Caffeine and breastfeeding
Can you drink coffee when breastfeeding? Can you have chocolate breastfeeding?
Caffeine is in many drinks and foods and so it is important to know what it is contained in to make sure you don’t have too much caffeine on a daily basis.
Caffeine can enter breast milk, via entering your bloodstream and can therefore stimulate your baby, which can cause some long-term health effects for your baby, e.g. high blood pressure3. It is therefore best to keep your caffeine content as low as possible. However as with alcohol and breastfeeding, caffeine is alright to consume while breastfeeding, if in moderation.
How much caffeine can you have when breastfeeding?
The NHS advise to only consumer 200mg a day of caffeine to avoid stimulating your baby1. Here are the levels of caffeine in different foods and drinks, so you can make sure you don’t overstimulate your baby when consuming caffeine and breastfeeding.
Caffeine levels of common foods and drinks2,4.
| Source | Caffeine Level (mg) |
|---|---|
| Coffee | |
| - Cup of Instant Coffee | 100 |
| - Cup of Filter Coffee | 140 |
| Cup of Tea | 50 |
| Can of Diet Coca Cola | 42 |
| Can of Energy Drink | 87 |
| 50g of Dark Chocolate | 50 |
| 50g of Milk Chocolate | 10 |
Can you drink coffee while breastfeeding?
Yes, you can drink coffee while breastfeeding. Coffee contains 140mg per filter cup and so you shouldn’t exceed more than 1 cup of filter or 2 cups of instant coffee a day while breastfeeding, to ensure that you don’t exceed the caffeine limit of 200mg a day recommended by the NHS1.
Chocolate and breastfeeding
Chocolate4 contains 10mg caffeine per 50g for milk chocolate, and so unless consuming large amounts should not stimulate your baby. However, chocolate does also contain theobromine, which a similar stimulant to caffeine. Theobromine levels in chocolate are also not high, but when combined with caffeine could have a stronger effect. So, it is best to consume small amounts of chocolate to not overstimulate your baby. So, in short you can still have chocolate while breastfeeding, just make sure you aren’t consuming large amounts.
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