5 Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding

Women around the globe have safely breastfed their babies since the beginning of time, eating whatever food was locally available. Take that as reassurance that you should be able to follow your normal diet without worrying about harming your baby — but there are a few foods that you should steer clear of, or eat in moderation. To find out more about how to eat while breastfeeding, we talked to nutritionist and lactation counselor Ebeth Johnson, owner of consultation service The Breastfeeding Chef.

Anything with Caffeine
Coffee ice cream, some energy bars, certain fortified breakfast foods: caffeine is lurking in some foods you might not expect. And while nothing makes a person crave caffeine like new motherhood, this stimulant bothers babies. “Caffeine consumed by the mother does find its way into her milk and can negatively impact baby, causing irritability, colic-like symptoms and poor sleep,” says Johnson. “Plus caffeine gives moms a false sense of energy which can cause moms to overexert themselves when they really need to rest with their baby and recover from birth.”

Chocolate
It’s certainly not what any mom who’s craving Rocky Road wants to hear, but avoiding chocolate may be necessary for the time being. “Chocolate can cause gas in the newborn and, for some sensitive moms, can hinder milk production,” Johnson says. There’s another reason to avoid this indulgence for now: chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is high in caffeine.

Certain Herbs
Be mindful of what herbs are included in your favorite foods, especially sage and mint. “Both of these herbs are known to decrease milk production and should be avoided by breastfeeding moms,” says Johnson. You don’t have to skip out on the occasional bowl of pumpkin sage pasta, but don’t eat these herbs with every meal.

Certain Fish
Good news, sushi lovers. Now that baby’s here, you can enjoy some of the raw fish that you avoided during pregnancy. But types of fish that are high in mercury are still off-limits while you’re breastfeeding. Avoid swordfish, king mackerel, shark, tilefish, ahi tuna and bigeye tuna. Mercury is toxic for the nervous system, so ingesting it can cause a host of problems for your baby.

Raw Veggies
Avoid raw veggies? It sound counterintuitive, since they have nutrients that both your and your baby needs, but Johnson suggests opting for cooked foods over raw ones. “Raw foods like salads and veggie spears are more difficult to digest than well-cooked foods like soups, stews, congees and broths,” she says.

Keeping your digestive system in good working order is important for a few reasons. “A new nursing mom who suffers from gas, bloating or leaky gut due to poor digestion can lead to a baby who is also gassy, bloated and colicky as they react to the presence of poorly digested, microscopic proteins that find their way into mother’s milk,” Johnson says. “Poor digestion means poor absorption of the vital nutrients that mom, milk and baby need to thrive.” Favor cooked veggies for the time being.



Kathryn Walsh is a freelance writer specializing in parenting and travel topics. Her work has appeared on mom.me, TheBump.com, and USAToday.com.