Wondering about the dietary advice recommended before or during breastfeeding? We've put together a few things to avoid and some things to keep in mind!

Dietary advice for breastfeeding

Food supplements, health foods and herbal teas:
When you are breastfeeding, you should be careful with food supplements, herbal products, herbal teas, herbal remedies, traditional herbal medicines and natural products, as it is often not known whether they can be harmful to the baby. Therefore, do not use such products without first discussing them with the nurse at the child health center or the doctor.

You should completely avoid ginseng products. They are unsuitable when breastfeeding. You should also be careful with seaweed products that are high in iodine. Excessive doses of iodine can be harmful.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) advises against giving fennel tea to children under the age of four. The reason is that not enough is known about the effects on children. The EMA also advises against breastfeeding women drinking fennel tea. The Swedish National Food Agency supports these recommendations.

Coffee, tea and energy drinks:
Caffeine from coffee and tea is passed to the baby via breast milk in small enough quantities that it does not harm the baby. Therefore, you do not need to cut down on coffee or tea when breastfeeding.

Bacteria and parasites:
The advice on listeria and toxoplasma only applies to pregnant women, not to breastfeeding women.

Are you planning to have more children?
Even if it seems distant now, you may eventually start thinking about having more children. When you might get pregnant again, it's a good idea to start taking folic acid tablets. 400 micrograms of folic acid per day reduces the risk of the fetus developing spina bifida. To be effective, you need to start about a month before you become pregnant.

Can you drink alcohol while breastfeeding?

Alcohol has no positive effects on breastfeeding. However, according to current research, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol while breastfeeding, i.e. 1-2 glasses of wine or equivalent 1-2 times a week, does not pose any medical risks to the baby. The amount of alcohol that the baby can ingest with breast milk is very small.

As it is ethically questionable to carry out controlled studies on alcohol, breastfeeding and possible effects on the breastfed baby, there is not much research in this area. The studies that have been done have focused on moderate alcohol consumption during breastfeeding, but there is a lack of knowledge about how higher or more regular alcohol consumption could affect the baby. The research that does exist shows no medical risks to the baby if the mother drinks small amounts of alcohol occasionally. However, there are some studies that show that the baby's development may be affected if the mother drinks alcohol and breastfeeds.

Alcohol can reduce breast milk production, reduce the amount of milk the baby drinks and disturb the baby's sleep. The baby will compensate for this within 24 hours if the mother does not drink alcohol during that time. However, it is not possible to say for sure that alcohol consumption plays no role at all. Read about other effects of alcohol in the brochure "Think about the company you keep!" published by the Public Health Agency of Sweden. Child health services provide advice on parenting and alcohol.

Read more articles on breastfeeding here.