Calorie intake and breastfeeding

[HeavenlyWineandRoses]

My HV insists that milk supply is dependant on intake so recommends plenty of high energy healthy snacks and the odd piece of cake. Trouble is that I seem to be using this as an excuse to eat lots of cake guilt free and am making no effort to shift my pregnancy weight. Is my HV right on the calorie advice?

As with any other time in your life, you need to eat to hunger and drink to thirst. BFing does require a few more calories and you do get slightly thirstier but your supply is nothing to do with your diet except in extreme circumstances. It can be a bit draining though so eating healthily will help you feel better. Won't affect your milk though.

Your hv is wrong and needs to redo some training.

Thank you for your helpful replies .

HVs do come out with some utter, utter piffle don't they?

Technically, you don't actually even need to take in extra calories, because that's what pregnancy weight is for - it's stores to support BFing. Tiktok also made a very interesting point that you definitely only drink to thirst, no more, as drinking more can actually affect your supply.

All that said, I have never been hungrier in my life since starting BFing. If I go over an hour or so without nibbling I go very peculiar. I'm trying to keep it healthy but simple carbs (biscuits, cake, scones, muffins) are the winners at taking the edge off. My husband looked on in disbelief when I finished a huge three-courser at lunch last weekend. I was also shocked, if only at the unfamiliar sensation of feeling full for the first time in five months! Started feeling peckish two hours later and all

Not to sure if you need your your calorie intake but my DD is 2 weeks old and to be honest I haven't been eating anymore, I've been eating healthier but would eat whatever I fancy when I want it, I have been drinking alot more but would say I've been eating less now then what I did daily during pregnancy

Not knowing any better I asked my HV about poo frequently (baby) as it suddenly went to once per day or sometimes 2-3 days. Advice was if I wanted her poo more I needed to eat and drink more

Never been more hungry in my life so I know I'm eating A LOT. Not shifting any weight but not putting more on and I should be the amount I eat. Think its just about being healthy, especially now its flu season.

Yes, it's only necessary to drink to thirst, but I definitely didn't say 'and no more otherwise supply would be affected' :( I don't want mothers to think they need to be careful not to drink more than thirst requires.

I said 'no' to 'loads of extra fluids'....forcing extra fluids may suppress supply but we are talking making a special effort to get far more fluid in.

No need to monitor thirst and then worry if you drink more than you actually need.

What I said was here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/a1597524-Friend-is-worried-sudden-hospital-stay-has-dried-up-her-milk#35047136

Heavenly, ask your HV for written information on the link between high energy foods, calorie intake and milk supply....tell her you have been doing your own reading and it does not appear to be the case and you'd like to check it out.

It is, of course, not true that your supply is intake-dependant.

Bags of research on this, including some interesting studies done on women who fast for religious festivals; women on marginal diets in the developing world; other populations where intake is precarious.

Oh, poo. Misquoted again - sorry tiktok

Loislane78

No worries, elphaba :)

In evolutionary terms it makes no sense that you'd have to up your intake to be able to bf properly.