Breastfeeding and Ketosis - A Little Confused

[Jefinner]

Okay, I had read lots of reports before (even on the Atkins website) that said it was not safe to breastfeed a baby while in ketosis.

NOW... I saw this site, which includes a live chat transcript from Dr. Atkins himself (http://dietandbody.com/Atkins_breastfeeding.html) that said it was okay to be in ketosis while breastfeeding.

Were there any new developments? What is the current position on this topic?

Thank you!

[Laprettygurl]

Hi, I was wondering why you can't be in ketosis and breastfeed at the same time?

I can't find any information at all saying *why* it's bad but everyone seems to think it is.

Info please. Thanks.

[Atkins_Nutritionist]

I can certainly understand your confusion.

I followed the maintenance phase of Atkins while breast feeding and during pregnancy.

The reason for this is because the only studies that observe ketosis in pregnancy or bresat feeding are in uncontrolled diabetics who are in ketoacidosis, not the same thing as ketosis.

There are NO studies that show the safety of burning ketones and its effect on babies (either in utero or breast feeding). We do know that ketones are found in breast milk. Babies may have a different threshold of tolerating ketones than adults, maybe not, but I'm sure you do not want your child to be the guinea pig!

I am very comfortable with ketosis and fat-burning but I did not want to subject my children to an unkown factor that "might or might not be harmful".

Because we do not have long term studies validating the safety of ketones as a source of energy for babies, we cannot recommend following a ketogenic (Atkins) during this time of your life.

It is possible that you lose weight following the maintenance phase of Atkins however it is not recommended to follow any weight loss plan during this time because you need the energy/nutrients while breast feeding.

Keep in mind that you will not breast feed for the rest of your life. So when you stop feeding, you can go back on Induction.

I am not aware of the interview with Dr. Atkins that you posted and will look into this further.

Thank you both for bringing up such an important topic of discussion.

[Lisa Rae]

Yep..I'm one f those who say to either go to maintenence levels or another non-ketosis program. Gald to hear the atkins specialist agrees

Basically when people say there is no evidence that ketosis and pregnancy/breastfeeding is dangerous..I say..

"Yep your right..but I sure wouldn't volunteer to be the first one in that case study" LOL

Basically..for me..it just wouldn't be worth any risk. And weightloss while pregnant is not reccomended by anyone..so really..no need to be in ketosis right?

[Bloom]

I can understand why people worry about the ketones, but I disagree with the nutrionist saying that you should not follow any diet when breastfeeding as you need the nutrients for the baby. The LLL site actually states that after your baby is 8 weeks old and you milk supply is well established, you can diet but not lose more than 1.5 pounds per week. It also states the importance of plenty of protein for making breastmilk.

[huggies4]

I breastfed both of my children for their first year of their lives and after I weaned each of them I did an induction phase simply to quickly end my milk supply, I couldn't get it to go any other way!
The induction phase in particular is a little dehydrating, if you want to keep a strong milk supply it would not be a good idea to dehydrate yourself. I always assumed that this was the reason not to low carb while breastfeeding.

[sebnvalsma]

I have to say when I had my first son 6 years ago I didn't know to much about atkins or the saftey of ketons (sp) in my breastmilk. My ped. told me she didn't know to much about it either but didn't think it would hurt (perhaps just give an upset belly like lactic acid after a hard work out might for the baby). I said okay and followed the atkins woe and just kept an eye on my little angel for any symptoms of a problem. I got none. What I did get is a healthy advance little boy who slept alot and was happy almost all the time. Also what I got is quick weightloss. Perhaps is was joing the benifits of breastfeeding with the diet. I lost 90 some pounds in under 6 months. My milk supply was overflowing and my child is 6 now and is perfect.

Now I will say that with all the contraversy out now (and that i'm older) about it I waited until I was done breastfeeding this time around to start atkins. I guess media does invoke fear and I didn't want to risk hurting my child!! I guess with age comes reservation.

[Lisa Rae]

Seb,

So glad your little angel is healthy andhappy. My fear is one of "down the road" so many things can not show in the first few years (not saying this at all regarding your lovely son..) that my thought is..until the research is in..why take the chance? we all want it off yesterday..but to me..this is just not the time to take any chance you don't have too.

Also want to add..this doesn't mean low-carbing in general is the problem here. You can easily watch your weight by doing a non ketosis low-carb program...and still not take a chance..even if it's a tiny tiny one

I hope no one is offended by my thoughts..we all have to do whatever we think is healthy for our babies for sure! The most important thing is a healthy happy mom to produce a healthy happy baby right?