As a new mum, you don’t need a special diet to be able to successfully breastfeed.  But even though you will be very busy looking after your new baby, don’t forget to eat regularly as this will help keep your energy levels up as well as ensuring you have a healthy diet to support the production of breastmilk.

Breastfeeding mums are recommended to follow healthy eating guidelines for women in Ireland.  You will need approximately 400 extra calories per day whilst breastfeeding, which you can get from having a couple of extra snacks throughout the day.

Choose two snacks from the list below (in addition to your three main meals) to help you meet your increased calorie requirements when breastfeeding.

200 calorie snacks

• 200ml glass fruit smoothie
• 1 pancake with a drizzle of honey & handful of chopped strawberries
• Small bowl of high fibre cereal with low fat milk
• 1 poached or boiled egg on 1 slice of wholegrain toast
• 125g pot low fat fruit yogurt and 1 banana
• 2 kiwi fruit & 1 apple, chopped, with 125g pot low fat fruit yogurt
• Tuna salad sandwich made with 1 small tin of tuna, 1 wholemeal roll & salad
• 1 tablespoon of hummus with 4 wholemeal crackers
• Handful of unsalted nuts e.g. cashews, almonds
• 1 wholemeal scone with low fat spread
• 2 rice cakes with peanut butter
• Small bowl of cooked pasta with tomato-based sauce
• Matchbox-sized piece of low fat cheese with 3 wholegrain crackers
• Small tin baked beans with 1 slice wholegrain toast
• 1 bowl of vegetable soup with wholemeal roll
• Matchbox-sized piece of low fat cheese melted on 1 slice of wholegrain toast
• Small baked potato with small tin of tuna & 1 tsp low fat mayonnaise or matchbox-sized piece of low fat cheese
• 1 slice of fruit loaf toasted, with low fat spread & 1 apple
• Half an avocado with 2 rice cakes & 5 cherry tomatoes
• 1 Oat-based cereal bar with a glass of skimmed milk