Effects of LC on lactating mother and nursing infant

[lbrowne]

I've been trying to get into OWL/Maintenance, but going on carb binges. I'm doing better again, but slipped a little today. I was wondering about going lower in carbs to get into ketosis. All I've known is the stand-by advice (which isn't bad, btw!) of staying in upper OWL or maintenance levels. I miss ketosis but not at any risk to baby.

Anyway, came across some good links including this study that's looking for volunteers...
http://uuhsc.utah.edu/obgyn/documents/13822_tidy.html

and http://en.allexperts.com/q/Special-D...eeding-mom.htm

Will be researching more, but it looks like the greatest general concern is the taste of the breastmilk changing and baby not eating enough.

~ Linda

[not2late]

Actually, the book recommends pregnant and lactating women to be on Maintenance Phase, not any of the weight loss phases like Induction, OWL and Pre-Maintenance. So if you are lactating, don't to OWL or Pre-Maintenance because these are weight loss phases. Do Maintenance Phase.

[MelissaF_07]

I did induction while nursing. Didn't hurt me or my son. In fact, eating protein with each meal helped with my supply issues.

[not2late]

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. The nutritional needs of a lactating woman are very different than a non-lactating/non-pregnant woman.

I know the nurses at the local WIC program (Women-Infants-Children) in my county. They've noticed that women who have had gastic by-pass or stomach stapling for obesity have breast milk that has a much lower nutritional content than women who have not had these procedures. This is kind of interesting because the laboratory values on these women are normal (like their sodium, protein, iron, calcium, etc.) But their breast milk is of a poor quality. Apparently, other WIC programs around the country have noticed this trend and Geissinger Hospital in Pennsylvannia is in the process of studying this. They've also noticed that women who are undernourished have breast milk with a much lower nutritional content.

Dr. Atkins specifically advised that pregnant and lactating women should do Maintenance Atkins for a medical reason. And in light of what the WIC nurses are seeing, I wouldn't risk doing any of the weight loss phases of Atkins or any diet if I was pregnant or lactating.

[MelissaF_07]

Funny - I certainly don't consider myself nutritionally deficient. I don't equate the **** a person's body goes through after weight loss surgery to be anywhere near comparable to what induction is like. Plenty of meat, eggs, some full-fat dairy, and 12-15 net grams of vegetable carbs? Weird - I thought that was healthy.
Also - nutrient needs aren't that much different for lactating women. A few more calories perhaps, and you should already be taking a prenatal vitamin and continuing that while nursing.

[lbrowne]

I'm in the 20-60g range with carbs coming from dairy, salads, veggies and fruits. Very high calorie. High fat. Good proteins. Dessert last night when I had the munchies: 1/4 cup cream cheese whipped with a little splenda and vanilla, topped with two sliced strawberries and some heavy whipped cream. Many people with a different attitude towards nutritional would call that crazy because of the fat content. We know differently. I can have that and feel completely satisfied. No transfats even. So different that a "regular" high calorie dessert that would leave me feeling tired and hungry for more.

Mainstream nutritionists call for children over the age of 2 to drink non-fat or 1 percent fat milk. There is proof that milkfat is good for them and necessary for development, but that's often ignored. What is BELIEVED to be correct information is sometimes not. That is why medical studies, and the ways they can be interpreted, are interesting.

The study being done on the effect of ketones in breastmilk is interesting to me, as I thought it might be to many here. This is NOT as if they are plying mothers with poisons and testing the effect on infants. This is a legitimate study, not only pertinent to anyone adherring to a lc lifestyle and worrying about being too low in carbs while nursing (such as I had been), but also of great interest to diabetics.

Is it not possible that Dr. Atkins erred on the side of caution when advising to only be in Maintenance while nursing? The effects of vitamins, medications and many other things in the nursing mother and her breastmilk is very different than the effect of them directly on the baby while still in the womb. Although personally my eating habits were not nearly as good as they should have been during pregnancy - many good foods, but also high carb and high sugar items regularly. With NOT being in ketosis, lc during pregnancy is very healthy for the baby... not to forget this possible outlook that it increases a child's long-term health. http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ad.php?t=34178 (guess what high fat/low carb does for ofsrping?)

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and then continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and older, with the addition of other foods. http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-..._exclusive.htm

There are many things to encourage a woman to wean early - society, ease and convenience of using formula, etc. For those wanting to lose weight by a low carb plan and the supposed "danger" of ketosis to the nursing infant, they also may be encouraged to wean early. Is this necessary or not?

Is it possible that breastmilk, even with ketones, might be better than automatically changing off to the use of formula? That's what this study may help answer.

When my older kids where infants, I nursed for only the first three months or so, and did supplement with formula. This time I've learned more about breastfeeding and how to increase my milk supply. I plan on nursing for at least 6 months, but quite possibly longer. Yesterday I read an article on the hang-ups women have about extended breastfeeding, and I have to admit to having some of those views when it comes to myself. Which seems at odds with my basic promotion of healthy foods and healthy eating. When looking at the ingredients of baby formula, or the milk I naturally produce for my baby, why would I give him formula if he doesn't need it?

