Medically reviewed by Alyssa Copeland, RN, IBCLC
You may have been told to cut back on your coffee intake while you were pregnant. Now that your baby is here and you’re breastfeeding, you might be wondering if it’s ok to drink coffee and still be able to pump and feed that milk to your baby. Here are the answers to 10 of the most common questions moms have about drinking coffee while exclusively pumping.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You can read my full disclaimer here.
1. How much coffee can I drink per day while exclusively pumping?
- When you’re breastfeeding, it’s usually recommended to limit your caffeine intake to 200-300 mg per day, or about 2-3 8 oz cups.
- Consider limiting it even further if your baby is premature, is less than 3 months old, has iron deficiency anemia, or if you have Raynaud’s, as it can make symptoms worse.
2. How much caffeine is in my coffee?
- An 8 oz cup typically has 96 mg of caffeine, so up to 3 cups a day is fine for most women.
- Light roast coffee has more caffeine in it than dark roast. A tall (12 oz) Starbucks Blonde Roast coffee has 270 mg of caffeine, versus 195 mg in a tall Dark Roast.
- If you use the Starbucks app, you can find the caffeine content in the nutrition info! A grande Pumpkin Spice Latte has 150 mg of caffeine, and the Pink Drink has 45-55 mg.
3. How does drinking coffee affect breast milk?
- A little caffeine ends up in it. Caffeine does pass through to breast milk, but only 0.06-1.5% of your total intake.
- It can decrease the iron content. Drinking 3 or more cups of coffee a day can decrease the iron levels in breast milk, which could cause mild iron deficiency anemia in some babies. A few signs of this are:
- Pale skin
- Fatigue
- Slow weight gain
- Poor appetite
Breast milk doesn’t contain very much iron in general. Most of your baby’s iron needs come from you during your last trimester. Healthy, full term babies usually have enough iron stored up to last them at least 6 months. So this might not be a concern until your baby is a little older. Your baby might also be more likely to develop anemia if he or she was born prematurely, or if you had anemia during pregnancy.
It’s also important to know that anemia is not very common in breastfed babies. Even though breast milk doesn’t contain much, the iron in breast milk has a very high bioavailability. This means that it’s much more easily absorbed than iron found in other sources.
4. How long does it take for caffeine to get into breast milk, and how long does it stay there?
- Caffeine can be found in breast milk in as soon as 15 minutes.
- The level of caffeine in breast milk peaks at around an hour.
- Caffeine affects everyone differently, and there’s a pretty big range in the time it stays in your system. The half-life of caffeine for adults is anywhere between 1.5 to 14.5 hours, with the average being about 5 hours.
5. When is the best time to pump?
- If you’re limiting your coffee intake to 2-3 cups, you probably don’t have to worry about when to pump.
- If you notice that caffeine is affecting your baby, the best time to pump would be right before drinking your coffee. And then wait 3 hours or more before pumping again.
6. How do I know if caffeine will affect my baby?
- Fussy or irritable
- Jittery
- Hyperactive
- Having trouble sleeping
7. How long does caffeine stay in my baby’s body?
- Even though only 1% of your caffeine intake gets passed along to your baby, caffeine affects all babies differently and some are more sensitive than others.
- If your baby is a newborn, it can take them as much as 20x longer than an adult to process caffeine.
- Half-life of caffeine: This is the time it takes for the caffeine in your body to reduce to half the original amount. The approximate half-life of caffeine in a..
- newborn is 97.5 hours
- 3-5 month old is 14 hours
- 6+ month old is 2.6 hours
- adult is 4.9 hours
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Remember, you may not notice a difference, but if caffeine is affecting your baby, don’t be surprised if the fussiness or sleeplessness lasts for a few days after you stop drinking coffee.
8. How does my coffee intake affect my baby?
- Drinking up to 2 cups a day:
Limiting your coffee to 1 or 2 cups probably won’t have any effect on your baby. - Drinking 3-5 cups a day:
There have been studies of breastfeeding moms drinking 5 cups of coffee a day that found no stimulation in babies over 3 weeks old.
Drinking 3 or more cups of coffee per day can lower the iron content in your breast milk, which may or may not affect your baby. Some babies could develop mild iron deficiency anemia. A few of the signs of this are:- Pale skin
- Fatigue
- Slow weight gain
- Poor appetite
- Drinking up to 5-9 cups a day:
You might start to notice some of the signs of too much caffeine and possibly signs of anemia. - Drinking 10 or more cups a day:
Your baby will most likely show signs of too much caffeine and possibly show signs of anemia.
9. What should I do if my caffeine intake is affecting my baby?
If you notice that caffeine is affecting your baby, you have a few choices:
- Pump right before drinking your coffee, then wait 3 or more hours before pumping again.
- Try to limit your caffeine intake to 1 cup of coffee a day.
- Eliminate caffeine until your baby is a little older and can process it better.
10. Will caffeine decrease my milk supply?
- No! This is a myth, and there is no evidence that caffeine will decrease your supply.
- If you do notice a decrease in your supply while drinking coffee, it could be that you are slightly dehydrated. Coffee is a mild diuretic, so make sure you are also drinking enough water.
Takeaway:
For most women, it’s a good idea to limit your coffee to 2 or 3 cups most days, but don’t worry about it if you occasionally need that 4th or 5th cup. You can still pump and feed that milk to your baby, and it probably won’t affect them.
You are doing an amazing job!
This post has been medically reviewed by Alyssa Copeland, RN, IBCLC
Alyssa Copeland is a mom of 3. She is a graduate of University of Michigan School of Nursing, and has been a pediatric RN since 2010. She has been an active La Leche League Leader since 2016 and an IBCLC since 2020.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/baby/is-caffeine-safe-while-breastfeeding#1
https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/coffee-and-breastfeeding#recommendations
https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/diet-and-micronutrients/maternal-diet.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501467/
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/73/1/59
https://mommylabornurse.com/how-long-does-caffeine-stay-in-breast-milk/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528681/
https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/lifestyle/caffeine/
https://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15496-caffeine-how-to-hack-it-and-how-to-quit-it
https://www.babymed.com/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-and-caffeine#
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