What Foods Should a Nursing Mother Avoid?

May 4, 2011 | By Sarah Davis

Breastfeeding a baby is the healthiest way to feed a baby, as it provides the best nutrition and protects the baby from getting sick. Breastfeeding also has health benefits for the mother. Some women have concerns about breastfeeding because they do not want to change their diet drastically and fear they will have to cut a lot of foods out. Kelly Bonyata, Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant states on her website that there really is no specific food that a nursing mother should not eat for safety reasons. But there are some foods and beverages that nursing mothers may want to avoid in order to make their babies feel more comfortable.

Spicy Foods

According to the Baby Center website, nursing moms may want to avoid eating spicy foods, such as foods with hot sauce, chili peppers or hot cayenne pepper. These foods could make the baby fussier and harder to deal with. Spicy foods can also increase gas in breastfed babies when consumed by the mother, so some breastfeeding mothers may want to avoid foods like hot wings and tangy Mexican food.

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage that should be avoided, or at least limited by nursing mothers, due to the caffeine content. Though the amount of caffeine in one or two cups of coffee each day will not harm a baby, it can make it harder for the baby to fall asleep, states Baby Center. Since the caffeine in coffee can make babies jittery and hyper, avoiding it might give mothers a little more peace. Decaffeinated coffee is another viable option for nursing mothers who don’t want their babies to become agitated or stay up too late at night.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Baby Center advise that cruciferous vegetables are another food that might need to be limited. Cruciferous vegetables are a type of fibrous vegetables, which tend to cause gas in both adults and babies. Examples of cruciferous vegetables include onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber and peppers. Though these vegetables provide many vitamins and minerals, they are also harder for the body to breakdown. Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC states that cruciferous vegetables tend to cause gas in babies when consumed by breastfeeding mothers, so breastfeeding mothers may choose to avoid them. Every baby is different, however, and some babies may do just fine when the mom eats cruciferous vegetables.

Fish

While some types of fish are safe for breastfeeding women to eat, others should be strictly avoided. The U.S. government’s MyPyramid nutrition website explains that shark, tilefish, king mackerel and swordfish should all be avoided by breastfeeding mothers because they contain high amounts of mercury. The mercury and other harmful chemicals in these fish could pass through breast milk and possibly harm the baby.

References

Article reviewed by ReneeH Last updated on: May 4, 2011