Busting Diet and Bresstfeeding, Pumping and Dumping

There are many common myths about diet during breastfeeding. These myths lead to confusion for parents, they make breastfeeding seem so much more restrictive and complicated than it needs to be and can make life more difficult for breastfeeding parents. The first rule of breastfeeding for parents with healthy babies is " If someone, especially someone in the internet(*cough* Facebook parenting groups), is making a recommendation that A. seems overly complicated and/or B. requires lots of equipment. You need to do a double check and remember that it's just breastfeeding.

1. The Myth. You need to eat a super restrictive diet well breastfeeding.

The Truth. Eat what you want and ENJOY it while breastfeeding.

For the majority of parents, no dietary changes are required for breastfeeding(1). Eat what you normally eat. Any changes to your diet would be for your benefit and to role model healthy eating for your growing family as the nutrition content of you milk will not change, with two exceptions. You an change the type, not amount, of fat in your milk by changing the type of fat in your diet(2) and the vitamin D content of you milk by increasing your own vitamin D level(3), this is because vitamin D is not a true vitamin and is actually a substance produced by the body(4). The milk from a mother eating the worst diet is still the preferred choice over artificial baby milks  and better for supporting infant health.

It's common to hear that ALL parents must remove certain foods that could potentially upset an infant's stomach such as cruciferous vegetables, garlic, and spices. In the absence of known allergies, remember its just breastfeeding.

So, what is a parent to do ?

Due to the prevalence of this myth, if an infant is displaying "fussy" behavior some parents immediately jump to the last thing they ate, at times ending up on an incredibly restrictive diet without any real clinical indications(5). What is a parent to do if they are concerned about there infant? Check for upcoming developmental milestones(I recommend the "Wonder Weeks App") like new teeth/teething, and the gooey green "drool stool" which can frequently be mistaken for food allergies and it arrives at the same time infants are going through intense developmental changes, about 3-4 months. At this point the breastfeeding parents milk is also shifting. Your breasts may not feel so full starting around 3-4 months as a natural part of adjusting to breastfeeding. Talk to you breastfeeding friendly doctor, get your latch checked or trouble shoot with a lactation educator, lactation counselor or talk to an IBCLC to check for a clinical issues.

If you are concerned about a potential food sensitively, your infants is most likely sensitive to a protein and most common one being dairy and the good news is most infants grow out of this as their systems mature. For more information about food allergies you can check out THIS resource from La Leche League, talk to your local IBCLC or your doctor.

2. The Myth. You need to pump and dump if you choose to drink while breastfeeding.

The Truth.

Can we stop beating this dead horse please?  Yes you can still breastfeed and enjoy that glass of wine with dinner or that beer on a hot day. Even the most conservative recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics is to limit consumption to 2 oz of liquor, 8 oz of wine or 2 beers and wait 2 hours(6) that's it.

Pumping and dumping will not remove the small amount of alcohol from your milk any faster than doing nothing(7). 

If you choose to drink in excess, or binge drink, and want to be pumping to maintain supply and for comfort, that would be the only reason to pump. Remember pumping and dumping will not remove the alcohol from your milk any faster.

An additional real concern with drinking while breastfeeding is taking care of your infant. Co-sleeping or falling asleep on the couch or recliner with an infant and without full neurological awareness of your body.  

So drink up, safely, and parent safely. Choose a "designated parent" or get a sitter if you really want to hit the town.

Although a small amount of alcohol consumed while breastfeeding is OK regular, excessive, consumption of alcohol and breastfeeding can negatively affect infant health and development. Breastfeeding parents who are struggling to reduce their alcohol consumption should seek help from another source.

BONUS TIP! 3. No, you can not pass listeria or other bacteria to your infant if you eat lunch meat while breastfeeding. Go ahead and eat that turkey sandwich or sushi you have been craving for nine months. There is no magic mouth to nipple pathway, the food is broken down in your system and your mature gut will handle these potential contaminants without passing them onto your infant.

Grace Burnham CLEC

References
(1) http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-MB2

(2) http://www.llli.org/nb/nbmarapr04p44.html

(3) http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamins/

(4) http://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/vitamin-d-and-your-health

(5) http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27%3Amyths-of-breastfeeding&catid=5%3Ainformation&Itemid=17&limitstart=1

(6) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/3/e827.full#sec-20

(7) http://www.infantrisk.com/content/alcohol-and-breastfeeding

More resrouces

http://www.llli.org/faq/alcohol.html

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27%3Amyths-of-breastfeeding&catid=5%3Ainformation&Itemid=17&limitstart=1

http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjulaug98p100.html

http://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-MB2