Breastfeeding baby food sensitivities

Allergies & Food Intolerances - La Leche League GB

Babies can be unsettled for many reasons and it can sometimes take time and effort to work out the cause. Our page The Unhappy Breastfed Baby can help you determine whether your baby’s behaviour is due to something other than an allergy.

But when you have ruled out most of the obvious causes and your baby is still, unhappy, colicky, experiencing dry and itchy skin or passing mucousy stools you may wonder whether they could be reacting to something in their diet or environment, or something in your own diet.

Certain medical conditions can have symptoms similar to those of an allergic reaction. It may be wise to rule these out before deciding whether a baby’s symptoms are due to an allergy or food intolerance.

A baby’s immune system is immature at birth.

Colostrum, or early milk, is rich in antibodies, particularly secretory IgA (SIgA), which provide a protective coating inside a baby’s intestines¹. Mature breastmilk continues to provide protection, helping to prevent potential allergens from reaching a baby’s blood.

Exclusive breastfeeding generally helps to protect against allergy but it may still occur.

If any immediate family member ( siblings or parents) has an allergy eczema, hay fever or asthma, it makes it more likely that the baby could develop allergies².

Food intolerance

A food intolerance does not involve an allergic reaction but can cause similar symptoms. It occurs when a baby has difficulty digesting a particular food. You may not need to stop giving your baby a food to which he is intolerant—reducing the amount may be enough.

Food allergy

A food allergy occurs when a baby has an immune response to specific foods. There are two types of food allergy reactions; immediate and delayed. A baby can have either or both³.

Immediate reactions are also called IgE-mediated alllergies. This is because the baby’s immune system creates specific IgE antibodies to a certain food. If a baby is given the specific food they are allergic to, the IgE antibodies will recognise it and cause the rapid release of chemicals, including histamine, that trigger inflammation and allergic symptoms. Symptoms appear within minutes, or up to 2 hours after eating the food responsible³.

Delayed reactions are called non-IgE mediated allergies because they are not controlled by IgE. Instead it is believed such reactions are regulated by immune cells. Symptoms appear 4-72 hours after eating the food³.

It is wise to see your GP or health visitor if your baby is showing signs of allergy, but some symptoms are more worrying than others. Seek immediate medical help if your baby has signs of an anaphylactic reaction: sudden onset of breathing difficulties, swelling, or collapse, with or without a rash, after physical contact or eating a particular food.

Allergy symptoms

Food allergy symptoms occur in several different body systems; the tummy, airways and skin. An Allergic baby will usually have symptoms in more than one body system, but need not experience all the symptoms to indicate allergy. Many of the following allergy symptoms can also occur in normally developing children for other reasons.

	IgE mediated symptoms3	Non-IgE mediated symptoms3
Time	Immediate: within minutes or up to 2 hours	Delayed: within 4–72 hours
When nursing	Baby hungry for the breast but pulls away after a minute or two, arching the back and screaming*
Skin	Itching Inflammation** Hives/nettle rash Swelling, usually around the lips, face and eyes	Itching Inflammation** Eczema (dermatitis)
Tummy	Itchy mouth Nausea Colicky tummy pain*** Vomiting Diarrhoea	Reflux Loose or frequent poos Blood or mucus in poo Tummy pain Infantile colic*** Food refusal or aversion Constipation Inflammation in the nappy area**
Airways	Cough, chest tightness, wheeze, noisy breathing, trouble breathing Itchy nose, sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, conjunctivitis	Cough, chest tightness, wheeze, noisy breathing, trouble breathing
Other	Anaphylaxis: sudden onset of breathing difficulties, swelling, or collapse with or without a rash	Reduced growth, along with one or more tummy symptoms above Lethargy
*This may also be caused by a fast let-down. See Too Much Milk and Oversupply for more information if you think that this may apply to you. **Inflammation appears red on lighter skin, and darker brown, purple or grey on darker skin. ***Colic is defined as repeated episodes of excessive and inconsolable crying in an infant that otherwise appears to be healthy and thriving.

