Multivitamins (for mom) while breastfeeding

[Siana]

Any reason why moms shouldn't take multivitamins while nursing?
I've searched online but came up with nothing.

[alegna]

I'm still taking rainbow light prenatals, so I'd say go for it.

-Angela

[Yulia_R]

I have been taking vitamins “Pregnancy Plus” (for pg & breastfeeding women) throughout my pregnancy and until now (I'm breastfeeding and my baby is 7.5m.o.).

[KittyKat]

From what I understand, the general consensus is that nursing moms SHOULD continue taking their prenatal vitamin while nursing. It helps make sure the mom is getting plenty of nutrients while her body is making milk. If the mom is severely anemic, she won't produce milk because her body will focus on building up the blood supply

(I have a friend who is a homebirther and die-hard extended BFer, and after one of her babes was born she had to feed with a SNS because she lost a lot of blood, borderline to the level where they give transfusions, got anemic, and didn't make milk until her body had the blood situation under control!)

I take a multivitamin anyways, pregnant, BFing, or not.

Kathryn

[jeanine123]

It probably won't hurt you to take the multi-vitamin but according to this link to kellymom's website it won't have an impact on the vitamin conent of your milk.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vi...-vitamins.html

[Siana]

Thanks for the kellymom link. I checked there, but only did a search for multivitamins instead of just vitamins *doh*

Thanks everyone for your responses, I think I have my answer

[Lil'M]

One thing about prenatals--an LC told me that if you have a very fussy baby and you think he/she is reacting to something you ate, prenatal vitamins (along with dairy, citrus, etc.) are sometimes the cause. So she often recommends to moms to try a regular multivitamin instead to see if baby is reacting to the very strong concentrations present in prenatals.

But if they don't seem to be causing a problem that way, they might at least help mom get vitamins she needs while nursing (mom's milk has everything baby needs even if mom's diet isn't great, but mom's health can suffer).

[jeanine123]

You're welcome. I still took my prenatals the first few months after Connor's birth. I figured it was worth it until I climbed out of the newborn fog and worked out a routine where I could eat on a regular basis.

[Quagmire]

Prenatals also have more iron than a normal "woman" multivitamin. After having DD #1 I was still very constipated, and my OB suggested dropping the prenatal since I didn't need all the iron. I started taking a regular woman vitamin and made sure I got plenty of calcium via diet and/or Tums if I felt short that day, and it really helped with the constipation.

But not everyone has as many regularity issues as moi