Coffee during breastfeeding. Can I drink coffee while breastfeeding: the recommendations of specialists

Before young moms, the question often arises - is it possible to drink coffee while breastfeeding? The answer to this question, as it may seem at first glance, is obvious - of course, no, because it contains caffeine in large quantities! But is it? Is it worth it to deprive one innocent cup of your favorite drink in the morning? Let's try to figure it out.

There are many rumors about the benefits and dangers of coffee, but not all of them are truthful

Most doctors are categorically opposed to the newly mum dabbling in the morning with these drinks, since the dose of caffeine contained in coffee, negatively affects the formation of the nervous system of the baby. Allegedly the child becomes nervous, does not sleep well, often wakes up and eats little. In principle, this is true, but only if the mother will consume a lot of coffee. One cup will not lead to such consequences.

In addition, caffeine is found not only in coffee, but also in other no less favorite drinks and sweets, for example:

  • in dark chocolate;
  • in milk chocolate;
  • in black tea;
  • in green tea;
  • in cocoa.

Thus doctors recommend to replace coffee at thoracal feeding on green tea, asserting, that it possesses calming property, it is easily acquired and useful as a whole for an organism. It is a myth. To argue that green tea is useful for an adult person, or who is not going to. But as far as the child's body is concerned, it is necessary to argue with the doctors here. Green tea contains in its composition theine, which is also caffeine. And its quantity in this drink is several times higher than in coffee or black tea. Therefore, before drinking green tea immensely, you should think very carefully.

There is another common myth - you can drink coffee, only without caffeine (beskofeyinovy ​​coffee). This drink also contains caffeine, only in small quantities. Of course, it will not harm the formation of the nervous system, but health can. As some data show, this drink helps increase cholesterol, which can lead to serious complications in the future.

Also very often you can hear from "experienced" moms that coffee with breastfeeding can and should be drunk, since the child needs to be accustomed to adult food. Naturally, this is unreasonable, since the digestive system of the baby is still imperfect and it is gradually and approximately from the age of six months old to accustom it to normal food. In addition, there are already all the data on the effects of caffeine on children's body.

The ability to excrete caffeine appears in children after the first year of life. Before that, it accumulates in them in the body, thereby disrupting the formation of the nervous system. Adult person to withdraw from the body of caffeine will take about 10 hours, the newborn and the week will be small. Therefore, one should think very carefully before using coffee at HS.


If you are already tired of the menu that you allow yourself, fearing for the health of your baby, you can drink one cup of coffee - but no more!

To drink or not to drink coffee while breastfeeding is a private matter for every mother. Only here must take into account some aspects on which the decision on the use of the drink should depend:

  • it is worth giving up coffee if the child has an allergic reaction and the chair is broken;
  • do not drink coffee if the baby after him becomes irritable, does not sleep well and eats;
  • you can not drink coffee when treating lungs with drugs that contain caffeine. In such cases, the dosage of the caffeine received by the child per day needs to be adjusted.

If you still decide to drink coffee, it will be better if you give your preference to a drink of fresh grind. Whole grains contain almost half the amount of caffeine, rather than ground coffee, which has lain in this state for more than two or three days.

Also, do not use instant coffee, which is sold at every grocery store. Since for their production is often used the cheapest variety - robusta, but it contains more caffeine than arabica.

To drink or not to drink is up to you. But remember: after drinking one cup of coffee in the morning, you should follow the reaction of the baby's body throughout the day. If a child becomes irritated or has a rash - with coffee, you should wait. And most importantly, if your baby reacts calmly to a drink, this does not mean that you can drink coffee without measure. One cup is the maximum that a young mother can afford by breastfeeding her baby!

The history of the appearance of coffee goes far during the reign of Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich, it was a very expensive product, so he did not receive wide application. Father Peter the Great, Alexei Mikhailovich, the court doctor treated from the cold and using coffee as a remedy. And only Peter the Great, after visiting Holland, took a liking to this drink and brought it to Russia. But he was drunk in those days only rich, and after the Patriotic War of 1812 he became available to the nobility and the middle stratum of the population. During the twentieth century, coffee in Russia was a scarce product and was considered a delicacy that only a wealthy person with connections could afford. At the end of the last century, he appeared in free trade in great abundance and assortment.

Coffee is a hot drink made from roasted coffee bean kernels. The coffee tree belongs to the family of evergreen shrubs and grows in places with a hot and humid climate. There are so many varieties of coffee, before drinking only a natural drink, and later appeared soluble (powder and granulated). Prepare it from an extract of natural coffee. Soluble product is very popular in many countries.