Environmental triggers

An irritant is something that causes damage to the skin. Eczema (also known as dermatitis) and dry skin rashes can be caused by mild irritants such as bubble bath, baby wipes, skin cream, fabric conditioner or laundry detergent⁴. Many mothers find avoiding unnecessary products or using a different product improves things. Reading packaging can help avoid problems with common irritants such as lanolin and perfumes. Use fragrance-free products whenever possible. Be aware that herbals can also be allergenic and irritant – being natural does not necessarily mean a product is any less irritating.  Hay fever symptoms and other ear, nose and throat symptoms can be caused by spring and summer pollens and other airborne allergens such as dust.

Identifying the problem food

If your baby is having only your milk
Food allergens in the mother’s diet can pass through into the breastmilk so a breastfed baby can have an allergic response or intolerance to something in the mother’s diet.

Consider:

• Are you taking any laxatives, medicines, vitamins, iron tablets or other supplements?
• Do you drink lots of caffeinated drinks? Coffee, cola, tea and some pain relievers, cold remedies, weight control aids and diuretics contain caffeine. Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine that can have a similar effect to caffeine if you eat a lot.
• Have you recently eaten a new food or any particular food in large amounts?
• Are there any foods that you don’t like but have decided to eat during pregnancy or breastfeeding because you think they will be good for you and your baby?
• Are there foods that you crave? What foods do you snack on when you have a bad day?

Depending on how sensitive your baby is, removing or cutting down on the offending items in your diet may well solve the problem.

If your baby is also having infant formula or solids
The majority of babies don’t need anything other than mother’s milk before about six months — no infant formula, drinks or solids. Babies who have started solids can be sensitive to certain common foods until they are a little older.

Consider:

• Could your baby be reacting to the drinks or solid foods he is having?
• Is he on any medication or vitamin supplements?
• Could he be receiving other drinks such as infant formula or juice, or solid food, from anyone else without your knowledge?
• Infant formula or follow-on formula is usually cow’s milk-based and a common, avoidable cause of allergy. Babies do not need follow-on formula at all.

Removing the offending food from your baby’s diet for now should solve the problem; they may be able to tolerate it in a few months time. If you think your baby may be reacting to a prescribed medication that they have to take, speak to your doctor, who may be able to prescribe an alternative.

Common problem foods

⁵

Common problem foods which may be eaten by a baby or a breastfeeding mother include:

• Milk and other dairy products such as butter, yoghurt, cheese, whey, casein, caseinate, lactose
• Egg
• Peanut
• Soy
• Wheat
• Fish
• Sesame seeds (in tahini and hummus)
• Lupin/lentils (including chickpeas which are in hummus)
• Shellfish; crustaceans (e.g. crab, lobster, crayfish, shrimp, prawn), molluscs (e.g. mussels, oysters, squid)
• Fenugreek is closely related to peanuts
• Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, etc.)
• Celery and celeriac
• Mustard

Common foods that can be involved in intolerance or irritation but not usually allergy:

• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites, benzoates, glutamate, salicylates, dietary amines
• Citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes
• Certain additives, artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives

These can turn up in the most unexpected places so do check everything consumed including drinks and medicines. For example, some juice drinks contain milk, and wine can contain milk, egg or sulphites.

Cutting out suspected foods

If your baby is exclusively breastfed, you may need to follow an elimination – reintroduction diet. It can help to keep a food and symptom diary.

When eliminating major food groups take care to ensure you continue to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Your GP may be able to refer you to a dietician if you wish.

Only cut out one food at a time and allow 2–4 weeks to see if your baby’s symptoms improve. If there is no improvement in this time, then the food is unlikely to be the culprit and can be reintroduced³. Consider cutting out a different food.

If symptoms do improve, reintroduce the food slowly to confirm the food allergy. However, if your baby has previously experienced a severe or immediate reaction, ask your GP for specialist support before reintroducing the food.

Note: Usually a cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) predicts an allergy to other animal milks (e. g. goat or sheep milk), and in some cases soya. If you plan to cut out dairy you may wish to cut out other animal milks and soya at the same time, then reintroduce them each individually.

Seek immediate medical help if your baby has shown anaphylactic signs, such as a rapidly developing rash, breathing difficulties, or swelling.

