Low carb / prediabetes / breastfeeding

[Secondsop]

Hi all. I posted this in the breast and bottle feeding forum first but no-one has as yet responded so I thought I'd try here. I used to frequent this forum loads but then (partly down to the success of low carbing) I got pregnant with my second baby who is now 4 months old and haven't posted here since getting pregnant. I'm now back for good. I'm mix feeding my 4 month old (after a difficult start to breastfeeding, thanks to loads of help from mumsnet I'm really pleased to still be breastfeeding at this point). However, after having gestational diabetes at the very end of pregnancy (at 37 weeks), my recent postnatal glucose tolerance test shows I'm on the brink of type 2 diabetes as the readings (including the fasting reading) were high. The consultant says no medication is needed and has recommended diet and lifestyle changes, which I'm totally on board with - this is the wake up call I needed as I'm at the point of no return. So I've gone back on a low carb diet, which has worked for me in the past for weight loss (the only reason I haven't done it long term is that I had 2 babies in between). But - will this affect my breast milk? I thought breastfeeding was a good thing for diabetic mums to do. But since low carbing (I'm only on day 4 but feel great) my baby seems to have had much more frequent, mucousy poos, some dark greenish, and nappy rash. I took him to the doctor who said it was a virus but I hadn't mentioned diet as the frequent poos started a couple of days before my low carbing so I thought it was unconnected, but I now realise the dark green poo is since the diet. I always thought that what I ate wouldn't affect my milk supply, and I haven't added anything new that I haven't been eating before. All I've done is dropped sugary things, bread, pasta, rice, cous cous etc, potatoes, and alcohol, and am eating more veg, protein and fat. I feel physically well on the diet, far less bloated, the swelling in my ankles has disappeared. Is it possible that low carbing is affecting the nature of my milk? Does anyone have any hints as to how I can continue a low carb lifestyle while breastfeeding? I really don't want to add carbs as I am feeling very happy with the way I'm eating now.

Hi there, congrats on your little bundle of joy :)
It's always a little scary giving advise regarding change of diet when it's that drastic as low carb usually is, especially if you go all in low carb, as in the low good carbs too (fruit and potatoes).
I was low carb during my pregnancy with the exception of 2 fruits a day + sweet potato 3 times a week at the 3rd trimaster as i needed more energy. And had a brilliant pregnancy.
I found after I had my lb(6mo) I couldn't be low carb and breastfeed, it just drained my supply so much that I decided to up my good carb intake a good bit to get the supply going. So I figured I was still doing low carb although not in ketonic state.
How about trying to stick to what you are eating now apart from adding a porridge in the mornings? Get some good proper organic oats and maybe add some blueberry's or raspberries to add to it, to add to your daily carb intake and it is supposed to be good for the breastmilk supply. It might just be a question about tweaking your diet a little bit to cater to your body needs atm.
I wonder like you said as well does it change the milk too? Green poo usually means not enough of the good fat hindmilk so maybe the carbs do contribute to that? Who knows :)

Best of luck

Thanks for responding Jamie. My problem is that I think I'm very carb-sensitive - even "good" carbs make it hard for me to gain weight. I found during pregnancy that my sugar levels were particularly difficult to manage in the mornings so never managed porridge at that time. I wonder whether a good approach for me might be to add in an evening carb snack instead, eg a couple of oatcakes with peanut butter. I'm of course still eating carbs while low carbing, but from vegetables - I've upped my veg intake considerably.

Hi, now that you say it, it makes more sense to eat oat snack in the evening as the night and early morning is our prime time in producing breastmilk.
Maybe try that for 2 or 3 days and then see if the poo changes, if it's back to normal then you know you just needed a little extra.
If not maybe some other things need to change? Or it is like you say just linked to a stomach bug and will sort it self out without you needing to change your diet.
Please let me know how you get on, as I'd love to be able to ebf and low carb with baby nr.2, as I just feel so much better when almost all carbs are cut.

Will do. Am dropping off a sample of the baby's poo today to be checked for a virus, and also taking him to be weighed - both should tell me something about whether there's anything to worry about on his front. I totally couldn't have breastfed at the start without carbs but I now feel fine doing so, now my supply has built up, so I really hope I can stay low carb. If there is a negative effect on breastfeeding, I think I'll have to increase the top ups as it's critically important for me to get my health sorted.

Secondsop Do you know what blood type you are? I ask because I've totally sorted out my health with the Blood Type Diet. The low carb. suits SOME people and not others (well the others can have different types of carbs without any problems) E.G. I don't eat wheat but I'll have a little pure rye and spelt bread etc. I also eat a lot of fruit and have lost nearly 3 stone.

Hi ppeatfruit thanks for responding. I'm blood group A. I looked up the blood group diet and unfortunately it doesn't look a good option for me as it recommends grains, and I find that grains have a dreadful effect on my blood sugar (potatoes are far better, for some reason) and I can take or leave fruit as I've never been a massive fan of it so I figure I may as well leave it and avoid the sugars and get my nutrients from veg. I think low carbing is the way forward for me as 3 weeks in my fasting blood sugars are in the normal range so my body is responding well.

Re the breastfeeding / poo ... After 3 weeks my baby's poo has returned to the right colour. So it looks like it was indeed a bug and coincidental timing with the diet change. He's continuing to gain weight well.