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.

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