A note on eczema

Elimination – reintroduction diets should not be done due to the presence of eczema alone.
Some children who have a food allergy do have eczema, but most children who have eczema do not have a food allergy. If the only symptom is eczema it is unlikely to be caused by a food allergy. It is worth noting that frequently eating a particular food may mean a baby learns to tolerate it. If the food is stopped, for example during an elimination diet, there is a risk that tolerance may stop and an IgE mediated allergy (including possible anaphylaxis) can form. If you think your baby’s eczema is due to a food allergy it is best to speak with your GP about allergy testing or to get referred to an allergy specialist⁶.

Introducing solid foods

Human milk contains tiny traces of whatever foods a mother herself has been eating. This is the ideal way to prepare a baby gently for the eventual introduction of solids. The best foods for your baby are usually healthy foods selected from your diet. Solids can be introduced when your baby can sit up (with or without support) and starts reaching out for the food on your plate. For more information, see Starting Solid Food.

If your baby is under the care of a paediatrician for allergies, talk to your specialist team about how to introduce specific allergenic foods.

Body tolerance levels can change

Being allergic or intolerant to something means that your body is sensitised to it, but the symptoms you display may vary in each particular instance; sometimes you may not display any symptoms. Your body’s allergen tolerance level changes based on many factors including stress and your general health, so its ability to react to immune threats also varies. If your immune system is affected by more stressors than usual, you may show symptoms of an allergy/intolerance more readily.

Seek support

It can be quite an effort to be an allergy detective with a fussy baby on your hands, so seek information and support. The good news is that small changes to your diet could make a big difference to a baby with a food allergy or intolerance.

An LLL Leader can help you determine the most likely cause of your baby’s symptoms. Local LLL groups are great for practical and moral support and you may find others there who have had similar experiences. Your GP or health visitor can help diagnose food allergy and refer you to specialist services for testing and advice.

Did you know?

• If a baby reacts when their mother drinks milk or has dairy products, this is a sensitivity to cow’s milk protein, not lactose intolerance.
• Most infant formulas contain cow’s milk, often referred to as whey based or casein based.
• Soya, the basis of some infant formulas, is also a common allergen.
• Infant formula may contain fish oils and vegetable oils (e.g. palm, rapeseed, coconut, sunflower).
• Medicines and supplements can contain other ingredients that are potentially allergenic.
• If you or a member of your immediate family has an allergy or intolerance, your baby is more likely to have one too¹.

FAQs

Q. Do I have to give up breastfeeding if my baby is allergic to something in my milk?
A. No; eliminating the offending food from your diet will remove the allergen from your breast milk enabling you to continue breastfeeding if you wish to. See section Cutting out suspected food.

Q. Will my baby outgrow his food allergy?
A. Possibly; some children do, some do not. Children are most likely to grow out of cows’ milk, egg and soy allergies.

Q. I thought I was not meant to feed my baby egg/peanut/etc. until they were over 1 year old?
A. This was old advice. Recent research shows introducing allergenic foods from around 6 months old may help the baby to learn to tolerate the food. Introducing the food later can make it more likely that the baby will develop an allergy to the food.

Q. What’s the difference between cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) and lactose intolerance?
A. True lactose intolerance (reduced capacity to digest lactose) is very rare in babies and is diagnosed within days of birth. Temporary lactose intolerance or lactose overload (too much lactose for the baby to digest) can cause tummy symptoms similar to an allergy. Lactose is produced in the breast, regardless of the mother’s diet. Seek support if you suspect your baby has symptoms of lactose overload. CMPA is an immune reaction and can cause symptoms in many body systems. Breastfeeding mothers of children with CMPA generally need to exclude all cow’s milk protein from their diet – including milk, cheese, yogurt etc. See section Cutting out suspected food.

Q. Should I avoid eating a food my baby is allergic to if I become pregnant again?
A. No; as long as you are not allergic to it and it is not one the foods you usually need to avoid in pregnancy (such as undercooked meat) eating a particular food in pregnancy has no effect on the development of allergy.

Q. Is my baby allergic to a food because I ate it whilst pregnant?
A. No; eating a particular food in pregnancy has no effect on the development of allergy.

