Do I Have to Give Up Garlic? A Gentle Guide to Eating While Breastfeeding

Jan 3, 2024
5 min read

If you’re a first-time mum, there’s a special kind of panic that arrives somewhere between your baby’s third feed of the day and your first cold cup of tea. It sounds like this:

“Was it… the broccoli?”

And honestly - welcome. You’ve joined a long, proud tradition of mothers quietly interrogating their lunch like it’s a witness in a courtroom.

Here’s the warm, steady truth: for most breastfeeding mums, there isn’t a big scary “no list.” Most babies do beautifully while you eat a normal, varied diet. Some babies even seem to enjoy the flavour changes in milk (like tiny food critics, but with fewer words and more opinions).

I breastfed three boys who survived to adulthood, and sadly we also lost one in childhood. That kind of life experience changes how you speak to new mothers: with more tenderness, more respect, and less appetite for unnecessary guilt. So, if you’re reading this while feeling anxious, please hear this part clearly:

You’re not doing it wrong. You’re learning your baby.

The big myth: “Breastmilk is fragile”

Breastmilk isn’t a delicate soufflé that collapses if you look at it sideways. It’s a living, adaptive food and it changes based on your baby’s needs and your environment.

Yes, flavours from your diet can move into breastmilk. That’s normal. In fact, there’s good evidence that certain flavour compounds do transfer through, and babies can detect those changes.

Now here’s the interesting bit, my favourite kind of interesting the “this might help later” kind: early exposure to a range of flavours may support babies to be more accepting of new foods as solids are introduced.

So, unless your baby is showing ongoing signs of discomfort, allergy, or sensitivity… you don’t need to eat like a monk.

When food does seem to matter: the “usual suspects”

Sometimes a baby will fuss at the breast, seem gassier than usual, or have a day where they look personally offended by everything. Relatable, yes!?

If you notice a clear pattern after certain foods, it can be worth doing a gentle experiment.

Here are the foods that some families report as occasional troublemakers:

very spicy foods (especially chilli-heavy meals)
citrus (orange, lemon, lime)
garlic and onion
chocolate (often more about caffeine than cocoa)
“gassy” vegetables (like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower)
foods with a laxative effect (like prunes)

But a little reality check: babies also get cranky because they’re overtired, growing, adjusting, feeding in a new position, dealing with wind, or simply because it’s Tuesday and they’re in a bad mood.

The calm way to test it

If you suspect a food is causing trouble:

Don’t panic-remove half your diet. Start with one suspected item.
Keep a simple “food + fuss” note for 2–3 days. Nothing fancy, your phone notes app is perfect.
If you see a consistent link, pause that food for a week, then try it again and watch what happens.

If your baby has persistent eczema, blood in poos, poor weight gain, ongoing vomiting, or significant distress, don’t play detective alone… chat with your GP, child health nurse, or an accredited lactation consultant. That’s not you “failing.” That’s you being smart.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association has a helpful overview on food sensitivities and breastfeeding if you want a reputable read. Have a look here: breastfeeding.asn.au

What about coffee? (aka: “Please don’t take this from me too.”)

Let’s be kind here. Early motherhood is not the time for unnecessary suffering.

The current Australian guidance commonly used is to limit caffeine to about 200mg per day while breastfeeding. Why? Because newborns process caffeine much more slowly than adults, so it can build up and contribute to unsettled sleep or crankiness in some babies.

A practical “mum life” approach

Have your coffee after a feed, not right before one.
Keep it to 1–2 coffees a day, depending on strength.
Remember caffeine hides in cola, energy drinks, strong tea, chocolate, and some medications.
If baby seems wired or more wakeful, try scaling back for a few days and see if it helps.

You don’t need to quit coffee to be a good mother. You just need to notice what your baby does with it.

Can I still enjoy a wine?

This is where the advice gets a little more “official guidelines” and a little less “mum lore” – let’s not forget I was a young mum in the late-60’s (things where a little different then).

Australian national guidelines say: for breastfeeding women, not drinking alcohol is safest for the baby. That said, many mothers will choose to have an occasional drink. If you do, the key is planning.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association notes that for most women it takes about 2 hours for one standard drink to leave your system, and each additional standard drink adds roughly another 2 hours, counted from when you start drinking.

What about “pump and dump”?

Here’s the myth-busting part: pumping and dumping doesn’t remove alcohol from your milk faster. Only time does what you want. You might pump for comfort if you’re full, but it doesn’t “speed detox.”

If you plan to drink more than one:

Feed first (or express beforehand).
Allow the wait time before breastfeeding again.
If your baby is very young and feeding unpredictably, extra caution matters, it can be hard to time. The Australian Breastfeeding Association also notes it’s best to avoid alcohol completely in the first month when feeds are frequent and irregular.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “I just want half a glass of bubbles at my sister’s birthday,” I hear you. Remember, this isn’t about fear, it’s about informed choices.

The real summary (the one I’d tell you over a cup of tea)

Most breastfeeding mums can eat normally.
If your baby reacts, test gently and logically one change at a time.
Caffeine: aim for ≤200mg/day and watch how your baby responds.
Alcohol: safest is none, but if you drink occasionally, timing matters (roughly 2 hours per standard drink for most women).
If you’re cutting multiple foods or worried about nutrition, get support from your GP or a dietitian, because you deserve to be nourished too.

Breastfeeding already asks a lot of you. Your job is not to become a perfect eating machine. Your job is to feed your baby and feed yourself, with as much gentleness as you can manage, especially on the days when you can’t remember if you brushed your teeth.