how little to admit I eat before I give up breastfeeding?

[surely]

Have always had problems with food. But am not doing so well right now. Am worried 8 wk old will not get enough from me. Am not looking for attention here, just want to know when would be best for her for me to admit that it's better to give her bottles. Or how much I absolutely HAVE to eat to keep her well. If that makes sense?

[colditz]

You have to eat enough for you to maintain a healthy weight, I think though that it is always better for your baby to breastfeed. don't know the facts.

[colditz]

If you don't eat enough to maintain your energy you are going to start struggling to look after her though.

[surely]

Can cope with kids ok, am fairly practiced. It's just the lo I'm worried about.

[colditz]

do you not think it would be better for YOU to go to the doctor and get some help?

maybe you can cope - you shouldn't have to cope, you deserve better than this.

[Papillon]

Watch out you don't get really run down, the baby is taking all the goodness and you getting very little. It can in turn make you very tired which will effect your mental health.

Milkshakes with high fat milk and lots of bananas and fruit will help boost your food supply. Perhaps put in abit of porridge to really thicken it up.

[colditz]

But on the subject of breastfeeding you have to eat enough to maintain a healthy weight, or you're never going to be sure whether she is getting the nutrition she needs.

[surely]

Maybe. Appreciate support (in tears) but more worried about dd3. One glass of wine and look where it gets me! Just worried if there was a WHO type official guideline on this.

[Rochwen]

you will need a lot of extra feed to produce milk and keep yourself going. I was eating like a locust when I was breastfeeding. I once heard, don't know if this is a fact, that you need about an extra 600 calories on top of your normal intake to breastfeed, so you can calculate this yourself. See how many calories you can work with and add an extra 600.

Seriously though, please speak to your mw or gp and find out what they have to say. The worry I have for you is that if you don't eat enough the milk production might take all the nutrients out of your body and you might end up with some problems.

[Rochwen]

surely, what's up, are you ok?

[luckylady74]

i can't comment on your food issus (though i hope you can access help for them), but can you take a post natal supplement and get your baby weighed every week to check lo is thriving - i do know chubby bf babies with thin mums, but i have no idea how much they're eating.

[colditz]

I understand that you are more worried for your dd.

But she doesn't need you to worry for her, she needs you to be healthy for her, and to do that you have to make yourself be healthy.

You do deserve good nutritious food. You need to allow your breasts to make good nutritious milk for her. She will get enough from you if you put enough in. You need 2000 calories to maintain your weight if you are NOT breastfeeding, if you are, you need and extra 500, so 2500 per day.

SHE needs calories, therefore you have to consume calories to make them for her. Think of your breasts as machines - you need to fuel them for her by eating enough.

[surely]

Just out of practice at drinking! (don't worry, just the one ). Think am just having a bit of a wobble at the mo, love dd's too much to screw it up any more. wILL try to think about calorie intake. Maybe could do bottles for a bit but pump and go back?

[littleEasterlapin]

Please get some help, sweetie. Babies are like parasites (horrible analogy, sorry), and she will take all the nutrients and you will be exhausted. She needs a healthy happy mummy .

Please go and see your doctor or counsellor. It may be that they do advise you to put her on formula; you have already done well getting to 8 weeks, so don't beat yourself up if that is the case.

[themoon66]

If you aren't eating enough, the baby will stil get what she needs, but you will lose out. I remember meeting a woman who had lost a lot teeth coz of lack of calcium. Not sure if this is old wives' tale though.

[Busybean]

Put it this way, mothers in third world countries who are so starving they are bloated, manage to breastfeed-this is because all the nutrients and calories that mother eats/drinks are passed straight to baby.
But realistically, its not good for you, are you having councelling? maybe you should see a doctor?

[maximummummy]

get baby weighed regularly that will put your mind at rest that she is thriving (or not) but you need to eat a healthy diet really or your own body will suffer you could end up losing teeth or damaging your bones i think i'd have to look it up to be sure BUT basically it is true about babies being like parasites they will take what they need from your body while you were preg. and while breastfeeding

[maximummummy]

by the way its never gonna be better for her to have bottles, is that what you want to feel that you have permission to stop breastfeeding? cause if you want to stop that has to be your decision . . . that wasn't meant to sound harsh or judgemental at all . good luck .

