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Expert Q&A

	By Melissa Clark Vickers International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Moms & Babies Huntingdon, Tenn.

I go for my 6 week postpartum check up next week and I am eager to get back to running. I am exclusively breastfeeding and I have heard various answers on how much exercise is safe and ok to do when nursing. I am so tired of having these extra pounds and I am so eager to start running, I used to run about 40 to 50 miles a week and I have continued to exercise throughout my pregnancy so I am still in pretty good shape. Will running affect my milk? Will my baby suffer from the antibodies running produces? I am a real fitness buff and after having two children in 2-1/2 years I am ready to really get in tip top shape. I know this may sound vain, but for my sanity I need to work out as often as I can. Thanks in advance.

Interesting question. Most of us would benefit from doing more exercise than we usually do--and that goes for breastfeeding moms as well as the rest of us! I checked my references to see what, if anything, I could find out about exercise at the level you are wishing to return to. Most of the information centers around three points:

1. Moderate exercise is beneficial and appropriate for breastfeeding moms. Some studies--done on a small number of women--even indicate that the moms who exercise may have slightly higher milk levels than those who don't. Another study looked at two groups of women, one that did supervised aerobics 5 days a week for 12 weeks, and another group that didn't exercise and found no differences in the mom's weight, fat loss, prolactin (milk producing hormone) levels, volume of milk produced or the composition of the milk.

2. You may have heard reports a few years ago that talked about breastfed babies not liking mom's milk right after exercise, perhaps due to increased lactic acid levels. Unfortunately, while this study received lots of press and warned moms to refrain from nursing for 90 minutes after nursing, it was flawed and the conclusions are just not valid.

3. The one concern with the breastfeeding mom who exercises regularly is too rapid a weight loss. Weight loss should be kept to no more than about four pounds per month. Most women find that their appetites increase anyway.

The bottom line seems to be that exercise is good for breastfeeding moms. You probably should consider building slowly back to your pre-pregnant levels--that would be the case regardless of whether you are breastfeeding or not!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC"

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