefully. Breastfeed your baby (or pump breast milk) immediately before drinking, if possible. After you have a drink, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding. If your breasts are full before that waiting period ends, you can pump and dump your breast milk. If your baby needs to eat before the two hours are up, feed them previously expressed breast milk.
- Allow for individual factors that affect blood alcohol level. These include whether you’ve had any food and how much you weigh.
- Drink in moderation. The waiting period is two hours per drink, so it’s difficult to have more than one drink safely unless you have an older baby who doesn’t nurse as frequently. The same amount of alcohol that makes it into your bloodstream makes it into your breast milk, so that waiting period is important.
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Caffeine: Too much could overstimulate your baby. It’s fine to have two or three cups of coffee (300 milligrams of caffeine) spread throughout the day, but more than that could disrupt your baby’s sleep or make them fussy. Keep in mind that caffeine is also found in some sodas, teas, and over-the-counter medicines.
Herbs: Certain herbs, including some herbal teas, aren’t considered safe for breastfeeding moms. Since herbs can be very potent, check with your healthcare provider before taking any. Also, some herbs can decrease your milk supply.
Chocolate: Too much could overstimulate your baby. But we’re talking large amounts. It’s okay to have a few pieces of chocolate or slice of chocolate cake. But if you eat large amounts of chocolate, the theobromine (a stimulant) in the chocolate can affect your baby in much the same way as caffeine does.
Dark chocolate has more theobromine than milk chocolate, and white chocolate has no theobromine (the ingredient is in the cocoa solids). Chocolate also contains caffeine, another reason not to overdo it.
Could my baby react to a food I eat while breastfeeding?
It’s possible. If your baby seems to be reacting to a food in your diet, talk to their doctor. They could have a food intolerance, or it could be something else.
An intolerance is a digestive condition – unlike an allergy, which is an immune response. Symptoms of a food intolerance include:
- Fussiness
- Congestion
- Rash
- Vomiting
- Bloody diarrhea
The two most common causes of food intolerances in infancy are:
- Cow’s milk protein intolerance: If your baby is afflicted, avoid any food that has milk, milk products, casein, whey, or sodium caseinate in it.
- Soy protein intolerance: If your baby is afflicted, avoid all soy products, such as tofu, tempeh, tamari, soy sauce, soy milk, miso, and edamame.
Could my baby be allergic to foods I eat while breastfeeding?
Your breast milk is very unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction in your baby, even if you eat allergenic foods to avoid such as peanuts, fish, shellfish, and eggs.
If your baby has allergy symptoms (such as eczema or a rash, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, red and watery eyes, vomiting, or diarrhea), they may be caused by something they’re in regular contact with, such as soap, pet dander, dust, pollen, or foods to avoid they’re eating once they start solids.
In rare cases, a baby may be allergic to food allergens such as cow’s milk protein in the mother’s diet. If you’re worried about a reaction to allergenic foods to avoid you eat, have your baby evaluated by their healthcare provider. The only treatment for a breastfed baby with a food allergy is strict avoidance in your diet.
Will foods I eat while breastfeeding make my baby gassy?
There’s evidence that a small number of nursing babies may be sensitive to dairy products in their mom’s diet and be more gassy as a result.
You may have heard that it helps to avoid certain foods while breastfeeding – such as citrus fruits, orange juice, spices (cinnamon, curry, chili pepper), spicy food, and “gassy” veggies (cabbage, onion, broccoli, cauliflower) – but there’s no convincing scientific evidence to support that advice.
Still, if you notice that your nursing baby seems fussy, gassy, or sleepless after you eat a particular food, talk to your baby’s doctor. They may recommend eliminating the food from your diet for at least three weeks and then reintroducing it to see if there’s a consistent effect.
Should I avoid foods with strong flavors like garlic?
No. While some strongly flavored foods may change the taste of your milk, most babies seem to enjoy a variety of breast milk flavors.
Plus, the dominant flavors of your diet were in your አምኒኦቲክ ፈሳሽ during pregnancy. Fetuses swallow a fair amount of amniotic fluid before birth, so when they taste those flavors again in their mother’s breast milk, they’re already accustomed to them.
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