Q. If I have another baby will it develop allergies too?
A. Possibly; if you have a sibling with allergies you are more likely to be genetically predisposed to develop allergies. However, having an older sibling decreases the risk of developing allergy.

Written by Sue Cardus, Robyn Halliday and mothers of La Leche League Great Britain

Endnotes

1. Andreas, N., Kampmann, B., Le-Doare, K. Human Breast Milk: A review on its composition and bioactivity. Early Human Development, 2015; 91 (11): 629-635.
2. Muraro, A et al. EACCI Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines. Primary prevention of food allergy. Allergy, 2014;69(5):590-601.
3. NICE Guideline [CG116]. Food allergy in under 19s: assessment and diagnosis, 23rd February 2011, https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg116 (accessed 26th Jul 2020).
4. NHS. Contact dermatitis, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/contact-dermatitis/causes/ (accessed 26th Jul 2020).
5. Muraro, A et al. EAACI Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines. Diagnosis and management of food allergy. Allergy, 2014; 69 (8): 1008-25.
6. Young, M. Editorial: Elimination Diets in Eczema—A Cautionary Tale. JACI: In Practice, 2016; https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(15)00573-5/pdf

Further Reading
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. LLLI. London: Pinter & Martin, 2010.
BREASTFEEDING ANSWERS – A GUIDE
FOR HELPING FAMILIES: SECOND EDITION. . Mohrbacher, N. Nancy Mohrbacher Solutions inc., 2020.
MILK MATTERS: INFANT FEEDING AND IMMUNE DISORDER. Minchin, M. Geelong: Alma Publications, 2015.
BREASTFEEDING WORKS! EVEN WITH ALLERGIES. Noble, R. Brisbane: Complete Publishing, 2017.

Amazing milk
Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?
My Baby Won’t Breastfeed
Rhythms and Routines
Safer Sleep & the Breastfed Baby
Starting Solid Food
Toddlers and Food
The Unhappy Breastfed Baby
Too Much milk
Thrush and Breastfeeding

Online information:
LLLGB website
Unicef Research on Allergies
NICE Guideline [CG116]. Food allergy in under
19s: Assessment and Diagnosis
GP Infant Feeding Network: Cow’s Milk Allergy
National Eczema Society
Anaphylaxis Campaign
CMPA Support

You can buy this information in printed form from our shop.

Copyright LLLGB 2020

Is your Baby Reacting to Breastmilk?

Read time: 8 minutes

What should I know about an allergy or intolerance in my breastfed baby?

• Learn the difference between an allergy and a food intolerance or sensitivity

• Know the signs and symptoms of food allergy or intolerance in breastfed infants

• Learn which foods are the most common allergens or culprits in food intolerances

• How to manage your food intake to help alleviate your baby’s symptoms

Breastmilk is incredible – it offers a complete form of nutrition for infants, and offers a range of benefits for health, growth, immunity, and development. 1 The nutrients in your breastmilk come directly from what’s circulating in your blood, meaning that the nutrients and compounds you absorb from the food you eat are then passed along to your baby.

While being truly allergic or reacting to something in mom’s milk is rare in babies, a small percentage of mothers do notice a difference in their babies’ symptoms or behavior after eating certain foods.

What’s the difference between an allergy and an intolerance or sensitivity? 

Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably, but an allergy and an intolerance/sensitivity are very different.  According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAI), an allergy is when the immune system reacts to a food, whereas an intolerance happens during digestion.2  Allergies generally have more severe symptoms, often causing skin reactions or difficulty breathing.  Food intolerances occur when we have difficulty digesting a food, which often result in gastro-intestinal symptoms.

With an allergy, the culprit food often needs to be taken out of the diet completely to avoid symptoms.  Food intolerances however may allow for a small amount of the offending food to be eaten without any reactions.  This is the ‘threshold’ amount: the lowest amount of the food you can eat without having symptoms.

Read more: Major Allergens: While Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Which foods might cause an allergic reaction?

In general, food allergens include cow’s milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.3  In children, the most common allergens are peanuts, milk, tree nuts, and shellfish.4, 5

What are the symptoms of a food allergy in babies?

