Claire
If you’ve found yourself asking, “do coffee and breastfeeding mix?“, the short answer is yes – in moderation!
It is generally considered safe to consume moderate amounts of caffeine while breastfeeding. Caffeine is present in many foods and drinks, including coffee, tea, chocolate, and soda.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that breastfeeding mothers can safely consume up to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, which is equivalent to about 3 cups (237 milliliters) of coffee.
However, it is important to note that caffeine is present in many other foods and drinks besides coffee, so you should consider the total amount of caffeine you are consuming from all sources.
While it is generally safe to consume moderate amounts of caffeine while breastfeeding, it is important to be aware that caffeine is a stimulant that can affect your baby.
Caffeine can pass into your breast milk and your baby may be more fussy or have difficulty sleeping if you consume large amounts of caffeine. If you are concerned about the effect of caffeine on your baby, it is a good idea to monitor your intake and try to limit your consumption to moderate amounts.
Drinking coffee and breast milk are perfectly safe as long as you’re staying within the recommended two to three cups maximum per day AND checking on baby to see if baby is experiencing side effects from your caffeine consumption. (AIM to stay under about 300mg-ish)
The caveat of coffee and breastfeeding is that you NEED to make sure you’re checking the caffeine content of whatever you drink!
You’d be surprised just how widely caffeine content can vary between coffee and other drinks!
☕️ Starbucks Blonde Roast Coffee (12 oz) 260 mg
☕️ Starbucks Dark Coffee (12 oz) 93 mg
☕️ Starbucks Iced Coffee (12 oz) 120 mg
☕️ Starbucks Café Latte (12 oz) 75 mg
🍵 Starbucks Green Tea Latte (12 oz) 55 mg
🍵 Starbucks Chai Tea Latte (12 oz) 40 mg
🍦Starbucks Caramel Frappe (12 oz) 70 mg
☕️ Regular Brewed Coffee (8 oz) 70-140 mg
🥤Coke (12 oz) 34 mg
🥤Diet Coke (12 oz) 46 mg
🥤Pepsi (12 oz) 38 mg
🥤Mountain Dew (12 oz) 54 mg
🥤Dr Pepper (12 oz) 41 mg
🥤Redbull (12 oz) 111 mg
🥤Monster (16 oz) 160 mg
🍶Black Tea (8 oz) 25-50 mg
🍶Green Tea (8 oz) 25-30 mg
💊 Excedrin Extra Strength (1 tablet) 65 mg
🍫Dark Chocolate (1 oz) 12 mg
Image Credit @mommy.labornurse on Instagram
Originally posted 2023-01-04 17:39:30.
Luckily i don’t mind if i don’t drink coffee, so i quit drinking since pregnancy as it would cause me nausea.
Having coffee during winters regulates the body temperature thus keeping breastfeeding moms warm
Once you get to your fourth pregnancy with three kids under 5; you don’t really notice how much caffeine you’re consuming anymore….you’re just trying to survive 😂
You don’t mention espressos- single and double shots. What about those?
Great info 👏
I’ve successfully switched to one cup of decaf a day while currently pregnant, but I miss espresso 😭 😂
Love my iced coffee ! I do iced instead of cold brew bc it has less caffeine. Then I can drink 2 cups instead of one. 😂😂
Question – what are those “side effects”? What should I be looking for?
One you may want to add is a cup from Nespresso is 185mg ish 😱
Okay, but that mug looks like a jar of pickles and my pregnant-still-breastfeeding fatigued mind was like, where can I get this pickle jar that has a handle on it? Brilliant 😂
Do you have a post about drinking and breastfeeding? Can’t wait to have a glass of wine again but not sure how it all works.
About to transition into night shift life and I was worried about this 😭 glad to hear it’s more safe than I thought!
Yep! I usually have two cups of brewed coffee daily to survive the newborn and one-year-old mom life
I wish I knew this when I was pregnant the first time. I cut all caffeine including chocolate out for a year and a half when pregnant and when I pumped till 6 months. 😂😂
My first 3 months of breastfeeding: no coffee oh no can’t have coffee!! Months 3-6: one cup is fine, it doesn’t seem to affect her. 6-12: well 2 cups seems like not much more than 1. 12 months and on: give me the whole pot this hooligan child needs me to be caffeinated.
What about espresso? I usually drink latte with 2 shots of espresso 2 times a day. Is this amount safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding?
Which breast pump would you recommend? I’m considering Elvie but the cost is high so any recommendations ?