Nutrition, Dieting & Breastfeeding Questions Answered

Is it OK for me to exercise?

Is it okay for me to exercise (e.g. strenuous aerobic activity) prior to breastfeeding my son?  I have been told that exercise will make my milk taste bitter and I will produce less at that particular feeding?





There is some research that indicated that "max" treadmill work - exercising to exhaustion - does raise lactic acid levels in the milk.  Lactic acid in high concentrations could taste bitter.  (GB Carey,Quinn TJ,and SE Goodwin. Breastmilk Composition after exercise of different intensities. J Hum Lact 1997; 13:115-120)

However, mothers who do what I would call "normal" aerobic exercise - jogging or dance, for example - do not raise the lactic acid levels in their milk to a detectable level.  Milk production is not negatively affected by this exercise either. In fact, some studies suggest that mothers who exercise produce more milk than mothers who do not.



 

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