What not to eat (and drink) when breastfeeding

Eating well while you’re breastfeeding is not only essential for your baby, it also makes you feel good! A healthy, balanced diet is a great form of self-care, and when you’ve got a tiny human in need of constant care, self-care is more important than ever. If you’re breastfeeding, there are a few foods and drinks that are best to avoid to ensure optimal health for both you and bub.

Some of the food and drinks below are best avoided to keep your baby safe (like alcohol) but some, like sugary soft drinks, are on the list for your own energy levels and overall health.

The big one. Drinking alcohol isn’t recommended during pregnancy, and that advice lives on while you’re breastfeeding. Alcohol travels through breast milk and can affect your baby's health and development. If you do drink, max it out at one standard drink (and double check what constitutes a standard drink—an average 150ml glass of white wine is about 1.6 standard drinks). You can also use a tracking app like Feed Safe to monitor when it’s safe to feed your baby again.

Okay, not technically a food, but it is recommended that if you’re breastfeeding, you do not smoke. Cigarette smoke can pass through into your breastmilk and affect your baby’s development. Raising Children suggests that if you are smoking while breastfeeding, always smoke outside, and wait at least one hour after smoking before breastfeeding your bub.

The same goes for vapes. It’s safest for bub to not vape if you’re breastfeeding. If you are going to vape, always try to vape outside and wait an hour at least before you breastfeed your baby. And remember, cigarette and vape smoke can linger on your hair, clothes and hands, so if you can, change into a new outfit before feeding and wash your hands.

Breastfeeding is thirsty work, but hold up before you reach for a can of soft drink. Sugar might give you a temporary ‘feel good’ moment, but you’ll have a sugar crash soon enough. Soft drinks, flavoured milk, energy drinks and fruit juice are all high in sugar and are best kept at a minimum while breastfeeding. If you’re thirsty, opt for water. Or try making a delicious filling and thirst-quenching smoothie.

This one is a doozy, especially if your little one is keeping you up all night and you’re desperate for a caffeine hit, but caffeine is carried through breastmilk, and newborns are very sensitive to it. The good news is, you don’t have to cut out coffee altogether while breastfeeding. Up to 200mg of caffeine is considered a safe amount, which is roughly one cup of espresso, two cups of instant coffee, or four cups of tea.

If you’re still hankering for hot drinks after your coffee quota, you could swap coffee out for a herbal tea instead. But remember: green tea is also high in caffeine.

Mama, this is more for you. Limiting the amount of junk food you eat while breastfeeding can help maintain your own health and energy levels. Anything that’s high in saturated fat and sugar while low in fibre is firmly in camp ‘occasional’—think lollies, cakes, pies, chips and the like. But don’t feel you have to go into a health-crazed frenzy—in fact, strict dieting is also not recommended while you’re breastfeeding. It’s important to get all the nutrients from your food, so don’t skip meals or feel you need to constantly snack on celery sticks. It’s all about balance and eating food that makes you feel good.

If you’ve been craving sushi throughout your whole pregnancy, good news! The high mercury fish you’ve been told to avoid during pregnancy is fine while you’re breastfeeding, according to Better Health, as it appears to only be a threat to your baby’s development while in the womb. Not enough mercury can be passed through breastmilk to pose a risk to bub when eating the recommended amount of fish.

You might have heard from your midwife (or your mum) that there are certain foods to avoid while breastfeeding, as they can upset your baby and give them wind. The main culprits are ‘windy’ foods like cabbage and onion, however, according to Better Health, there’s little evidence to suggest the food you eat can give your baby gas. Still, if you feel like there’s a correlation, try minimising these windy foods to see if it makes a difference.

Then you might like to read our guide to choosing the right breast pump. The advice when it comes to food and drinks to avoid during breastfeeding is the same if you’re pumping breast milk too.