Diet During Breastfeeding
Women who are breastfeeding need to be careful about what they eat and drink, since things can be passed to the baby through the breast milk. Just like during pregnancy, breastfeeding women should avoid fish that are high in mercury, and limit lower mercury fish intake. If a woman ingests alcohol, a small amount can be passed to the baby through breast milk. Alcohol-containing breastmilk has been shown to have a detrimental effect on motor development. Caffeine intake should be kept to no more than 300 milligrams (about one to three cups of regular coffee) per day for breastfeeding women, as excess caffeine in breastmilk can cause irritability and restlessness in infants. When consumed in normal, everyday amounts, caffeine is considered to be compatible with breastfeeding by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Read more about this topic: Breastfeeding
Famous quotes containing the word diet:
“I learned from my two years’ experience that it would cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one’s necessary food, even in this latitude; that a man may use as simple a diet as the animals, and yet retain health and strength.... Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve, not for want of necessaries, but for want of luxuries.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)