<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several months back, a friend sent me a post<\/a> on Instagram with a title slide that read, \u201cThe 300-500 extra calories recommendation is starving breastfeeding mothers.\u201d I was immediately fascinated. I was already familiar with the common recommendation that breastfeeding mothers need 500 additional calories per day compared to prepregnancy intake.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anecdotally, this current postpartum\u2014my fifth time around\u2014has been my most relaxed in terms of emphasizing weight loss. At present, I\u2019m seven months postpartum, and I\u2019ve largely eaten when I\u2019m hungry, paying more attention to decreasing my sugar intake (not to \u201ccutting calories\u201d) with each passing month. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my pregnancy weight loss has been more gradual than with my older kids. At the same time, I\u2019ve had less hair loss<\/a> than with any of my previous postpartum experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that historically, women\u2019s health research<\/a> has been subpar in this country, and that we have received more than our fair share of reproductive healthcare that doesn\u2019t serve our bodies or respect our natural hormonal rhythms (looking hard at you, hormonal birth control<\/a>!). But is it true that new mothers\u2019 nutritional needs have been massively undersold? Are we in fact \u201cstarving\u201d postpartum women?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Instagram post, put out by the Postpartum University account, argued that new mothers\u2019 nutritional needs were generated based on sloppy, simplistic calculations. At the time, the 500-calories-per-day recommendation was created, according to the post, \u201cIt was illegal to include women in medical research [at the time the recommendation was first made]\u2026 Instead, researchers studied men, then arbitrarily adjusted the numbers downward for \u2018smaller humans\u2019 using basic math. Then they reduced pre-pregnancy caloric needs for smaller body size, added estimated amounts for milk production, and created guidelines with zero consideration for the reality of what postpartum bodies actually need.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The end result? A one-size-fits-no-one recommendation that fails to account for the need to replenish nutrient losses due to labor and birth, heal the dinner-plate-sized wound left behind by the placenta\u2019s detachment, rebuild nutrient stores after nine-ish months of pregnancy, and overcome increased caloric needs due to the sleep deprivation that is part and parcel of postpartum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The end result [of the 500 calorie recommendation]? A one-size-fits-no-one recommendation that fails to account for the need to replenish nutrient losses due to labor and birth, heal the dinner-plate-sized wound left behind by the placenta\u2019s detachment, rebuild nutrient stores after nine-ish months of pregnancy, and overcome increased caloric needs due to the sleep deprivation that is part and parcel of postpartum.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n While we can\u2019t confirm the 500-calorie recommendation was really based on men, there\u2019s some evidence for the Postpartum University post\u2019s claims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to this 2016 research article<\/a> on pregnancy and postpartum nutritional needs, \u201cWomen who breastfeed require approximately 500 additional kcal\/day beyond what is recommended for non-pregnant women. The estimate is derived from the mean volume of breast milk produced per day (mean 780 mL, range 450-1200 mL) and the energy content of milk (67 kcal\/100 mL)\u201d [1]. When considering everything else going on within a woman\u2019s body after she has a baby, this formula does appear half-baked (pardon the pun) given its inattention to the metabolic complexities of the postpartum period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even a 2025 research review article<\/a> on \u201cNutrition for Optimal Lactation\u201d in the journal Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism<\/em> repeated the 500 calorie recommendation calculated based on breastmilk production needs alone [2].\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n We already know that some nutrients<\/a> will be present in breastmilk no matter the mother\u2019s nutritional intake, while others will be present in proportion to what her body has to give. The Postpartum University post spelled out potential consequences of (unintentional) undereating based on following the 500 calorie guideline. \u201cWhen mothers don\u2019t get adequate calories, the body prioritizes milk production and sacrifices her recovery. Her hair falls out. Her hormones crash. Her mood destabilizes. Her energy disappears.