Before having done this extra research, I was considering weaning early so I could go back to lower levels of carbs. I was having a very hard time trying to stay on course with at least 100g carbs a day, to avoid ketosis for the baby, but in the 20-60g carb range I'm doing much better. This isn't just about weight loss for me, but my whole overall health that I've been struggling with.

I understand the position of these forums not to support active low carb weight loss while nursing. I also feel women have a right to research and try to learn as much as possible about their own health and the possible effects on the health of their children.

~ Linda

[lbrowne]

ps - sorry about the longwinded reply. And ditto to Melissa! Healthy LC eating is a far cry from undernourished moms the WIC nurses are reporting.

[MelissaF_07]

Originally Posted by lbrowne

ps - sorry about the longwinded reply. And ditto to Melissa! Healthy LC eating is a far cry from undernourished moms the WIC nurses are reporting.

I loved your reply!

I talk to BFing Moms all day who are eating crap and sugar and I can't help but think - sure you are making milk, but is it really the best you can give your baby?

[not2late]

Induction is the severest phase of Atkins in terms of general nutrients. That’s why it’s not the only weight loss phase of Atkins. And that’s why Dr. Atkins didn’t want us to stay on Induction to lose our weight---compared to the other weight loss phases, it is nutritionally deficient. As for the difference between adults and children, the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine did not use the Atkins Diet for their overweight children and teen patients. They used the diet outlined in Feed Your Kids Well, by Fred Pescatore, MD, who was the associate medical director there during the 1990s. Dr. Atkins and Dr. Pescatore knew that children have different nutritional needs because they are growing and developing.

On-Going Weight Loss Phase and Pre-Maintenance are nutritionally better than Induction, but they are nutritionally deficient when compared to Atkins Maintenance Phase. In fact, Atkins Maintenance is nutritionally better than the Food Pyramid.

A lactating woman has a greater nutritional burden than a non-lactating one. A lactating woman must manufacture fats, proteins, and carbohydrates for her breast milk and she must also manufacture vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other chemical nutrients. That’s why baby formula companies are constantly reformulating and changing their formulas to mimic breast milk composition as close as possible.

Her milk must be of good quality not only to ensure general growth of the infant, but also the growth we don’t see until the child is a toddler or young child. The omega oils are an example of this: That omega data is based upon intelligence testing done on young children. So sure, we might not see the omegas making a difference while that baby is an infant, but we see the difference when he is in 1st or 2nd grade.

There are a host of other previously ignored nutrients that they are looking at to determine their important for infant nutrition and development. And I'm sure there will be more required nutritents for pregnant and lactating women and I'm sure those nutrients will be dumped into baby formula as well.
As for the non-fat milk/dairy recommendation….that is promoted by the American Heart Association because they think dietary fat is linked to obesity and heart disease. So by limiting dietary fat in toddlers, they hope to lower their cardiovascular disease risks when they are adults. There is no proof that this will pan out, but they have their fingers crossed. Most pediatricians, however, don’t agree with that recommendation because the American Heart Association is populated by doctors who are not pediatricians, therefore, have little if any knowledge about child development and nutrition.

Like I said, I would not put my child at any risk, but that’s just me. I work with doctors, so I tend to follow doctor’s orders---I've seen too many trainwrecks in my life to do otherwise.

[lbrowne]

Like I said, I would not put my child at any risk, but that’s just me.

Megs, that's all of us!! Great discussion on the nutritional end of it. Yet it's human to struggle at times, or to have to disregard cupcakes and other junk food our children will encounter somewhere down the road... already people joke about Kaden wanting a taste of whatever they're having -- none of it healthy, not suprisingly. It irritates me to no end, but I'll have to deal with later when he's eating solid foods.

My oldest son loves pasta. Am I putting him at risk by "allowing" my tall, thin/fit 18 year old to eat more of that than is good for him, or did I do that when I fed it to him when he was a toddler? As parents we do the best we can do... but none of us are perfect, and the world we live in doesn't make it easy on the nutritional end. I think all of us who work on making good choices and sharing those with our families should be commended. But when we might occasionally fail, we shouldn't be berated either, but rather encouraged to keep doing the best we can.

Is eating on the induction end of things for a few days any worse or supposedly "nutritionally deficient" than eating the junk that many people do on any given day? Including, as Melissa pointed out, many breastfeeding mothers? Is it worse when I'm on a carb binge for a week with an endless hunger I can't seem to control, or eating induction level foods and lower levels of owl for a bit? I'm not trying to endanger my child by eating LC anymore than I'm trying to endanger him by eating high carb trans-fat laden junk foods. I'm just trying to get by and do the best for myself and my family that I can... some days I succeed better than others.

Regarding ketones, different people go into ketosis at different rates of carb consumption. It's the ketones in the breastmilk that have been of great concern and that's why this study and other research on it interest me. That ketones might not be a danger to the child was new information for me. Maybe that itself was a myth that grew out of nowhere -- or maybe it should be of great concern. That is where the need for research comes in.

As I stated before, this isn't just an lc question, but one of great interest in regards to diabetes and breastfeeding.

~ Linda