Chocolate and Caffeine Okay for Nursing Mothers?
October 31, 2006 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breast milk, breastfeeding basics, nutrition
If you celebrate Halloween you’ll probably be tempted to indulge in some chocolate candy today. I’m handing out Reese’s peanut butter cups to the trick-or-treaters tonight and I’ve already succumbed to the temptation to eat just one piece. So, is chocolate okay for nursing mothers? Yes, this falls under the general nutrition rule for breastfeeding women: everything in moderation (remember, the same holds true for garlic and spicy foods).
But what about the caffeine in chocolate? While it’s true that babies–newborns in particular–can be sensitive to excess caffeine intake by the mother, it takes a lot of caffeine consumption to stimulate the baby. A mother who drinks more than five 5-ounce cups of coffee (over 750 ml) per day might notice that her baby becomes active, alert, fussy and restless. A mother who observes those symptoms should slowly cut back on caffeine to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as headaches. Keep in mind that in addition to coffee, caffeine can be obtained from tea, soft drinks, certain over-the-counter drugs and of course, chocolate.
That brings us back to those Reese’s peanut butter cups. According to Hershey’s information page on caffeine, a 1.6 ounce (45 gram) serving of Reese’s peanut butter cups contains 4 milligrams of caffeine. Compare that to 9 milligrams in a Hershey’s chocolate bar and 65-120 milligrams in one 8-ounce cup of coffee.
Chocolate has relatively little caffeine, but it also has a substance called theobromine that acts much like caffeine. The Breastfeeding Answer Book states that one ounce of milk chocolate contains 6 milligrams of theobromine. (p. 600). How about those peanut butter cups? 30 milligrams. Most mothers can eat chocolate in moderation without any adverse affects from theobromine, and there is even one study that said theobromine was found to stimulate milk supply in some mothers.
Nursing mothers are quite in tune with their babies and should listen to their instincts if they suspect a particular food causes an adverse reaction. The Nursing Mother’s Companion says to watch for “unusual and persistent symptoms such as sudden refusal to nurse, vomiting, diarrhea or green stools, gassiness, redness around the anus, fussiness at the breast, or colic symptoms.” (p. 123). As always, if a mother suspects a food she consumes is having an effect on her baby, she can eliminate the food for a couple of weeks to see if the baby’s symptoms improve. In an overwhelming majority of cases, though, it’s fine for nursing mothers to enjoy chocolate and caffeine in moderation.
I don’t worry about caffeine while I’m nursing, but I do worry about peanuts and nut products, so Reeces should be off my list, anyway.
“Babies susceptible to severe peanut allergy may be at risk from the potentially dangerous allergen even before they’re old enough to eat. That’s because new research shows that enough protein from a small serving of peanuts can be transmitted through a mother’s breast milk, and this exposure may possibly predispose or set up some nursing babies to later experience allergic reactions.”
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/31/1728_76325
You are right about peanuts and it’s particularly important for those with a family history of allergies/peanut allergies to avoid peanuts. The reaction can be so severe.
I have heard of waiting until children are three to give them peanut butter, but I already give it to my two-year-old straight occasionally. Not worried so much about passing tiny amounts through the breast milk at this age!
I have been avoiding foods to avoid irritaiting my daughter’s belly but today i fell into temptation and had sushi, nothing happened and I felt so satisfied i even produced more milk, even so that my baby slept thru the whole night!!! Endorphins what a wonderful thing!!!!!