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most women will be familiar with these symptoms, or at least a scaled-down version of them, as \u201cnormal\u201d parts of postpartum; but Postpartum U insists that these are not<\/em> inevitable changes. Rather, they may be the unintended consequence of failing to meet our own nutritional needs at a time when our bodies are giving, giving, giving to our babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What might a caloric guideline that incorporates new mothers\u2019 actual nutritional needs look like? Based on several research studies linked in the post, the Postpartum University post assigns an astounding additional 1100-1600 calories needed for the postpartum transition. Here\u2019s how they derived that number: <\/p>\n\n\n\n There you have it: it\u2019s possible that a postpartum woman needs 1100-1600 calories above and beyond her prepregnancy needs. This is two to three times<\/em> the oft-repeated 500 calorie guideline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Postpartum University post doesn\u2019t specify how long a new mother\u2019s needs might be this high, and presumably the extra calories to heal specifically from birth, as one example, would be needed only short-term. Additionally, a new mom\u2019s caloric needs will logically decrease as her baby is introduced to solid foods and she starts to wean. Still, the (potential) chasm between what many postpartum women may be taking in compared to their actual<\/em> needs should give us pause (and perhaps a snack during the pause!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Postpartum University post doesn\u2019t specify how long a new mother\u2019s needs might be this high, and presumably the extra calories to heal specifically from birth, as one example, would be needed only short-term. Additionally, a new mom\u2019s caloric needs will logically decrease as her baby is introduced to solid foods and she starts to wean. Still, the (potential) chasm between what many postpartum women may be taking in compared to their actual<\/em> needs should give us pause (and perhaps a snack during the pause!).\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Mothers may feel conflicted about substantially increasing their caloric intake when they still feel \u201cso big\u201d months after their baby has joined the outside world. With each subsequent child, I\u2019ve been gratified to receive increasingly more relaxed cultural messaging, including on social media, around losing the baby weight. I\u2019m not bombarded, as my own mom was, by messages about \u201cbouncing back\u201d after baby or advertising for \u201cboot camps\u201d to get back my pre-baby shape, though that content certainly still exists to some extent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But one of the linked sources for the Postpartum University post gave me pause about whether even my own expectations could use an adjustment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations article<\/a> observed, \u201cPostpartum loss of body weight is usually highest in the first three months, and generally greater among women who practise exclusive breastfeeding, but the extent to which the energy mobilized supports lactation depends on the gestational weight gain and the nutritional status of the mother. A review of 17 studies indicated that, on average, well-nourished women lost 0.8 kg\/month, whereas undernourished mothers lost only an average of 0.1 kg\/month (Butte and Hopkinson, 1998).\u201d For reference, 0.8 kg\/month translates to just 1.76 pounds lost per month (and 0.1 kg translates to 0.22 lbs). Of course, this is just one study, and an old one at that, but that number is far, far less than the amount in my own head that I expect to lose\u2014and I\u2019m willing to bet that\u2019s the case for a lot of postpartum women.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, the 2025 research article<\/a> on Optimal Nutrition During Lactation, referenced a modest \u201cexpected weight loss\u201d of 0.64 kg, or 1.41 pounds, per month [2].\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Historically, women have been told that they\u2019re getting enough calories if their baby is gaining weight appropriately. But, as stated above, the mother\u2019s body will prioritize her baby\u2019s nutritional needs over her own, making the baby\u2019s weight gain an inadequate indicator of whether she herself is getting enough calories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the simplest cue for postpartum nutrition consumption is to eat when you feel hungry. The second simplest cue for adequate nutrition is to prioritize nutrient-dense foods (think nuts, avocados, olive oil, seeds, animal fats) over nutritionally \u201cempty\u201d calories (think anything sold in your grocery store\u2019s bakery or most of what\u2019s in the snack aisles). There may also be value in upping your intake of warming, cooked foods and beverages<\/a> (as opposed to cold and\/or raw foods) as traditionally emphasized in other cultures, since they may be easier to digest and therefore require less energy from the already-depleted new mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s wrong with the 500-extra-calories-per-day recommendation?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where did the 500-calories recommendation really come from?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What happens when mothers don\u2019t get the calories their postpartum bodies crave?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do breastfeeding mothers need 1100-1600 extra calories per day?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Do we have unrealistic expectations of how fast women should lose their \u201cbaby weight?\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How can mothers know they\u2019re getting enough calories during postpartum? <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The bottom line<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n