Does drinking coffee while nursing reduce your milk supply?

Question

Ive been nursing (pumping and bottle feeding bcuz baby wouldnt latch-works great) for about 5 months and have started back up on coffee. Decaf of course, about 5 cups a day. Just started back up last week and now it seems im only drawing about 5-6 ounces between both breasts. I use to get 9-10 oz. I havnt reduced the amount of time between pumping its always every 3 hours even though my baby only eats every 4-5hrs. That keeps up the supply. Dont know what else to blame it on unless my body is just saying enough is enough. In case your curious this works great. Its so convient. Breast milk lasts some say up to 10hrs at room temp I dump after 4. You can pump b4 you go somewhere and if your baby gets hungry you dont have to worry about finding a place to nurse. Plus it frees you up a bit, so you can leave baby with hubby for a walk or something without worring about wether or not hes gonna get hungry while your out. Plus my baby has slept 9 strait hrs every night since hewas 2mo

Answer 1

Coffee does not reduce your milk supply. It *can* cause your baby to be more wakeful (even "decaffeinated" coffee contains *some* caffeine).

The only thing I can think of that *could* be related to coffee is that coffee (even decaf) can dehydrate you. However, you would have to be seriously dehydrated for it to affect your milk supply. If you think this could be part of the problem, then just be sure you drink a glass of water (in addition to whatever you were drinking when you *weren't* drinking coffee) for every cup of coffee...

Other than that, many women *do* have problems pumping enough; typically this occurs when the baby is 3-5 months old. If this is the problem, switching to a different pump often helps. It seems that, for many women, the body gets too used to the pump and stops responding well. I would suggest trying (if you're not already) a hospital-grade rental pump that pumps both breasts at the same time. It is the most effective type. In adition, try pumping every 2 hours for a few days; this will often help if your supply needs a boost.

I'm glad this has worked out so well for you, but early supply problems (as you may be starting to experience) is a serious risk with exclusive pumping. And many women *don't* consider having to throw out milk that they have worked so hard for "convenient", either. As for storage, it depends on what the "room temperature" is. At 77F, milk will last for 4-6 hours. At 68F, it's good for 10 hours. And at 60F, it's good for up to 24 hours. Only if the room is really hot do you need to discard it after 4 hours. (See chart on the page in the sources section below.)

Answer 2

If there's any way you can get your baby to latch (maybe with the help of a lactation consultant) that would get your supply up the best. No pump works as well as a baby. Some things to try: use a hospital-grade pump (usually rentals). They really do work better than others. The Medela Symphony has helped me a great deal. fenugreek is an herb that, in some women, increases milk supply. Continue pumping 5 minutes after your milk has stopped. This tells the breasts to 'increase supply' and they'll start making more over the next few days. Frustration is your biggest enemy, so hang in there. Try to relax as you pump. With my other child, I'd always have my best pumping while watching Jay Leno's monologue. I cover my pump so I can't watch how much I'm getting--I seem to get more that way. Keep up the good work, it's so worth it!

Answer 3

I really dont know if it reduces your supply but if your drinking coffee beacuse when you breastfeed you burn 500 + more calories than if you dont so you have to make sure that you are replacing those calories with nourishing food.