Milk Supply and Working Out
Breastfeeding is hugely important to a lot of new moms. For exercising mamas in particular, many worry about how increasing physical activity may negatively affect milk supply. We wanted to clear up any misconceptions and give you some comfort.
If you are breastfeeding, your baby should ideally be gaining weight and feeding relatively normally before beginning an exercise program. This will typically happen before the six-week mark where the Expecting and Empowered: Postpartum Guide progresses to exercise.
The good news is there are studies out there to show there is NO difference in milk production or milk composition between “moderately” exercising and sedentary mamas (3).Studies looking specifically at high intensity exercise and its effect on production and composition are more inconsistent (1, 2). The Expecting and Empowered Postpartum guide is NOT considered high intensity exercise.
When engaging in exercise postpartum, your fluid intake is so important. The easiest way to tell if you are adequately hydrated is to look at the color of your urine! Your urine should be very light in appearance (straw-colored or clear) when you are breastfeeding. If you start to see too much yellow, it is time to increase your water intake. Postpartum moms may need 12 or more glasses of water daily! Breastmilk is typically always about 90% water (4), the water to make that milk has to come from YOU!
There is little doubt that breastfeeding mamas can successfully produce enough milk for their babies AND exercise. To achieve success, nutrition is exceptionally important. If you are burning way more calories than you are consuming (from both exercising and producing milk) you may need to increase your food intake. There are many healthy ways to increase calories, such as adding an apple with almond butter to your morning or crackers with hummus to your afternoon. A consult with a post-natal nutrition expert can be extremely valuable.
Despite healthy eating and exercise, breastfeeding mamas may hold onto an extra five to ten pounds from their pre-pregnancy weight. Even for these women, we would continue to encourage eating enough. Losing baby weight can hopefully come eventually from eating very healthy foods so you can successfully sustain both your breastfeeding and workouts.
Personal note: THIS is me. I had friends that had their baby weight just melt off because of breastfeeding! Jealous! I was in the camp of holding onto extra weight. I had to remind myself and want to remind those of you that MIGHT experience the same thing: all of our bodies are different and need different things. Do not get hung up comparing yourself to your girlfriend that dropped her baby weight in two months time. This is YOUR journey mama.
Sources:
Dewey KG, Lovelady CA. Exercise and breastfeeding: a difference experience. Pediatrics. 1993; 91:514-515.
Dewey KG, McCroy MA. Effects of dieting and physical activity on pregnancy and lactation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994; 59: 446S-453S.
Lovelady C, Lonnerdal B, Dewey K. Lactation performance of exercising women. AmJ Clin Nutr. 1990; 52: 103-109.
Martin, C., Ling, P.-R., & Blackburn, G. (2016). Review of Infant Feeding: Key Features of Breast Milk and Infant Formula. Nutrients, 8(5), 279. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8050279