Nursing: Facts & Fiction

Here's the straight scoop on three common breastfeeding beliefs.

Your baby can be allergic to your milk. False. "There's never been a documented case of a baby who's allergic to his mother's breast milk," says Katy Lebbing, a lactation consultant with La Leche League International. "However, he could be allergic to something his mother is eating, particularly cow's milk or other dairy products."
Eating oatmeal will boost your supply. It's true! Foods such as oatmeal, brown rice, and anything made with whole grains are loaded with B vitamins. Experts think that these vitamins are vital to milk production.
Exercise can affect breast milk. True—kind of. "Intense exercise may increase the lactic acid—which is slightly bitter—in the milk," says Ruth A. Lawrence, M.D., author of Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession. "But this is only if a woman is working out extremely hard. More likely, it's the taste of sweat on the breasts that annoys the baby." The easy solution: Shower before you nurse.