HV said I should be drinking a pint of milk a day.

[TwistedFireStarter]

In order to replace lost calcium whilst I'm breast feeding. Really? Seems a lot of milk? Is that current advice?

Maybe but I've never heard that before.

no!

No that is not correct.

Sure, make sure you are not deficient but a pint a day? No way. Eat cheese, yoghurt and any dairy group, whatever takes your fancy... but don't go overboard.... your body metabolism becomes more efficient during bf, and if you overeat you will gain weight which is hard to shift.

no, that's crap.

calcium comes fro mall sorts of places - the best calcium is in leafy green veg.

That seems like weird advice.

You need to drink milk to make milk?

How about the cows that produce the milk you drink, what species' milk do they chug down? :

I'm bfing a 4 month old and easily get through a pint of milk a day.

But I love milk.

Admittedly I do seem to love it even more at the moment.

No! Never heard that one before.

When I was bfing my twins I was off dairy completely due to their allergies. I did just fine, though did take calcium tablets. The dietician said I only needed them because I was feeding twins though.

Many cultures don't eat dairy at all yet still manage to feed their babies, presumably?

top 10 foods highest in calcium

Ask her where she got this info from.

It's not standard advice, by any means.

Evidence is that calcium is used when bf, but it is not considered to be a problem - any deficit is replaced when bf is less intense/stops.

If you want to increase calcium intake there are several dietary sources, and milk is only one of them. A pint a day is a massive amount to drink for an adult.

"your body metabolism becomes more efficient during bf, and if you overeat you will gain weight which is hard to shift."

OK, explain this to me.

All I've ever heard is that you lose weight when bfing, and that is definitely not true for me.

A pint is not a massive amount, we all have a pint of milk with our evening meal (and none of us is overweight.)

How old is she?! Crikey that's outdated advice.

Ideally you're taking a supplement containing vitamin D like the Healthy Start ones available from childrens centres and health centres (free if you're on benefits or an low income).

It's true that breastfeeding will make extra demands on your calcium levels but your body will literally more than make up for this once you stop breastfeeding. Once you've stopped breastfeeding your body will claw back every ounce and more of the calcium lost through breastfeeding and your bones will end up denser than they were when you were in a pre-pregnant state. That's why women who have breastfed are at a lesser risk of osteoporosis.

If you really like milk then drink lots of it but there is nothing you should be drinking or eating whilst breastfeeding.

oldlady - a pint of milk each at one meal???

Blimey. You must like it!

I'd be so full I'd never get my pudding veg down!

Well I'm a vegan and been bf for 4 yrs and haven't touched a drop of milk in 13 yrs....

I thought the milk in your body was formed from blood. Nothing to do with your diet or the milk you consume. Because yea, cows would be a bit faint by now.

Yea, verily and all that, but meant to say yes.

I hate milk, I probably didn't drink a full pint for the whole 9 months I was bf.
I eat a lot of cheese though.

Chocolate has milk in it and I reckon I could get a pint of milk a day with the amount of chocolate I eat

This reminds me of the HV that was so convinced DD1 should be having cow's milk that she told me to feed her loads of sugary custard.

My midwife told me I needed to drink 3 litres of water a day while bf. I felt like I'd bloody drown if I looked at another glass of water by the end of the first day.

Yes, tiktok, almost a full pint each. We get through gallons in our house! Love the stuff.

My Mum used to make me drink milk when I was bfing until I pointed out that cows don't drink milk and they manage just fine.