While breastfeeding newborn babies, mothers usually get concerned about their diet and weight loss process. During this phase of your motherhood, drinking plenty of water is also vital, apart from diet and other restrictions. Yet, that’s what the majority of mothers skip following. Hydration is vital during the breastfeeding phase. So, how much water to drink when breastfeeding?
Water is the most crucial substance for living beings as it’s called “life.” Every drop of water is necessary for every bodily function, from blinking eyes to breathing. It helps regulate temperature and prevent cells from drying out. Especially for mothers who have just given birth to their newborn – adequate water consumption during the breastfeeding phase serves several advantages. After reading this article, you will understand the necessity of water for lactating women and how much water a mother should consume.
In This Article
- How Much Water Should You Drink When Breastfeeding?
- Will Drinking More Water Increase Breast Milk?
- What Happens if You Don’t Drink Enough Water While Breastfeeding?
- Tips to Keep Yourself Hydrated While Breastfeeding
- FAQ’s
How Much Water Should You Drink When Breastfeeding?
A mother is the first and best nurse for a newborn baby. While nursing your newborn, you need to keep yourself properly hydrated. Hence, it’s paramount that you consume plenty of water while breastfeeding. A glass of fresh unsweetened fruit juice, soya bean milk, or other fluid types would work fine in this situation.
Have a glass of water before feeding your baby as it ensures adequate fluid intake and triggers the reflexes to calm down. According to your thirst, continue drinking water throughout the day to enhance milk production for your newborn. Keep in mind that a breastfeeding mother requires at least 16 glasses of water. It will compensate for the additional water requirement in your body to lactate adequately.
Will Drinking More Water Increase Breast Milk?
While lactating, you would probably want to stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water will help you stay hydrated and boost milk production slightly. Yet, there’s no clinical evidence that breastfeeding mothers need additional water while lactating. Research shows it is involuntary.
Remember – you need water to stay hydrated and boost the process only. However, too much water consumption can lag milk production too and lead to water toxicity too.
[Read : Magic Ingredients That Boost Breast Milk]
What Happens if You Don’t Drink Enough Water While Breastfeeding?
Drinking plenty of water brings wholesome advantages to living bodies, especially mothers – no matter at what stage you are pregnant or breastfeeding. You need to set a number of ounces to prevent dehydration – and it should be your goal during your entire motherhood.
If you neglect drinking enough water or fluids, your body will be prone to get dehydrated.
Not drinking enough water while breastfeeding can lead to unpleasant conditions like:
- Headache
- Constipation
- Dizziness
- Moodiness
- Nausea
- Dry mouth and chapped lips
- Muscle cramps
- Lack of energy
- Fatigue
Tips to Keep Yourself Hydrated While Breastfeeding
Since you are a new mother, you might overlook drinking enough water. Following are a couple of tips to keep yourself reminded about consuming water.
1. Drink With Your Baby
You need to breastfeed your baby almost 8-12 times a day. If you often forget about drinking water, have a glass of water before breastfeeding your baby. It’s a great way of staying hydrated! Because it’s more okay to sip small quantities of water throughout the day than finish a bottle in a single moment.
2. Keep a Bottle With You
It feels frustrating when you are thirsty and don’t 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.
3. Drink Healthy Fluids
Though water is a primary and neat source of hydration in the body, you can consume other healthy variants of fluids too. Plenty of freshly pressed fruit juice, soya milk, coconut water, nut milk, clear soup, and decaffeinated tea or coffee are a perfect alternative to water requirements within a lactating mother.
You can also make your own herb or flavoured water by adding herbs such as mint, a squeeze of lemon, a few slices of cucumber, a small portion of chopped fruit, etc. Or you can easily consume tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, or any fruits and vegetables with rich water content. Avoid soda, caffeine, and alcohol-like drinks to prevent dehydration. Otherwise, it will lead your breastfeeding experience problematic.
[Read : Is It Safe To Drink Alcohol During Breastfeeding?]
4. Set Your Goal
The easiest way of keeping yourself hydrated is by setting your own goal. Once you start your morning, fill the number of bottles your target to drink the entire day and aim to finish them off within the night. Also, you can use water drinking reminder applications.
Breastfeeding is a soulful opportunity for mothers to connect with their babies. Keeping yourself adequately hydrated will help you produce healthy breastmilk and keep you healthy and refreshed. So, if you don’t deliberately make an effort, you will be dehydrated and fall sick. So, maintain yourself hydrated to keep your baby healthy.
FAQ’s
1. How Much Water Should a Mother Drink When Breastfeeding?
There’s no specific rule for a breastfeeding mother in drinking water. However, you must try to consume water as lowest as 16 glasses a day according to your body weight and thirst.
2. What Should a Breastfeeding Mother Drink And Avoid?
While breastfeeding, a mother should consume only healthy drinks and fluids like clear soup, nut milk, soya milk, fresh fruit juice, coconut water, and plain water. Avoid anything mixed with caffeine and alcohol items.
3. Can Breastfeeding Make Me Dehydrated?
A newborn requires 8-12 times to be fed, and almost 90% of breastmilk is water content. So, not having enough water throughout the day and breastfeeding can make a mother highly dehydrated.
Read Also: Drinking Cold Water After Delivery – Is It Safe?
