Categories

What Are The Risks With Caffeine And Breast Feeding?

Many new mothers have heard that caffeine and breast feeding do not mix. Is this an old wives' tale, or is there some truth behind the idea that breast feeding and caffeine should not go together. Try to take the morning cup of coffee away from a new mom who got no sleep the night before, and you will understand why some moms are not willing to give up their caffeine no matter if they are breast feeding or not. Sometimes that morning cup of coffee is the only thing that can get the sleep-deprived mom out of bed!

How Much Caffeine Is OK?

The best rule of thumb when it comes to caffeine and breast feeding is believed to be that a mom is safe with no more than 750 milliliters of caffeine a day. This is about five small cups of coffee. With this amount of caffeine, neither the mother nor the baby who are nursing should experience any problems.

What Is The Big Deal?

The problem with mothers drinking caffeine and breast feeding at the same time is that new moms often only calculate the amount of caffeine in their drinks. They forget that many pain medications contain caffeine. They also forget to count the caffeine in their chocolate foods. Counting caffeine when breast feeding means that you count every singly form of caffeine that enters your body.

The problem with caffeine and breast feeding is that the caffeine does enter the mother's milk, which means that the baby is ingesting the caffeine. If a baby receives too much caffeine it can make her fussy, overly active, and wide-eyed. What happens is that over time, the caffeine in the baby's blood stream actually accumulates. This is why one cup of coffee does not harm the baby, but over doing it might be a problem.

Mothers should watch their babies carefully to see if there seems to be a sensitivity to caffeine. If so, then the mother should avoid drinking caffeine whenever possible, and see if the symptoms disappear. It will take up to three weeks for all of the caffeine to leave the baby's system, so mothers should not expect overnight results. If the problems that the baby is experiencing clear up after eliminating all forms of caffeine and still breast feeding, then the mom has found the problem.

There have been no studies that show that there are long term risks with breast feeding and caffeine consumption, so that is encouraging. The problems are temporary, and if the baby seems to be fine, then a mom can rest assured that she is not consuming too much caffeine.

More Breast Feeding Articles

Adult Breast Feeding - Unusual But Quite Common

Advantages Of Breast Feeding: Everyone Benefits

Breast Feeding Your Baby Gives The best Start!

Benefits Of Breast Feeding For The Whole Family

Breast Feeding And Alcohol - How Harmful It Is For The Baby

Breast Feeding And Birth Control - There Is A Strong Correlation Here

Breast Feeding And Human Lactation - A Boon From God

Breast Feeding and Medication - May Spell Disaster

Breast Feeding and Menstruation -The Connection And Meaning

Breast Feeding And Pregnancy - A Natural Contraceptive

Breast Feeding And Weight Loss: A Fallacy?

Is It Possible For Breast Feeding Babies To Bottle Feed?

Finding A Good Breast Feeding Bra

Breast Feeding Clothing - Convenience As Well As Presentability

What Should A Breast Feeding Mom's Diet Be?

Where To Turn If You Need Breast Feeding Help

Best Sources For Breast Feeding Information

Alternatives When You Have Breast Feeding Problems

Breast Feeding Pump - The Uses And The Need

Where to go to Find Breastfeeding Clothes

Understanding Breastfeeding Nutrition

The Advantages of a Breastfeeding Pillow

An Important Breastfeeding Tip & Trick Guide

The Breastfeeding Toddler Basics: What you Should Know

The Issue of Breastfeeding Vs Bottle Feeding

Understanding About Breastfeeding Weaning

What Are The Risks With Caffeine And Breast Feeding?

Hand In Hand? Dieting And Breast Feeding

The Importance of Dieting While Breastfeeding

Extended Breast Feeding - A Common Occurrence Today

Does Fenugreek Help With Breast Feeding?

How to Lose Weight While Breastfeeding

A Hard Nine Months: Pregnant While Breast Feeding

The Issue of Smoking and Breastfeeding

What Is The Right Age To Stop Breast Feeding?

The Bittersweet End Of An Era: Stopping Breast Feeding

Vicodin And Breast Feeding - Is This A Good Combination?

When Is Weaning From Breast Feeding Appropriate?

Zoloft And Breast Feeding - Is It Safe Or Not?

Breast Feeding Home

Diseases & Conditions
Celiac Disease
Constipation
Heartburn
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Migraine Headaches

Diet & Exercise
Atkins Diet
Bodybuilding
Glycemic Index
Hoodia
Yoga

Women's Health
Anti Aging
Maternity
Menopause
Varicose Veins
Yeast Infections

Men's Health
Hair Loss
Impotence
Prostate
Vasectomy

Child Health
Acne
Baby Care
Child Care
Toddlers

Senior Health
Health Insurance
Retirement
Senior Housing
Stair Lifts
Wheelchairs

Mental Health
Anger Management
Anxiety
Insomnia
Life Coaching
Rehabilitation

Alternative Health
Colon Cleansing
Hypnosis
Laser Eye Surgery
Natural Remedies
Tummy Tuck

legal notices and disclaimers | privacy policy | site map