Food allergies affect about 7.6% of children in the United States.4

The most common symptoms of an allergy in breastfed infants are eczema (a scaly, red skin rash) and bloody stool (with no other signs of illness). You might also see hives, wheezing or other breathing problems, nasal congestion, swelling of a body part (tongue, lips, face), throat tightness, pale skin, vomiting or diarrhea. 6

If you notice any of these symptoms, be sure to call baby’s pediatrician right away. While you can likely manage most food allergies in your breastfed infant by changing your diet, there are some cases in which using a hypoallergenic formula may be required.

Here are some tips for Managing Gas in Breastfed Babies

Which foods might cause a food intolerance or sensitivity reaction?

You may have heard that eating foods that make you gassy will also cause gastrointestinal distress for your baby, or that eating foods like onion, garlic and cruciferous vegetables will cause colic. While there is no significant data to support such an association, there are some mothers who do notice certain foods make their babies fussier than usual.  This may be a food intolerance or sensitivity.

There is a much wider variety of foods that may trigger a reaction when it comes to food intolerances; but it’s important to note that food sensitivities in babies are much less common than food allergies.

Foods that may cause reactions include: Fructose, lactose and other FODMAPs (easily fermented carbohydrates found in a variety of foods), wheat, histamine (often found in processed meats, cheeses, and some produce), and food additives.7

What are the symptoms of a food intolerance in babies?

The most common symptom of a food sensitivity in babies is a change in their bowel habits.  Extra gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, fussy after eating, mucous in the stool, or crying excessively may indicated baby is not doing well with a food you’re eating.

Note that if your little one has excessive crying that continues on a daily basis and lasts for long periods, that may indicate colic rather than food sensitivity.8 Talk with your pediatrician about this possibility, if eliminating various foods has no effect on your child’s symptoms.

Read: Managing Colic in Babies

What can I do if my baby is reacting to something in my diet?

The ultimate goal is figuring out which food is affecting your baby.   An elimination diet can help identify which food may be causing the allergy or food sensitivity.9 This means removing possible allergens from your diet for 2 to 3 weeks each while you continue breastfeeding.

There are two ways to go about an elimination diet:

Take out one potential allergen or intolerant at a time: If there is one food strongly suspected as the culprit, you can choose to take out just that one food. Watch to see if your baby’s symptoms subside. Should baby’s symptoms get better, keep that food out of your diet.  If baby’s symptoms remain the same over the course of 3 weeks, you can begin eating that food again and then eliminate a different allergen.

Take out all potential allergens or intolerants at once: If you are unsure which food is causing the problems, all allergens or possible culprit foods can be taken out for the 2 to 3 weeks and then added back in one at a time.

For a possible food intolerance or sensitivity, add one food back in over the course of 3 days – this is the challenge period. The first day eat a small amount, the second day eat a medium amount, the third day eat a larger amount.  Doing it this way shows you if baby has a threshold.  Sometimes you can eat a small amount of an offending food without it bothering your little one.

Remember that for a food allergy, it is likely the food must be taken out completely from your diet.

If your baby shows symptoms during any of the challenge days, stop the challenge and take the food back out of your diet.  Don’t trial a new food until all your baby’s symptoms are gone.  If there are no symptoms during the challenge period, you can eventually eat this food again! For now, take it back out of the diet after its 3 day challenge and wait to add it back in after you’ve challenged all culprit foods.10

Keep a good log of the foods you’ve challenged, symptoms, and amounts you’ve eaten!

You can continue breastfeeding despite the symptoms as long as your baby continues to grow and put on weight during this process.

If you plan on trying an elimination diet, especially a multi-food elimination, be sure to work with a registered dietitian. This will help ensure you are still getting all the nutrition you and your baby need as well as help navigate hidden sources of allergens.  Foods like milk, soy, and corn can hide in all sorts of pesky places.

Our Happy Baby Experts are dietitians and infant feeding specialists, they can help you meet your breastfeeding goals while keeping both you and baby happy and healthy.  Chat with them now!

Trying to figure out what to eat while also taking out all allergens? Check out this Meal Plan for Allergen Free Eating. 

Does breastfeeding help protect against allergies?