[kiskidee]

i suggest you speak to a bf counsellor. there are 4 bf organisations which can provide bf advise though not medical advice, so going to a gp and asking for an urgent appt with a dietician would be a good way to proceed. unfortunately too few doctors, midwives and health visitors know enough about breastfeeding and will probably give you knee jerk advice to stop bf.

it depends more on the food 'issues' you have and how deep-seated they are. women can successfully breastfeed with quite a lot of dietary insufficiencies. Whether you are willing to persevere with improving your dietary concerns while bf also need to be taken into consideration. it is a decision you need professional support with - hence recommending you to a bf counsellor from one of the 4 organisations.

here are their contact details:
nct Breastfeeding Line 0870 444 8708

abm breastfeeding helpline 0870 401 7711

bfn Breastfeeding Supporterline - 0870 900 8787

lll Call 0845 120 2918

[tiktok]

surely: it is not true you need hundreds of extra calories to nourish your baby adequately, and breastfeeding is successful even when mothers are on marginal diets.

However this is not true when mothers are literally starving, and my concern for you is that your eating disorder means you are in or near this category, and breastfeeding will hasten the effect of a starvation diet on you and make you unable to care for your baby however you feed her.

You need help - and more immediately than you need help with breastfeeding, if I am reading you correctly.

The breastfeeding organisation volunteers are great, but they are not trained to help mums with eating disorders and if you call them and they cannot help, this is not their fault....they are being honest with you. They will not be able to say 'you must have x calories a day to survive and breastfeed' for instance, which is what you came on here to ask.

Please speak to whoever you have found helpful in the past - or maybe your health visitor.

I really hope you find the help you need with this.

[baggybelly]

Please seek some help. I stopped eating properly after bith of DD recently and its really not good . Within 3 weeks I had got so run down and tired I ended up with a rotten chest infection. This I think is what triggered PND. I stopped BF at this point, which made me feel even worse about things (although admittedly less exhausted now). None of this has been particularly great for my babies who have a pretty miserable mummy much of the time. I wish I could take my own advice but instead I'll focus on giving it to you! - you really need to nurture and look after yourself right now. {{{{hugs}}}}

[baggybelly]

p.s - is your little one gaining weight etc ok?

[strongteabag]

Hi surely, I really do understand where you are coming from- andhow exhausted you must feel too!!! I am exclusively breastfeeding DS3 (5 months) and don't eat that much, and mostly eat 'healthy food'. I run most days and chase around after 3 boys under 5. I got batteries in the scales last weekend and at 5 foot 7 I weigh just over 7 1/2 stone , didn't realise I had become so thin! I definitely feel the worse for it. You must be careful not to get into a viscious circle of not eating then feeling shattered and then depressed and so not eating...

As for baby, my baby is really chubby, bright, healthy and active!!! It's me that is a bit tired. I think your body tends to naturally hang on to a little bit of fat, even during 'starvation'- natures way of protecting baby.

Some things that have helped me are
-exercising, makes you hungry and makes you think about using food for fuel
-eating little and often, eating what you fancy
-keeping well hydrated, loads of water and fennel tea
-make time for yourself, pleeeeeease look after yourself.
-I take the sanatogen pronatal plus omega 3 supplement

I echo what others say, baby will be fine, she will get everything from you, it's you that may suffer.

[RanToTheHills]

surely, you've very recently given birth and have a v.v. young baby. These are exceptional circumstances and I really think you must seek help and as soon as possible.
I hope you have a kind & sensible hv orGP who can take this seriously and refer you on., Also how supportive is dh/yr family?

[Lolabelle]

Surely, i know this thread has been dormant for a while but it you wish to cat me please do as i have struggled with eating problems for 15 yrs and am now pregnnat with my second and breastfed my first sucessfully for 6 months. Please do contact me if you want to chat - i'm currently receiving treatment and have had many facts regarding eating disorders of all types whether the most well known ones or just body issues/abnormal eating and without wanting to sound like a cliche admitting you have a problem and wanting to deal with it is half the battle.

If you want my email address please do let me know.