Caffeine and Lactation

•  The estimated dose that makes it to Baby through your milk is 0.06% and 1.5%.  That is usually considered insignificant, but infants metabolize caffeine more slowly.  The dose that you consume is cut in half in 3-7 hours,  but it can be days for a baby younger than a week old.

•  Look for these reported side effects: Agitation, Irritability, Poor Sleeping Patterns.  That would indicate that Baby is sensitive to the small dose. ** the dose in the case reports is massive.  I haven't seen any reports of these symptoms when maternal dose is <300mg/day

• It's a different risk to benefit calculation, but note-worthy that caffeine is regularly prescribed to medically fragile infants. That dose is 5mg/kg.  Keeping your consumption under 300mg/day makes the dose transferred to Baby a fraction of 1%.

What some Case Reports Show: 

• Overdose occurred at 36 to 136 mg/kg 

• Caffeine transfer in breastmilk peaks at 2 hours 

• No adverse effects found from moderate maternal caffeine consumption found on meta analysis  

***See the references for more information on energy drinks and other sources of caffeine.