While more research is needed, some studies have indicated that breastfeeding exclusively for at least four months may help to reduce the risk and severity of food allergies, even in families with a history of them.11, 12

So if your little one does show an intolerance or allergy early, know that it may resolve on its own before they turn one and that continued breastfeeding may help to safeguard against allergies later on.

What should I do if baby is reacting to my breastmilk?

Contact your pediatrician

Bring your baby in for a checkup. You’ll want to rule out any other causes for her symptoms, check baby’s growth and weight gain, and make sure baby is not losing excessive blood if your little one experiencing bloody stool. Your doctor can also discuss the possibility of confirming the presence of an allergy with a skin prick test.

If your child is diagnosed with a food allergy, remember to ask about reintroducing the food later. Most kids will grow out of food allergies, sometimes by their first birthday.

Keep a food and symptom journal

We know it’s hard to find time to eat in those first few months, let alone write down what made it into your mouth, but tracking your intake alongside your baby’s symptoms is a good way to shed light on any possible reactions.

Just remember that foods we eat remain in our bodies for long periods of time. So while a journal can be helpful to pinpoint the onset of symptoms when you first eat the offending food, know that your baby’s symptoms can persist for several days or up to 2 weeks, even if you don’t eat that particular food again.

Try an elimination diet

If you notice an adverse reaction in your baby after you eat certain foods, try removing that food from your diet and watch for improvement.

Start with cow’s milk. The most frequent allergic reaction in breastfed babies is a milk protein allergy.5 Remember, it takes time for your body to be completely free of the offending food, so make sure you’ve removed all sources of the food for at least two weeks.

Seek support

Changing your diet can be hard.  Finding a registered dietitian who can help make adjustments to your diet will help take some stress out of this process.   Additionally, may lactation consultants are familiar with helping make these adjustments as well and also ensuring baby is getting what they need.

Let’s Chat!

We know parenting often means sleepless nights, stressful days, and countless questions and confusion, and we want to support you in your feeding journey and beyond.

Our Happy Baby Experts are a team of lactation consultants and registered dietitians certified in infant and maternal nutrition – and they’re all moms, too, which means they’ve been there and seen that. They’re here to help on our free, live chat platform Monday through Friday, from 8am–6pm ET, and Saturday and Sunday, from 8am–2pm ET. Chat Now!

Read more about the experts that help write our content!

For more on this topic, check out the following articles:

• Breastfeeding Challenges 101: Navigating nursing strikes

• Breastfeeding: How much should you eat while breastfeeding?

• Breastfeeding Challenges 101: Managing gas in breastfed babies

• Which Foods Should You Avoid While Breastfeeding?

why a mother's diet should be balanced, what foods are not allowed, and which are possible with gv

Are there any nutritional restrictions for a nursing mother? Are there really forbidden foods that can cause allergies in a child?

The maternity hospital gave you a diet to follow while breastfeeding. How strictly should it be followed? Do I need to increase portions and drink more fluids to get a lot of milk? I also heard that some products, such as lemons, can spoil the taste of milk, and the child will refuse to breastfeed altogether. This is true?

Vika Vishnyakova

nutritionist

Author profile

The diet of a nursing mother is an old myth that still lives in some Russian maternity hospitals and children's clinics.

The more varied the mother's diet during breastfeeding, the more health bonuses both she and her baby will receive. Most likely, with a balanced and varied diet, your weight will return to pre-pregnancy, but even if this has not happened yet, the breastfeeding period is not the best time to lose weight. You need to provide yourself and your baby with the proper level of nutrients, and this is difficult to do on rigid diets.

However, there are still foods that you should stay away from. I'll tell you more about everything.

What the science says about nutrition during breastfeeding

The diet of a nursing mother appeared at a time when knowledge about the nature of allergies was not enough. Not fully understanding the whole mechanism of its appearance, doctors, just in case, postponed acquaintance with potential allergens until later. It was believed that by the age of three, the child's immune system would mature and be able to withstand the encounter with the allergen.

What to do? 08/13/20

What should I do if I suspect I have an allergy?

In reality, everything turned out differently: the earlier the child got acquainted with the potential allergen, the lower was the risk that he would develop an allergy. In modern recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of food allergies in children, mothers are advised not to limit the diet, but to try to make it more varied.

