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Cups of Fluid Per Day for Breastfeeding

Aug 2, 2011 | By Rachel Nall
Cups of Fluid Per Day for Breastfeeding
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When you are breastfeeding, your baby's fluid source is the breast milk you give him so external fluids are rarely needed. This means when you are breastfeeding, you must take in enough fluid to keep your and your baby's body functioning properly. Because water composes about 55 to 65 percent of a person's bodyweight, your physician may recommend taking in a certain amount of fluids to keep you and your baby hydrated.

Recommendations

To properly replace fluid in your daily diet, you should drink enough fluids to replace the water you lose via urination and breastfeeding. You typically lose about 25 oz. -- a little more than 3 cups -- of fluid via your breast milk each day, according to UpToDate. On average, you urinate about 6.3 cups of water each day, according to MayoClinic.com. If you put these numbers together, you need about 9 to 10 cups of fluid per day to get enough fluid. Remember that foods also contribute to your fluid intake.

How To Incorporate Fluids

If you have trouble drinking enough water for you and your baby on a daily basis, you can try a few behavior modifications to increase your intake. Make a commitment to drinking a glass of water with every meal and snack. This can incorporate at least five glasses of water in your day, depending on your intake. You also can increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables, which naturally contain water. Watermelon and grapes are two snack fruits that are high in water.

Listen to Your Body

Maintaining a sufficient fluid intake is not about forcing fluids. Instead, it is about listening to your body to ensure you are giving it what you and your baby need. If you feel thirsty, drink water. If your urine is dark in color, increase your water intake until it becomes clear to light yellow, which can indicate you are hydrated.

Considerations

While it is important to get a sufficient fluid intake every day, drinking excess amounts of fluid is not necessary. This is because drinking extra water does not cause your body to make extra breast milk. Conversely, if you are overproducing milk, refraining from drinking fluids will not reduce your milk supply. You also can experience a condition called water toxicity or water intoxication that can cause your brain to swell. This requires drinking several gallons of water in one sitting, however, and is uncommon in adults, according to "The Journal of Perinatal Education."

References

Article reviewed by Jenna Marie Last updated on: Aug 2, 2011

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