This product has many positive properties, it contains many useful amino acids, vitamins of the PP group, B1, B2, microelements and macro elements. It is an excellent diuretic, has a laxative effect. The main is a tonic effect: the drink gives vivacity, promotes improvement and concentration of attention. They remove the depression syndrome and some substances contained in coffee beans, contribute to the recovery of liver cells. Contained caffeine will help to relieve the headache with migraine and low blood pressure.

Coffee with breastfeeding

A lot of lovers and connoisseurs of this noble drink, but, unfortunately, pregnant women are forced to abandon it for the time of gestation and breastfeeding. There are many opinions about the harm of coffee during breastfeeding. Some experts even believe that young mothers do not need to give up their favorite drink, that it does not harm the baby. Others, on the contrary, claim a negative effect on breastfeeding. Therefore, women who breastfeed their babies need to decide for themselves what to do. However, it does not hurt to know some details: to drink coffee with lactation or not.

Not so long ago, almost all children's doctors in one voice talked about the harm of this drink during breastfeeding. Justifying their fears by the presence in it of caffeine, which, together with the mother's milk, gets into the baby's developing organism. Many scientific and practical experiments have proved that a coffee drink can actually have a negative effect on the child.

The use of coffee during breastfeeding can lead to the following dangers:

  • Increased excitability of the nervous system of the child.
  • Cause allergic reactions.
  • Remove fluid from the baby's body.
  • Caffeine can accelerate the withdrawal of nutrients and calcium.
  • In the treatment of respiratory organs in children with the use of drugs containing caffeine, you need to adjust the dosage, if the mother drank coffee or tea.

But all these dangers can be attributed to possible, because after drinking a cup of this drink, it is not necessary for the child to have an allergy or upset of the stool. If you can afford a little, it is better to do it right after feeding, when there are several hours before the next feeding, most likely the nervous system of the baby will not suffer. However, it has been scientifically proven that in children under one year of age, caffeine is poorly excreted by the body and tends to accumulate, so an overdose of it may conceal a danger to the baby.

The American Association of Pediatricians does not see any threat of this drink for infants during breastfeeding, although warns that caffeine can cause increased anxiety of the child. Western experts advise the young mother to eat as she sees fit. We recommend breastfeeding yet to adhere to the diet, and since coffee is excluded in many diets, it is better to give it up.

A few rules for nursing mothers:

  1. The first three months of a child's life is best to abandon this drink.
  2. Drink it immediately after feeding.
  3. Do not abuse: just one cup in two days.
  4. Drink better in the morning.
  5. If you drink coffee, you should not eat other products containing caffeine.
  6. Increase the amount of water you drink.
  7. Mandatory consumption of products containing calcium, milk, cottage cheese, cheese, cream.

At the first attempt to include in the diet of coffee, it is necessary to monitor the behavior of the baby. If there is irritability, bad sleep, unreasonable anxiety, upset of the chair, you need to stop drinking the drink, and try a little later. With age, the baby will be less sensitive to the drinks and foods that mom uses.

Green coffee with breastfeeding

Many women during pregnancy gain extra pounds, after giving birth they want to quickly put themselves in order, and begin to lose weight, using a variety of means to achieve the goal. Very often you can hear about green coffee with ginger, and a wonderful disposal of extra pounds. Just want to say: it's all a myth. The fact is that green coffee, in its way is a semi-finished product, and it must be roasted, then there is aroma and caffeine.

During pregnancy and lactation, the female body changes the hormonal background, so during these periods it is not recommended to lose weight. It is better to take care of the health and development of the child, and then engage in the correction of the figure. Green coffee with breastfeeding, you can use, but with great care, because the consumption of this drink reduces appetite, and thus can reduce the flow of nutrients to a child with mother's milk. And besides, the altered hormonal background may not react to green coffee, and just all attempts to lose weight will not bring the desired result. When the lactation period is over and the hormones come back to normal, then you can do yourself and not be afraid to harm the child. Green coffee is really an excellent antioxidant and can be used to lose weight.

Instant coffee with breastfeeding

If the whole grains ground and brew, they will have slightly less caffeine than in the ground in production conditions. Soluble beverage types are made from a cheap variety of robusta, which has a higher caffeine content. Therefore, all kinds of instant coffee with increased caffeine content. Drink a soluble coffee drink with breastfeeding is not necessary - it is better and safer to drink a cup of natural.

It can be concluded that it is only the nursing mother who can decide whether to consume coffee or not. But everything will depend on the state of the child, if pediatricians recommend your baby a diet, then for the sake of the future healthy lifestyle of the child, you can deny yourself such pleasure. In case the child is healthy, it is necessary to monitor his reaction to the use of caffeinated drinks and products. And if everything is normal with the baby, do not deny yourself a little joy, because negative emotions will not benefit either you or your baby. You need to remember about the dose, and then everything will be fine. Drink a better natural product, not a soluble drink. Coffee drinks without caffeine, in the production process are chemically processed, they should not be used during lactation. In a word, the choice is yours, to drink coffee or not.

