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Does Breastfeeding Make You Hungry? In-Depth Answer

Becoming a new mom is getting used to a new life, and it is a bit weird at the beginning whether you have prepared yourself or you are just going with the flow! One of the things that nature expects from a new mom is breastfeeding!

Breastfeeding causes different things to the moms; one of them is making them ask: Does breastfeeding make you hungry?

To find the answer to this question and much more information, stick to the end of today’s article!

Main Points

  • Breastfeeding is complex to understand, but it makes you hungry, and there are some reasons!
  • Hormones and the burn of calories play key roles when a breastfeeding mom gets hungry!
  • Stress and lack of sleep are two other vital reasons, and they lead to hunger too.
  • Vegetables, milk, beans, eggs, and various fruits are the best things a mom can eat, especially when breastfeeding!
  • Important: Avoid immediate postpartum diets; they are not healthy!

Does Breastfeeding Make You Hungry?

The straightforward answer to this question is: Yes, breastfeeding makes you hungry!

If you are a new mom and you feel hungry all day and all night long, especially after you feed your baby, you should know that it comes out of breastfeeding, and as much as your children need milk, that much hunger you will feel

Also, Find Out How Often to Replace Breast Pump Parts?

Breastfeeding – Why Does It Make You Hungry?

Now you know that breastfeeding makes you hungry, but it is essential to know why that happens and the main reasons that cause hunger feelings to the mom who is breastfeeding their baby!

Advice: Avoid postpartum diets! I know that you want to have the old body over again, but it is vital for breastfeeding moms to have their meals prepared as they should be, no matter how they look! Remember that your health and your baby’s health are always prior to the way your body looks!

Now, I will mention the reasons one by one, so you can have a clearer idea the next time you breastfeed and feel hungry!

Calories

The breastfeeding process starts from the moment you give birth until your infant decides to leave that behind, but most of the time, they stop requiring breast milk at the age of one (12 months).

However, a huge role in your hunger is calories! When you breastfeed, especially in the first three months, a new mom’s body burns approximately 300 to 500 calories a day with one aim: to create or produce as much breast milk.

300 to 500 calories burned in one day are a lot, and that’s where the hunger comes from! To deal with this issue, you should have meals or foods that include more calories such as meat, beans, milk, cheese, and eggs.

Hormones

When you are pregnant, you are full of hormones and they change in a blink of an eye! Sadly, even though many ladies hate it, you have a lot of hormones working around your body when you breastfeed too!

There is a saying that says: when moms feed their babies they starve, and it is all related to the hormones they have! There is a hormone named prolactin that is used to produce milk on moms’ breasts but it increases the appetite on many levels!

Sometimes it is the appetite that rises and the feelings you have are not any type of hunger! Hormones are something that one cannot control, so there isn’t a specific solution regarding this part!

Stress

Breastfeeding is very stressful for some new moms, especially if it is their first child! As some of you may know, stress either makes you hungry or makes you not have contact with food. When breastfeeding, it does the first version and makes you super-hungry.

Stress is related to hormones, though! When you are stressed, your body releases the cortisol hormone, and that specific hormone tends to make the mom very hungry when breastfeeding.

Stress is one of the mutual feelings many new moms have, and it is one of the most common reasons why a breastfeeding mom feels hungry!

Fibers

I know that everybody, in fact, every mom wants to eat as healthy as possible when they are pregnant and breastfeeding too. When breastfeeding, moms need different healthy meals, especially the ones that include more fiber. That’s why even if you eat a lot when breastfeeding you may feel hungry.

I know that for some people, finding meals with fiber may be difficult. If you are one of them, and you are struggling to find meals that have fiber within, they are beans, berries, avocados, apples, broccoli, and dried fruits!

Sleep

When you become a mom, the first thing you hate and that gives you a hard time are those sleepless nights that you may pass.

If your sleep schedule is already messed up, there is another hormone that is called ghrelin and it leads to people, in this case, moms feeling hungry. I want to mention that this hormone works its way even if you are not breastfeeding, it happens to everyone!

Lack of sleep can also cause stress so you might get hungry so these two things are tightly related to one another! As a choice for this problem is to offer yourself a nap throughout the day! Leave the babies to their fathers and make some time for a nap or just sleep when the baby sleeps. They tend to sleep during the day more than during the night.

Also, Find Out If You Can Overfeed a Breastfed Baby?

Final Words

As we reached the end of this article, I think I mentioned everything you needed to know regarding the question: Does breastfeeding make you hungry? It surely does, but many things lead to hunger when breastfeeding; everything I mentioned in this article.

I want to repeat here at the end the fact that breastfeeding moms should avoid diets because they can cause harm to both themselves and their babies.

After everything is said and done, I hope new moms are as careful as possible with the food they consume! Good luck!

All content and media on RaisingSmallSouls is created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. The information on this website is not meant to take the place of expert medical assistance, advice, or consultations. You should speak with a medical expert if you have any worries or inquiries while pregnant.