I'm trying to be all positive about fasting and breastfeeding, but I can't help feeling a little worried especially because I noticed a sudden drop in my milk supply when I ganti-ed puasa a couple of weeks ago. Alhamdulillah, I didn't feel dizzy or rasa nak pitam but I did feel extremely tired. Tapi itu pun pukul 4 ke atas so that's quite normal right?

I did a little bit of research and found out that fasting DOES NOT decrease milk supply. Dehydration does. Signs of dehydration include feeling very thirsty, passing urine that's dark-colored or strong-smelling, feeling faint, weak or tired, and headache or other pains.

Here are some excerpts taken from kellymom.com:

"Breastfeeding research tells us that short-term fasting (not eating) will not decrease milk supply, but that severe dehydration can decrease milk supply. Fasting does affect the biochemical/nutrient content of breastmilk to a certain extent.

The breastfeeding woman's body appears to make several metabolic adaptations during short-term fasting to ensure that milk production is not affected.

Muslim women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may be exempt from fasting if they feel that their health or the baby's health would be negatively affected by the fasting. The mother may be expected to compensate for the missed fasting at a later time or pay some expiation for not fasting. Consult a scholar or a book of fiqh to determine the appropriate guidelines."


I took lotsa fluid for sahur today, by the way. I drank Herbalife shake with oats and banana, ate 2 biji kurma, drank a cup of hot Milkmaid tea and 2 glasses of plain water. I hope I can puasa penuh this year, insha-Allah.

Anyway, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim readers and friends happy Ramadhan Al-Mubarak. May Allah give us strength and great health to perform our duties during this fasting month, especially to pregnant and breastfeeding moms!

Labels: Mommyhood and Baby