Overall, soda is safe to consume while breastfeeding and will not cause any adverse effects to you or your breastfed baby. However, if the soda is caffeinated, avoid consuming more than the recommended limit of 300 milligrams per day.
The short answer is yes, it is generally safe to drink caffeine while you are breastfeeding your baby. However, experts recommend limiting your caffeine intake to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day while nursing. Caffeine does affect some babies. Breast milk can contain small traces of the substance.
Not really, unless they're caffeinated. (Caffeine has been reported by some moms to cause irritability and colic symptoms in their breastfed babies.) Your afternoon soda shouldn't bother baby, but beware that fizzy drinks can make you feel bloated and full, keeping you from drinking enough fluids during the day.
Other studies have suggested psychomotor delay in infants of moderate drinkers (2+ drinks daily). Avoid breastfeeding during and for 2 – 3 hours after drinking alcohol. Heavy drinkers should wait longer.
The best thing you can drink, particularly in the early stages of breast feeding, is plain water… and lots of it. Avoid any fizzy drinks. They contain artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, which just like giving your baby a coffee. Plain water is best.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, cocaine should not be used by breastfeeding mothers. Mothers who choose to breastfeed and who use cocaine intermittently should delay breastfeeding for at least 24 hours after use. Any cocaine present in the body can pass into breast milk in significant amounts.
Coffee, soda, or alcohol, in moderation
One serving of coffee or soda a day does not have enough caffeine or dehydrating factors to reduce your breast milk supply.
If you choose to drink, avoid breastfeeding until alcohol has completely cleared your breast milk. This typically takes 2 to 3 hours for 12 ounces (355 milliliters) of 5% beer, 5 ounces (148 milliliters) of 11% wine or 1.5 ounces (44 milliliters) of 40% liquor, depending on your body weight.
If a mother has consumed more than a moderate amount of alcohol, she may choose to wait 2 hours (per drink) to breastfeed her child, or feed her infant with milk that had been previously expressed when she had not been drinking, to reduce her infant's exposure to alcohol.
Adult metabolism of alcohol is approximately 1 oz of pure ethanol in 3 hours, so mothers who ingest alcohol in moderate amounts can generally return to breastfeeding as soon as they feel neurologically normal. A good rule is 2 hours for each drink consumed.
Yes. Cocaine crosses through the placenta and into the baby. It also takes longer for a developing baby or newborn to get cocaine out of their system than it does an adult. Using cocaine during pregnancy may cause serious problems for your baby, before and after birth.
However, in one study, the average half-life of caffeine in breastmilk was reached 6.1 hours after consumption. To put it simply, this means that the average breastfeeding mother (6 hours after consuming caffeine) could still have 50% of the caffeine dose remaining in her breastmilk (CM Berlin Jr., et al., 1984).
Mercy Pediatrician, Dr. Ashanti Woods, Discusses Effect of High Sugar Levels in Breast Milk. Mothers who consume large amounts of sugar could be passing the added sugar to their infants through breast milk, which could hamper the child's cognitive development.
Limit caffeine when you're breastfeeding. Caffeine is a drug that's found in things like coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, chocolate and some energy drinks and medicines. Too much caffeine in breast milk can make your baby fussy or have trouble sleeping.
You never want to be actively drinking alcohol while breastfeeding, says Bechhold. The rule is that you should wait two hours per each drink — a “drink” being a 12 oz glass of beer, 5 oz glass of wine, or a shot of liquor. If you were to have two drinks, you should wait four hours before breastfeeding.
The World Health Organization recommends avoiding alcohol during lactation, 1 whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that occasional alcohol use equivalent to 8 oz of wine or 2 cans of beer per day may be acceptable and that waiting 2 hours after the last drink before breastfeeding is sufficient.
The body clears alcohol from breast milk and the bloodstream at the same rate, so pumping and dumping won't make milk any safer.
When you metabolize alcohol, your body processes and breaks it down. Once you've metabolized the alcohol, it's out of your breast milk, too. So, you can safely breastfeed about two hours after you've finished one drink. Wait four to five hours if you've had two drinks.
The amount of alcohol taken in by a nursing infant through breast milk is estimated to be 5% to 6% of the weight-adjusted maternal dose. Alcohol can typically be detected in breast milk for about 2 to 3 hours after a single drink is consumed.
What if you're hungover the next day? As long as you're no longer drunk, it's safe to breastfeed. Even if you feel nauseous or are vomiting, it's still safe to breastfeed. Just be sure you are staying hydrated and getting some rest.
If you drink caffeinated soda, you'll want to take into account other sources of caffeine in your diet (like coffee, tea, and chocolate) so you don't get too much. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends limiting caffeine during pregnancy to 200 milligrams (mg) a day.
The average peak milk levels from both breasts was 2.5 mg/L at 1 hour after the dose. Caffeine concentrations in milk from both breasts fell with an average half-life of 7.2 hours. [11] Using milk AUC data from 5 of the women, an exclusively breastfed infant would receive about 10% of the weight-adjusted maternal dose.
HOW MUCH CAFFEINE IS SAFE TO CONSUME? Up to 200-300 mg of caffeine, or about 2-3 cups of coffee, is considered safe to consume while breastfeeding (EFSA, 2020; CDC, 2020). According to the Mayo Clinic, an average 8 oz cup of coffee contains 95 – 165 mg of caffeine and an 8oz cup of black tea can contain 25-48 mg.