How Much Water Should You Drink When Breastfeeding

Be Mindful Of Weather And Activity

Kids arent able to regulate their body temperature as easily as adults, so its harder for them to recover and cool off. Encourage fluid intake before, during, and after activities.

As a guideline, encourage at least 4 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes, or whenever a break happens. An ounce of water is equal to about one gulp from your little one.

Drinks To Take While Breastfeeding

While breastfeeding, it is strictly forbidden to consume dehydrating drinks such as alcohol and other beverages, caffeine or caffeinated drinks, sodas, and sugary fruit juices, etc.

The drinks are suggested that keep you hydrated while breastfeeding. Like,

• Cow milk or nut milk either in liquid form or by putting in the cereals.
• Foods, Fruit, and vegetables with high water content such as watermelon, oranges, berries, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuces, etc.
• Free of caffeine coffee or tea.

Take calcium in your diet from sources such as green leafy vegetables, cheeses, yogurts, and foods fortified with calcium, etc while nursing your little one.

How Do I Know If Im Drinking The Right Amount Of Water While Breastfeeding

Your body will tell you if youre drinking enough! If youre not drinking enough youll feel thirsty. As long as youre drinking enough to satisfy your thirst, youre probably drinking enough.

PRO-TIP: Check the color of your urine as a quick hydration test. If your urine is dark yellow, increase your fluids.

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My Tip To Drink Enough Water:

Besides drinking a glass of water every time your baby nurses, Ive found that the best way to drink water is to carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go.

I always have one with me when I sit down to nurse and I carry one in my diaper bag everywhere I go. I prefer this one made from stainless steels to avoid plastic leaching chemicals into my water. Its also spill-proof which is a must for me because I carry my bottle sideways in my bag.

Keep A Bottle With You

It feels frustrating when you are thirsty and dont have water accessible. So, wherever you go, always have a bottle of water with you. For instance, you can keep one bottle in the car, another in a bag or desk, the other one beside your bed, etc. Having water readily accessible will reduce your chances of consuming other fluids like soda or coffee to quench your thirst.

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How To Get Enough Fluids

Your top indicator of whether you need more fluids is thirst. A good rule of thumb is to drink enough water so that you’re not thirsty, otherwise known as “drinking to thirst.”

Thirst is your body’s way of telling you that you need to drink more, so do your best to pay attention to it. By the time you’re physically craving water, your body is already depleted of fluid.

Soon after starting to nurse, you will notice that you feel thirsty more often.

This desire to drink more water while nursing is triggered by oxytocin, a hormone released during breastfeeding. Oxytocin naturally affects your thirst cues to encourage you to drink enough water to hydrate yourself and make breast milk.

The color of your urine is a telling clue about your level of hydration. If your urine is dark, it isn’t being diluted enough by what you drink. Look for a pale yellow or almost clear color which indicates you’re getting enough fluids.

What Is The Recommended Water Intake When Im Not Breastfeeding

The normal recommended water intake for NON-BREASTFEEDERS is roughly ½ an ounce per pound. .

For breastfeeding, you need to make sure youre drinking MORE than that number.

Experts recommend breastfeeding moms get at least 128 ounces per day.

However, the total amount of ounces of water you should drink per day while breastfeeding is dependent on a few things your weight, whether you live in a hot climate, whether you exercise, and your milk production levels.

Its easy for a new mom to get caught up in her new duties and forget to drink enough water.

PRO-TIP #1: One way to ensure you drink at least 16 cups of water per day is to drink a glass of water each time you breastfeed.

PRO-TIP #2: Your water intake can come from both liquids and foods that have high water content like cucumbers, watermelons, and soups.

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1. To get more milk out. Frida Moms Lactation Massageris a cool little gadget that helps baby get more milk out during nursing and helps you express more milk when pumping.

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3. To soothe your nips.This nipple balm..

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Treatment For Breastfeeding Dehydration

The best way to keep hydrated when breastfeeding is to make sure you are consuming the recommended amount of water, plus extra to make up for the fluid lost in breastmilk. It is recommended that you drink at least 128 ounces of fluids per day while breastfeeding and limit intake of sugary drinks.

However, if you are looking for a more efficient way to rehydrate, try SOS Hydration. SOS is medically formulated by our Co-founder and leading doctor, Dr. Blanca Lizaola-Mayo, to provide sustained hydration for all ages, containing an effective blend of electrolytes and vitamins to combat dehydration and maintain healthy body function. Our new range of daily electrolyte, vitamin and mineral drinks provide all essential vitamins and nutrients to support healthy body function and babys growth.

Top tip: Rehydrate yourself before or after every baby feed and with your own meals. This way, you will get into the habit of topping up on liquids and staying hydrated throughout the day.

