Medical expert of the article
New publications
Can I drink coffee to my nursing mother?
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Most female coffee lovers had time to get out of their habit even during pregnancy - after all, doctors are not advised to drink this drink to future moms. But those who did not heed this advice, can think about the possibility of drinking coffee with the onset of breastfeeding. Let's put it bluntly: even in this period it is better to abstain from drinking a drink. According to specialists, caffeine often causes insomnia in a child, babies become restless and moody.
If you really want to drink a cup of a fragrant drink, you can use its substitutes - for example, there are analogues based on barley or chicory. Of course, a full-fledged coffee these analogs will not replace, but - after all, is the feeling of crumbs more important?
Can a nursing mother drink instant coffee?
Many women believe that instant coffee for the baby is not dangerous, because it has less caffeine. This is not quite true: the difference is really small. If a cup of custard contains 80 mg of caffeine, then in a cup of soluble - about 60 mg.
In addition, a soluble beverage can contain a lot of not very useful additives: dyes, preserving and flavoring agents. Ground coffee is deprived of these additives, or contains them in a small amount.
Soluble coffee has other disadvantages: it increases acidity in the stomach, irritates the mucous, helps to remove vitamins and minerals from the body (and they are so necessary for a small child).
By its action on the nervous system of the baby, instant coffee is in no way inferior to the usual brew. Therefore, it is better to refuse from it during breast feeding.
Can I drink green coffee to nursing mothers?
After giving birth, every woman dreams of bringing her body back to normal: someone needs to lose weight, and someone just pull up the stomach. Since it is not recommended to sit on a diet for losing weight to nursing mothers, then other ways of getting rid of extra pounds and cellulite come to mind. One such method is green coffee.
But: is green coffee safe for an infant?
According to scientists, the effect of green and roasted grains on the nervous system is approximately the same, so there is no significant difference between these types of beverage. And the one and the other coffee is not recommended, both in the process of gestation, and during lactation. In addition, green coffee can provoke a baby allergic and digestive disorders (impaired appetite, colic, diarrhea).
Green coffee is unlikely to be useful for a nursing woman. It is better to temporarily exclude it, replacing it with more useful liquids.
[3]
Can I drink chicory to a nursing mother?
Chicory to taste a bit like coffee, so it is often chosen by those who, for one reason or another, coffee is contraindicated - for example, pregnant and lactating women. Chicory is the root that is ground and fried. It is roasting and gives the drink a distinctive coffee flavor.
Unlike coffee, a drink from chicory does not cause overexcitation, does not increase blood pressure, does not increase heart rate, does not affect sleep. Therefore, it is allowed to drink without problems with breastfeeding.
The benefits of this drink is undeniable. But the most useful is considered chicory, which is made in the form of a thick extract. Soluble product can be both useful and useless - sometimes producers dilute the root with apple pectin, which reduces the cost of the final product. Some, on the contrary, add to the root various vitamins and trace elements. In any case, no harm will come from any of these drinks. Therefore, you can drink it safely: with honey, lemon, sugar, or yourself.
Is it possible to breastfeed mothers to drink cocoa?
When talking about products that are not desirable to use in the lactation period, it is invariably called such as chocolate and cocoa. These foods contain caffeine, but in much lesser amounts than coffee or tea. But the greatest danger of cocoa is that this product can cause allergies.
A woman certainly does not need to drink cocoa during the first month of the baby's life. If in the family someone has an allergy to chocolate, then the use of cocoa should be delayed up to 3 months. Possible allergy to milk is also taken into account.
If the mother wants to eat cocoa with breastfeeding, then she should start with small portions - first 50 ml, then 100 ml. After drinking the drink, you need to observe the reaction of the baby. In order not to miss a possible allergy, a woman should drink cocoa in the morning - and watch the baby until evening. If there were any rashes, swelling, redness - it is necessary to immediately show the baby to the doctor, and exclude cocoa from the diet.
Even if the child tolerates cocoa well, it is not recommended to breastfeed her mother more than two or three times a week.