CAFFEINE AND BREASTFEEDING : DOES IT AFFECT THE BABY
Caffeine and Breastfeeding
Caffeine appears within 15 minutes in your Breastmilk and it reaches maximum concentration in one hour . Only 1.5-3.2 % reaches the baby .Therefore moderate amount of caffeine is safe . That is about 200mg per day which is equivalent to 2/3 cups of tea or coffee .
1 mug of filter coffee: 140mg1 mug of instant coffee: 100mg1 250ml can of energy drink: 80mg (larger cans may contain up to 160mg caffeine)1 mug of tea: 75mg1 50g plain chocolate bar: up to 50mg1 cola drink (354mls): 40mg( source : NHS)Caffeine can be found in other food sources and some over the counter medications. These include chocolate / coco: soft drinks :sport drinks : energy drinks : flavoured water : pain relievers
If you find that your baby is constantly irritable fussy or wakeful after a caffeine beverage they maybe more sensitive .This is due to the fact that caffeine is a stimulant ..You may have to reduce the amount you consume or try and drink the caffeine beverage a couple of hours before breastfeeding . Try decaffeinated tea and coffee or herbal teas .Also if you cut back in your caffeine intake do it slowly not abruptly as it may cause headaches.
Generally babies under 6 months and premature babies are more sensitive to caffeine as it can take many hours to process .The great thing is as your baby gets older caffeine beverages are less likely to have an affect on your little one
Caffeine does not reduce your supply .No such effect has been documented .A baby that is fussy and irritable may not feed well and this reduction in breastfeeding may impact on your supply or worst case scenario reduce your breast milk supply.One small study even found that caffeine may even increase you breastmilk supply
Grab your favourite caffeine beverage and enjoy in moderation