If your baby shows signs of dehydration, it is recommended that you continue breastfeeding if possible and try to increase the number of feeds per day. However, if symptoms persist, you should seek medical advice.

SOS Hydration is also suitable treatment for infants suffering from dehydration. Speaking from our own experience with our daughter who caught norovirus at 9 months old, SOS is a real game changer with speeding up recovery and helping to prevent dehydration when ill.

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Drink Water From A Source You Can Trust

If youre worried about your water, consider upgrading to a water filter. Unlike others, our partner’s advanced water filtersare certified to remove lead, PFAS, perchlorate, and hundreds of other common and covert contaminants found in tap water. Limit Sugar, Caffeine, and Alcohol

Just as certain chemicals and contaminants from water can affect the composition of your breastmilk, so can sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Excessive levels of sugar can contribute to diabetes and obesity over time. The caffeine you drink can make baby wired. And alcohol takes time to clear your body. Its not that you need to eliminate your favorite frappuccinos, caffeinated drinks, energy drinks, or cocktail, but dont overdo it.

Hydrating Yourself While Breastfeeding

We all know the importance of drinking enough fluids. But it does not necessarily get translated into actually consuming them. Here are a few tips that nursing moms can follow in order to remain hydrated while breastfeeding:

• It is best to refrain from or strictly limit the intake of dehydrating drinks like soda, caffeine, tea, alcohol when nursing.

• It is advisable to keep a check on the sugar intake as well. Sugar can hinder the absorption of water by the body. So, avoid fruit juices.

• Set a daily target for yourself. Pour out in a jug the required amount of water you need to consume in a day and keep it close by. Aim to finish it by the end of the day.

• If you are bored of drinking regular water, try flavouring the water with refreshing mint, fresh fruits like strawberries, lemon, cucumbers.

• If you prefer drinking cold water while breastfeeding, you can opt for a hydro flask which can keep the water cool.

• Make it a rule to carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go so that water is always readily available when you need it for example, if youre breastfeeding at the workplace.

• Incorporate foods in your diet that have high water content like vegetables, fruits like watermelon, soups and so on.

• There are some free hydration reminder apps available online. You can always download one.

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How Do You Know If Youre Not Drinking Enough Water

• You will feel thirsty: this is obvious but sometimes were so busy we can forget to drink water.
• You will urinate very little.
• You urine will be darker and might have a strong smell: if youre urine is a light yellowish tone then youre drinking enough.
• You will feel dizzy: you really want to avoid getting to this point.

How Hydration Affects Baby Milk Supply

A breastfeeding mom should drink enough fluids for her body and milk supply needs, but not more than that. While stay hydrated is important during pregnancy and lactation. It is important that the fluid volume does not affect breast milk production. And any negative effects like urinary tract infections, kidney stones, or dehydration.

Breastmilk production by the human body is very complicated. It has been shown that hydration can affect its composition and concentration. The results of this study suggest that mothers should be advised to drink at least 2 liters of fluid daily. For optimal breast milk volume, regardless of breastfeeding frequency or type of feeding.

Breast milk production is an extremely complex substance that contains a blend of nutrients and other substances that cannot be replicated in formula. In fact, it has been postulated by some researchers that breast milk isnt just food for the infant. But also a substance secreted by the mammary gland with many functions outside of feeding itself. In hot weather, if pregnant women stay hydrated then it can help to improve their skin health.

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The Link Between Breastfeeding And Water

As stated above, the nutrients in breast milk are the essential ingredients for the growth and development of your baby. There is a strong link between breastfeeding and taking water in. As you know that breastfeeding your child can make you feel dehydrated because of the loss of fluids. So to compensate for this loss, you must drink more water when you feel silk.

Most people think that continuing to drink too much water than necessary makes your breast milk thin or increases the milk supply. These are false and baseless ideas with no scientific reasons. Taking more fluids than your thirst does not affect the composition of breast milk and its supply. Keep in mind, the only reason to suggest a lactating mother drink extra fluids is just to keep her staying hydrated.

Why You Should Drink Water

While pregnant, its common to hear the phrase eating for two. The same goes for breastfeeding. Everything you consume has a potential impact on you and your babys health, including the amount of water you drink.

Here are some solid reasons why you need to drink the recommended amount of water daily:

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Helps You Both Stay Hydrated

For the breastfeeding mom, your body knows that the babys nutritional needs to come first. This means some of the fluids in your body will be diverted to milk production.

In the process, you lose the fluids you need to function optimally, a scenario that may lead to dehydration. If you dont replenish your fluids, your baby may end up becoming dehydrated, as well, from a decrease in your milk supply . Drinking water replenishes lost fluids and keeps both you and your baby healthy.

