The daily energy requirement increases during the breastfeeding period, taking into account the additional energy needed for milk production. The guideline value for the additional energy intake for breastfeeding women during the first 4-6 months when exclusively breastfeeding is 500 kcal/day. However, with this amount of energy, the fat deposits created during pregnancy are maintained in the mother. If women want to reduce their weight after their pregnancy or if they are unable to exercise during this time, the additional requirement drops to about 400 kilocalories per day. Under no circumstances should weight loss degenerate into slimming diets, otherwise the quality and quantity of breast milk will be negatively affected.
The additional energy requirement during lactic acid production is met predominantly by mobilizing the mother’s fat stores and only to a small extent by increased caloric intake.
