Written By: Laraine Clark, RN, IBCLC
Caution – If you’re a breastfeeding mother, that “high energy” drink may not be as safe as you think.
Perhaps a well-meaning friend remembers how exhausted she
was when she was breastfeeding her new baby around the clock. So she brings over a meal and she includes a
couple of the popular “high energy” drinks, “for you and your partner in
parenting”. Her intentions are to help
you get past fatigue and increase your alertness during the daytime.
The United States Lactation Consultant Association recently published
a brief article, cautioning against the use of “high energy drinks” by
breastfeeding mothers. There appears to
be a potential for harm to the baby since the high caffeine and undisclosed
levels of herbal and vitamins in them are not well studied. Here are some of the potential problems:
- High vitamin levels in the drink combining with the mother’s prenatal vitamins pass along to the baby and could possibly cause some forms of vitamin toxicity.
- High caffeine may lead to irritability in the baby.
- If there are undisclosed herbal contents, they cannot then be measured or evaluated for potential negative interactions with other ingredients.
Caution seems to be appropriate at this time.
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