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in Children - KFAPDF, KB 361

This is the position of leading child health organizations: the best nutrition for a mother during breastfeeding is a balanced and varied diet.

Healthy Diet During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding - WHO European OfficePDF, KB 93

Breastfeeding Diet - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

all five food groups:

1. Vegetables and fruits.
2. Complex carbohydrates: cereals, bread, potatoes.
3. Protein sources.
4. Dairy products.
5. Fats and oils.

And you also need to maintain diversity in each group. For example, eat vegetables and fruits of different colors, use not only meat, but also fish, eggs and legumes with nuts from protein sources.

Breastfeeding Mom's Diet Advice - US Department of Health

And the ratio of animal to vegetable proteins should be approximately the same. Among complex carbohydrates, you should give preference to whole grains and also do not forget about diversity. It turns out that buckwheat and boiled turkey for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day is not a healthy diet option for mom.

Breastfeeding - European Community of Pediatrics, Gastroenterologists, Hepatologists and Nutritionists Commentary

Health Canada Diet

If your diet is balanced and varied, do not take supplements or multivitamins, except for vitamin D. They are needed in rare cases when the diet of a nursing mother is poor or there are health problems. But the doctor should prescribe the composition and dosage of supplements during breastfeeding.

Your appetite will probably increase, this is normal. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a breastfeeding mother may need up to 500 calories in excess of her usual calorie intake to ensure adequate milk supply. But those 500 calories should come from healthier food sources, not soda chips.

/guide/vitamins/

Vitamins: what foods contain and how to supplement

Why a balanced diet is important

Such a diet will help maintain the health of the mother and provide the necessary nutrients to the child. During breastfeeding, it is important to provide yourself with the proper amount of energy, protein, and some important micronutrients: iron, calcium, vitamin D, and folic acid.

These micronutrients may not be enough, because during pregnancy and the onset of breastfeeding, some of them are spent on the needs of the fetus, and then the baby. You can get these substances from dark green vegetables: spinach, broccoli, green beans, as well as dairy products, eggs, legumes, meat and fish.

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How much does breastfeeding cost

If you refuse a large number of foods, it will be difficult to get all these essential nutrients, which can affect your physical condition and well-being, lead to a deficiency of important substances and drag along with you diseases . In addition, the child is more likely to follow the family's eating style as they grow older. The more varied and healthier your diet, the greater the chances of accustoming a child to it.

But unhealthy eating habits can lead to future weight gain and negatively affect food cravings. A study of 1,459 mother-baby pairs found that high body mass index and unhealthy eating habits were more common among children whose mothers followed the so-called Western style of eating, which is high in ultra-processed foods, high-calorie, sweet and fatty.

What not to be afraid of in the diet

Mothers often blame their diet on the baby's restless behavior or minor skin rashes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that only 2-3 out of 100 breastfeeding babies are allergic to any food in the mother's diet.

But by blaming everything on food, we mask the real problem or, conversely, overestimate the significance of some ordinary phenomena, such as newborn acne or prickly heat. If in doubt what kind of rash it is, talk to a competent pediatrician. If the pediatrician suspects a connection between a child’s poor health and food, he will ask you to keep a food diary - this way there will be a potential culprit.

/colic/

How to help a newborn with colic

By eliminating this product for 1-2 weeks, you will either confirm the hypothesis or continue to look for another suspect. But you don’t need to immediately remove all products: this can lead to an imbalance in nutrition, fatigue, nervousness and poor health.

If a pediatrician forbids eating certain foods without complaints about the child's well-being, this is a reason to look for a second opinion. Here are the foods that pediatricians often ban.

Cow's milk. Those children who have a reaction to their mother's food most often have it on cow's milk: the baby may experience abdominal discomfort, colic, skin rash.

But excluding cow's milk in advance, just in case, will not lead to the prevention of allergies in a child. On the contrary, a 2021 Swedish study found that babies whose mothers drink relatively more cow's milk during breastfeeding have a lower risk of developing food allergies than those whose mothers drink little or no milk. The same is true for other potential allergens: if they are excluded, this will not help to avoid allergies in the future, but, on the contrary, will increase the risk of its occurrence.

