Breastfeeding

Many women have questions, concerns, and doubts regarding exercise while breastfeeding. Is it okay? Will it affect my milk supply? Will it change the taste of my milk? Will it affect the baby? And the list goes on.

Here are four important facts to know that'll put your mind at ease:

Exercise won't hurt your milk supply. As long as you maintain a healthy diet, your milk supply should not be affected by exercise. Your body burns about 500 calories per day to produce the milk your baby needs. If you are exercising a lot, you must compensate for the extra calories.

It won't change the taste, either. Some old wives' tales caution against excessive exercise because it makes your milk sour, so babies won't want to feed. It turns out there may be some truth to that belief. Studies have shown that lactic acid levels in breast milk are significantly elevated for up to 90 minutes after maximal exercise, which may adversely alter the flavor of the milk.

The good news is that there is no such elevation in lactic acid levels after moderate activity. So as long as you keep your aerobic exercise in the 80% of maximal heart rate range, your baby won't notice a difference. Since you may sweat while working out, be sure to shower or wipe off your nipples, or they may taste salty!

Since your ligaments are lax for up to four months postpartum and your body has to recover after baby, you should start any activity slowly. Beginning with 10-15 minutes of low-impact cardio activities such as swimming, walking or the elliptical machine, and increasing by five minutes at a time is a good plan. Keep your heart rate at 80 percent or less of maximum (220 minus your age). Incorporate at least 10 minutes of core strengthening as well to help regain strength and muscle tone in the muscles most affected by pregnancy. There are even some core exercises you can do while breastfeeding, helping busy moms to multitask and get fit while feeding baby!

that exclusively breastfed babies of moms who exercise regularly grow just as robustly as those whose moms are sedentary. Those bonus immune-boosters in breast milk don’t seem to be altered with moderate exercise either. Another study showed that women who performed moderate aerobic exercise for 30 minutes three times per week had the same levels of the immune-boosting compounds in breast milk as those who didn’t exercise, and, not surprisingly, those women exhibited higher levels of cardiovascular fitness.

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. However, contrary to WHO recommendations, fewer than half of infants under 6 months old are exclusively breastfed.

Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one third during the second year of life. 

Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers. 

Inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes continues to undermine efforts to improve breastfeeding rates and duration worldwide.

There are 4 broad sub-forms of undernutrition: wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Undernutrition makes children in particular much more vulnerable to disease and death.

Low weight-for-height is known as wasting. It usually indicates recent and severe weight loss, because a person has not had enough food to eat and/or they have had an infectious disease, such as diarrhoea, which has caused them to lose weight. A young child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.

Low height-for-age is known as stunting. It is the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition, usually associated with poor socioeconomic conditions, poor maternal health and nutrition, frequent illness, and/or inappropriate infant and young child feeding and care in early life. Stunting holds children back from reaching their physical and cognitive potential.

Children with low weight-for-age are known as underweight. A child who is underweight may be stunted, wasted, or both.