Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
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 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Breast Milk Affected by What Mother Eats | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield:
I was wondering approximately how long it takes something you eat to affect your breast milk? For example, corn really gives my daughters gas, if I eat corn with a meal, when should I begin discarding my breast milk and for how long? Thanks— Kelaggie96 in Texas | | | ANSWER |
February 20, 2002 | | | Dear Kelaggie96,
This is a great question. Different babies are affected by different foods eaten by their mothers. Some breastfeeding babies hardly notice, it seems, what their mothers eat, while others seem very sensitive to changes in maternal diet. While there isn't research showing exactly how long the milk can be affected by the food, many mothers notice that the baby is colicky for as much as 24 hours after ingesting the affected milk.
I found one reference that tried to figure out how long breast milk is affected by foods mothers eat. This study looked at garlic, which gives breast milk a characteristic odor. The odor was noted to peak in the breast milk at two hours after the garlic was eaten and appeared to by gone after four hours. You probably will have to play around with this, but it seems reasonable to pump three to four hours after eating corn and then feed her again. Good luck! Let us know how it works.
— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
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