Did you know you can eat what you want while breastfeeding? You don’t need to avoid any foods while breastfeeding IF your baby seems to tolerate them. How do you know if your baby is being fussy in a normal manner or fussy from the contents of your breast milk? Here’s your guide about a mother's nutritional needs while breastfeeding:

What to Eat While Breastfeeding

1. Tips for your daily diet 

If you are breastfeeding, eat what you would normally eat; most babies tolerate anything the mother eats. If you start to notice skin rashes, reflux or fussiness/gassiness in your baby, they might have a sensitive digestive tract. 

• Your milk is flavored by the food you eat! Expand your baby’s palate by trying new foods and seeing how they respond to your breast milk!1
• Alcohol and breastfeeding: One standard alcoholic beverage a day is safe to consume while breastfeeding if a mother waits at least 2 hours after drinking before she breastfeeds. Alcohol transfers into breast milk at the same rate it transfers into the bloodstream with the highest concentration 30–60 min after alcohol consumption.2 If you’re feeling tipsy, the baby will too. 

2. Common offending foods

The most common offending foods for babies are caffeinated items (such as coffee, some teas and chocolate), dairy products, peanuts, eggs, citrus fruits, onions, wheat, and large amounts of cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli. 

Related: Breastfeeding Nutrition 101

3. Elimination diet 

You can try an elimination diet to see if your baby has a reaction to a specific food if you think the fussiness is related to diet. However, fussiness in babies peaks around 5-8 weeks. During this time, there’s not a whole lot you can do to avoid normal newborn fussiness. Just go with it and know that it’s temporary! For breastfeeding after birth and what to expect find our guide here. 

4. Nutrient-dense diet to nourish your body and your baby

Make sure you consume a nutrient dense diet which will help you and baby stay healthy. Maternal dietary intake can affect the quantity of some nutrients in your breastmilk. These nutrients include vitamin A, B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6, B12, D and folate; iodine; selenium and fatty acids.3 That's why we've formulated our pre+postnatal Mama Bites to help you get extra energy for breastfeeding and provide you with essential nutrients to transfer into breastmilk. 

Related: How to Stop Breastmilk Supply Problems Before They Start 

References: 

1. Spahn JM, Callahan EH, Spill MK, et al. Influence of maternal diet on flavor transfer to amniotic fluid and breast milk and children's responses: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;109(Supplement_7):1003s-1026s.
2. Haastrup, M.B.; Pottegård, A.; Damkier, P. 2014. Alcohol and breastfeeding. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 114(2):168-73. doi: 10.1111/bcpt.12149.
3. Innis, S.M. 2014. Impact of maternal diet on human milk composition and neurological development of infants. Am J Clin Nutr. 99(3):734S-41S.