Can I drink coffee while breastfeeding?

Coffee is the drink that many people start the morning. The desire to cheer up is more important than ever for a young mother who will have a day in caring for a baby. However, drinking coffee during breastfeeding is always in doubt. It is believed that the best dietnursing mother proper nutrition,and coffee is usually excluded from the list of allowed products.

How does it affect a baby

Why do young moms try not to drink coffee? This is mainly due to prejudices about caffeine, which is part of the fragrant invigorating drink. Moms are afraid that caffeine will have a negative impact on the baby. The most popular "horror story" - a child will become nervous, restless, will not sleep well and develop with a backlog.

In fact, caffeine is not really useful for an infant, but for another reason: the infant organism is unable to digest it and withdraw it. Accumulating in the body of the baby, caffeine can really have a harmful effect, but this is possible only with the regular use of coffee in decent amounts.

In the rest, the nursing mother can not be afraid of caffeine. In addition to coffee it is contained in other products: chocolate of any sort, cocoa, black and green tea. By the way, green tea contains caffeine more than coffee, and, nevertheless, breastfeeding is not a reason to refuse it.

Like any new product, coffee can provoke an allergic reaction in the baby. Follow the appearance of the reaction in the first hours after feeding "coffee" milk.

How to choose coffee for nursing mom

Of course, coffee for a nursing mother should be only natural, preferably welded from freshly ground grains. But drinking instant coffee is not recommended. This coffee is made from lower grade grains, contains a lot of caffeine and is chemically treated. Allergies and dangerous consequences in this case are more likely than after a cup of natural beverage.

Separate attention deserves the so-called decaffeinated coffee. The very wording of the name of the drink is deceptive: decaffeinated coffee can not be. In fact, this coffee with reduced caffeine content, that is completely eliminate the ingress of caffeine into the body of the crumbs still will not work. In terms of the degree of harm, such coffee is akin to a soluble, since it also undergoes chemical treatment.

Coffee when breastfeeding - the main rules

If the young mother does not say a decisive "no" coffee, it is not superfluous to take note of some rules, the implementation of which will help minimize the consequences of "coffee" milk for the baby.

  1. Drink only your own coffee, cooked from grains.
  2. To reduce the caffeine content in the drink, you can not make coffee, but pour boiling water and let it boil.
  3. Coffee is safe with moderate use. For example, one cup in a few days, well, or once a day.
  4. If you drink coffee - it is better to do it in the morning, and with respect to feeding - right after feeding, so that the next concentration of caffeine in the milk is already lower.
  5. When consuming coffee, reduce the intake of other caffeinated products.
  6. Be sure to increase the intake of foods containing calcium (cheese, cottage cheese, kefir). Nursing mothers always suffer from a lack of calcium, and coffee also contributes to its elimination from the body.
  7. Do not forget to drink an extra cup of clean water for every drunk coffee: caffeine causes dehydration, and it is very important for the nursing mother to maintain a fluid balance.

Refusing coffee at all or ignoring warnings is extremes. The best option, as usual, somewhere in the middle. Even a nursing mother can, without harm to the child, indulge herself with her favorite drink.

After a week after childbirth, and even later, you will necessarily want to remember the strong burnt aroma of coffee and its tart taste. He helps not to fall asleep from fatigue, and also spend pleasant time with friends, drinking this invigorating drink. But is it allowed to drink coffee while breastfeeding? After all, the health of the baby is the main priority.

Coffee, not to mention the caffeine, which it contains in high concentration, is of little use to a person if you drink more than 1 cup a day. However, caffeine is easy to meet in many foods, which you can not even guess at all. So, the list of products forbidden because of the caffeine content during lactation:

  • strong black tea;
  • anesthetics medications;
  • dark and dairy products, chocolate products;
  • beverages, tonics, energy, and just Coca-Cola.

Gradually, during the first 12 months of the year, the baby's body will learn to metabolize caffeine, but before this time it is strictly contraindicated in the diet of the baby. After all, as is known, the smallest part of the food that the mother used will be transformed into breast milk for feeding. And if you hope that traces of drinking coffee during breastfeeding will go away between the feedings, then you can guess, because the dangerous for the baby substance is excreted from the mother's body only after 5 hours from taking the coffee. For comparison, the infant will spend about 4 days to get rid of caffeine. Consequently, the conclusion is this: caffeine accumulates in the body of the baby, if his mother abuses this fragrant drink.


What is dangerous caffeine for a baby?

The intake of caffeine negatively affects the nervous system not only of the mother, but also of the baby. There is unreasonable irritability or apathy, sudden anxiety, disturbance of night and daytime sleep. In addition, coffee during breastfeeding has a little affinity with addiction, which is not exactly necessary for a little man.