Breastfeeding Dehydration: Risks Causes & Prevention

Hydration is crucial during pregnancy however is also just as important after delivering the baby, especially if you choose to breastfeed.

Breast milk is made up of 88% water so if youre not drinking enough water while breastfeeding, this can disrupt your breast milk production and affect your babys feeding. This means that taking care of your own hydration is key when it comes to taking care of your little one and preventing the risks associated with dehydration for both of you.

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How Much Water Do You Need To Drink While Breastfeeding

As a general rule, experts recommend that you drink 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce of water per pound that you weigh when you arent nursing. For example, if you weigh 130 pounds, its a good idea to aim for 65 ounces of water per day. When you are nursing, you need to consume additional water above this recommended amount in order to stay well-hydrated.

You probably noticed soon after you begin nursing your little one that you felt thirsty more often. The oxytocin that your body releases during breastfeeding is responsible for triggering your thirst. This is your bodys natural way of ensuring that you are getting enough water to make breast milk. Aim to drink the amount of water that you need each day for good health and then drink to thirst beyond that.

One way to determine if you are getting enough water is to pay close attention to your urine. If you are drinking enough water, it will be almost clear or a pale yellow color. If it is dark yellow or you notice that you are urinating less often than usual, you could be dehydrated.

Can I Drink Too Much Water While Breastfeeding

When breastfeeding, dont aim to drink gallons of water or chug your daily amount at one time. When you drink too much, your body tries to balance your bodys electrolytes by removing the excess water in the urine. When this happens, it causes the water to reroute away from your breasts, which can cause your milk supply to decline. Drinking when you are thirsty, drinking throughout the day, and checking the color of your urine are the best ways to get the right amount of water.

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Is Water Important For Nursing Mums

Staying hydrated is just as important when breastfeeding as it isduring pregnancy. Drinking water unlocks numerous plus-points for every individual. It improves energy levels, aids brain function, prevents headaches, and promotes healthy digestion to name but a few things.

As 90% of your breast milk is water, getting the fluids you need every day will help you to make and maintain a healthy supply that ensures you and your baby continue to receive the health benefits that breastfeeding brings.

It Doesnt Have To Be This Way

You can feel confident breastfeeding your new baby. Spend time snuggling instead of frantically googling. Cindy and Jana have helped thousands of new families and can help you as well.

Simply Breastfeeding is an indispensable resource which takes you step by step through the things you will need to know about breastfeeding. Your subscription never expires you can refer back when you have questions and learn at home at your own pace. Pause, rewind and replay as often as you like.

As Registered Nurses and Lactation Consultants with over 20 years experience, Cindy and Janas goal is to help you discover the real expert for your baby YOU! > > > > CHECK IT OUT!

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Tips To Increase Your Water Intake

Its a good idea to drink a glass of water before or when you breastfeed your baby. Near your favorite place to nurse, set up a breastfeeding station with a water bottle that you fill between feedings and fruit with high water content . To improve the taste of your water, add fruit, a small amount of juice, or a squeeze of lemon. You can also to help track your water intake during the day.

How Much Water Should I Drink While Breastfeeding

Drink plenty of fluids to keep hydration levels healthy

Brian Levine, MD, MS, FACOG, is board-certified in obstetrics-gynecology, as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility . He is the director and founding partner of CCRM New York and was named a rising star by Super Doctors from 2017 to 2019.

• Drinks to Limit

When you’re breastfeeding, you are hydrating your little one and yourself. Breast milk is about 90% water, so it’s key to know how much water to drink while breastfeeding. Experts recommend drinking about 128 ounces of water per day if you are breastfeeding. Although research has found that nursing parents do not need to drink more fluids than what’s necessary to satisfy their thirst.

128 ounces sounds like a lot16 8-ounce cupsbut 8 ounces is a pretty small serving size. If you drink one 8-ounce glass of water before and after each feeding, as well as with meals, you should be able to hit that 128-ounce goal. Here is a closer look at how much much water you should drink while breastfeeding.

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Signs Youre Not Drinking Enough Water

• Thirst. If thirst strikes, dont wait to drink up. Its not a sign you want waterits a sign you need water.

• Assess the color of your urine. Dark yellow / darker urine tends to indicate you need more water. Pale yellow or clear urine tends to indicate you are adequately hydrated. Thats because water can lighten the color of urine.

• Infrequent urination. You should be going to the bathroom regularly.

• Dry mouth and lips. If your skin isnt hydrated, you arent hydrated.

• Standard signs of dehydration like muscle cramps, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue.