Caffeine and breastfeeding?
Hello everyone. My daughter is 14 weeks old today and for a week she had been sleeping through the night from 6.30pm to 6.30am which was fantastic. Well the last two nights she has been waking up more frequently and i thought it might be because it is a bit cold (but i have a thermometer in her cot and she has enough blankets and is warm when i check her) or because she is having a growth spurt and needs feeding more. Lastnight however, when i tried to feed her she did not seem that bothered. Thinking back i had caffeine yesterday and the day before whereas usually i avoid caffeine completely. Is it possible that this could have affected her sleeping pattern?
I have been on decaffeinated tea and coffee for the past two years (nearly) so she will not have been exposed to it whilst i was pregnant. Hopefully she will sleep better tonight as i am back on the decaff.
Most breastfeeding mothers can drink caffeine in moderation. Some babies, particularly those under 6 months, may be more sensitive to mom’s caffeine intake. Babies whose mothers avoided caffeine completely during pregnancy seem to react more to caffeine in mom’s diet. Even if baby is sensitive to the caffeine now, he may not be when he’s a little older — so if you do have to stop or limit your caffeine intake, you can try again when baby is older.
Caffeine is approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics for use in breastfeeding mothers. Per Medications and Mother’s Milk (Hale 2002, p. 100-102) caffeine is in Lactation Risk Category L2 (safer); milk levels are quite low (0.06-1.5% of maternal dose) and usually peak 1 hour after ingestion. One study has indicated that chronic coffee drinking might decrease iron content of breastmilk (Nehlig & Debry, 1994).
If your baby is sensitive to caffeine, it will typically become less of an issue as baby gets older. Newborns have a much harder time metabolizing caffeine than older infants. Preterm or ill infants might also have more problems with mom’s caffeine intake.
According to the Breastfeeding Answer Book (LLLI 2003, p. 599-600), excessive caffeine consumption by the mother (more than 750 mL per day) can result in a baby who shows signs of caffeine stimulation. “A baby who is being overstimulated by caffeine is a wide-eyed, active, alert baby who doesn’t sleep for long. He may also be unusually fussy.”
If your baby seems particularly wakeful or fussy and there is a significant amount of caffeine in your diet, you might want to cut back or stop the caffeine for 2-3 weeks to see if it makes a difference. If you cut out caffeine, consider decreasing it slowly since abruptly stopping caffeine can result in headaches or other symptoms.
If caffeine stimulation is a problem for baby, it may take a few days to a week after mom eliminates caffeine for baby to become less fussy.
Does caffeine decrease milk supply?
There is no evidence that caffeine decreases milk supply.
The myth that caffeine will decrease milk supply is widespread. Many moms consume caffeine, and it ought to be easy to document any adverse effects of caffeine on milk supply. No such effect has been observed, however, despite a number of studies of caffeine intake in breastfeeding mothers and years of clinical observations. In fact, one study (Nehlig & Debry, 1994) indicates that caffeine can stimulate milk production. A baby who is fussy and jittery from caffeine stimulation may not nurse well, however, which could lead to a decreased milk supply over time (due to decreased nursing, rather than the mother’s caffeine intake).
MiaBebo @Lintas Siang TPI
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