If the mother notices such reactions in the child, then she should stop drinking coffee or reduce the caffeine-containing products in her diet.

However, an unequivocal short-term or long-term harm to the health of the baby from drinking coffee by his mother is not proved, because even premature babies are prescribed to maintain breathing drugs with a dose of caffeine.

Many mothers say that with the intake of about 3 cups of coffee a day and with parallel feeding with breast milk, their children did not show any irritable reactions. But there are also cases when the child after the milk with caffeine became overly active, cried a lot, could not fall asleep, and there were even allergies and disorders of the stool. Also, pediatricians unanimously assert that coffee during breastfeeding for a baby is harmful, above all, by the fact that it cleanses out of the growing organism useful trace elements, in particular calcium. Moreover, it promotes a diuretic action, that is, dehydrates the body, which is very dangerous for a small child.

It is very important to monitor the amount of coffee or strong tea used when breastfeeding in the ration of a nursing woman at a time when her child is on any treatment. For example, if, according to the doctor's testimony in connection with respiratory dysfunction of the lungs for a baby, it is necessary to take Euphyllin, his mother should be informed to the doctor about a cup of coffee drunk to avoid overdose with caffeine infants.

So drink or not drink coffee while breastfeeding?

It is better not to drink this drink during lactation. After all, it is unlikely that after the baby's transition to normal nutrition at the age of 1 year, the mother will give him coffee drinks, because the body is already probably at that time will have time to get used to caffeine. But still, if you can not refrain from your favorite treat, the safest way to consume coffee is by eating a cup diluted with milk, after feeding during the first half of the day. Or, if a forced pause in feeding is expected, for example, in connection with business, to consume coffee for 5 or more hours before feeding. If the problems are not observed neither in the mother nor the baby, you can not be afraid and drink coffee in reasonable doses - 1-2 cups a day.

How difficult it is to give up habits that have been formed for several years. Many women do not realize how you can start a new day without an invigorating soul and body drink. Coffee quickly becomes addictive due to its toning effect, and refuse to drink it daily is very difficult. But after the girl becomes a mother, the question of banning this drink rises.

One of the first questions asked by a doctor is whether you can drink coffee to your nursing mother. After all, it contains a component such as caffeine. It is he who increases the capacity for work, relieves fatigue and drowsiness, raises the mood. Indispensable coffee at reduced pressure, headaches, strong and. But, if the listed qualities of caffeine help an adult person to feel better, then for the baby his qualities are superfluous. A crumb gets nervous and nervous if his mother abuses this drink during breastfeeding.

Why can not coffee nursing moms?

Scientists and pediatric pediatricians have long proven that all the food that a woman consumes, to one degree or another, passes through breast milk to a child. Therefore, synthetic vitamins, products with preservatives and colorants should be consumed with great care, following the reaction of the crumbs. Soluble coffee can cause various allergic reactions in a newborn, since it contains many impurities and additives. A drink made from freshly ground coffee beans is not so harmful if cooked according to all the rules, and drink not in pure form, but diluted.

Lactating mum can have coffee with milk, if it is limited to 1-2 cups a day. The main thing - to develop a new habit, and your body for a week will get used to a small amount of coffee drink. Be sure to follow the reaction of the child: coffee almost immediately gets into the mother's milk, and within an hour after feeding it will be clear whether you can or not. Try to drink your favorite drink not before feeding, but after that, in the milk penetrated the minimum amount of caffeine.

Can I give my mother green coffee?

Recently, there has been an increase in the popularity of the drink from green, that is, non-fried grains. This is the only difference between green coffee and ordinary coffee. By the way, in the grains not subjected to heat treatment, there is a huge amount of useful substances. Therefore, the nursing mother can drink non-fried (green) coffee, if she is 100% sure of its quality. To be sure, buy this product in specialized stores, checking quality certificates. The number of cups should also be minimal, one or two, not more.

Coffee, like any new product in the diet of a young mother, should be introduced gradually, a few months after the birth of the baby. Be sure to keep a diary in which you will write down new food products and the reaction of the child's organism to them.

Can lactating women drink decaffeinated coffee?

Some women after a birth of the child pass to coffee drinks without a caffeine to protect themselves and crumbs. If we study the process of its production, it becomes clear that the extraction of the dangerous component is a consequence of a large number of complex chemical reactions, the traces of which remain in the drink. The result can be allergic reactions, a baby's gastrointestinal upset, uncaused nervousness. The expediency of such coffee is a big question, and neonatologists warn nursing mothers from using it.

There is no unequivocal answer to the question whether it is possible to drink coffee, and will not. But the practice shows that a moderate amount of coffee drink will not harm the health of the baby, which means that coffee for nursing mothers is permissible if you follow the precautionary measures.