No need to remove potential allergens from the diet

Valentina Suvorova

pediatric allergist-immunologist

There are foods that are potentially allergenic: milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy. To date, there is not enough scientific evidence to recommend that breastfeeding mothers restrict their diet. There are no differences in the prevalence of allergic diseases in the groups of nursing mothers who avoided milk, eggs and other allergens, and mothers who did not follow any diet.

Fish. Separately, it should be said about fish: it is an important part of a balanced diet for any person, especially a nursing mother. Eating fish affects the proper development of the brain and nervous system of the child and reduces the risks of obesity, asthma and allergies in him at an older age.

Mom's fish intake and baby's cognitive development - MDPIPDF, 523KB

Omega-3s and reducing the risk of allergies in the unborn baby - PLOS Medicine

Two servings a week are enough to keep mother and baby healthy. One serving is your palm without fingers.

Limit swordfish, marlin, bigeye tuna, king mackerel or shark. This is due to the high risk of exceeding the permissible level of mercury in their meat. Such types of fish are rarely found in Russia, but if you live in another country or order them specially from afar, then show moderation. It is better to give preference to other options: salmon, herring, saury, cod.

Foods that give mom gas. There is a myth that a mother and her baby have the same reaction to foods. In reality, gases from the gastrointestinal tract of the mother cannot enter the bloodstream and from there into breast milk, so the discomfort in the mother does not mean the obligatory colic in the baby.

However, when food is digested, certain proteins enter the bloodstream and can then pass into mother's milk. Some children may be sensitive to protein and react to it with increased gas production and nervousness. The reaction can be to any product, even to buckwheat or a green apple, and you can find out with the help of a food diary.

How food passes into breast milk - La Leche Liga

Garlic, spices, spices may change the taste of breast milk, but this does not mean that they should be eliminated. The breastfeeding support association La Leche Liga believes that regular consumption of these products will help the child get used to the family diet before introducing complementary foods. Babies begin to get used to these aromas even in the stomach, when they swallow amniotic fluid, so spices should not be ruled out during pregnancy.

What should be limited in the diet

The probability that a child will feel bad from some product in your diet is small, but still there. Therefore, some products should be consumed in limited quantities, and some should be completely excluded for the GV period.

Alcohol. The safest option is not to drink alcohol during breastfeeding. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that sometimes you can drink a glass of wine, but in the next 2 hours after drinking, you should not feed your baby. Even without HB, there is no safe dose of alcohol, each glass is your personal choice and risk. And during breastfeeding, it is also a responsibility for the life and health of the baby.

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Thermally processed products of animal origin. These are fish, meat and eggs. If you eat them raw, you can become infected with dangerous bacteria: listeria, salmonella, or botulinum bacteria. They are not transmitted through breast milk, but are not safe for the mother herself - you will probably have to take antibiotics, and this may affect the preservation of breastfeeding. That is, it's not about the products, but about the cooking method: if you want a steak - do not deny yourself, but ask for a well-dan. The same with sushi and lightly salted fish: take baked rolls or hot types of fish, and instead of poached eggs - normally boiled.

Coffee. The recommended amount of caffeine is up to 300 mg per day. How many mugs it is depends on the method of preparation. The baby may have a reaction to coffee, as well as to any product, but this is an infrequent occurrence.

How much caffeine is in a cup of drink

Drink	Amount of caffeine, mg
Instant coffee	100
Americano, cappuccino	80-90
Can of Coke, 330 ml	40
Green tea	30-50

drink

The number of caffeine, mg

Soluble coffee

100

America, Kapuchino

80–9000

Coca-Cola bank, 330 ml 9 ml 9 ml

40

Green tea

30-50

What is the result

Breastfeeding diet is a myth. Mom's nutrition during breastfeeding should be balanced and varied.

A potential allergen or food that a child has an intolerance to can be found in the food diary. Eliminating half of the diet just in case is not worth it.

A more varied mother's diet and exposure to potential allergens during breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of future allergies in the baby.

/list/pediatr-deti/

11 important questions for pediatrician Sergey Butriy

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