How does does smoking affect breastfeeding?
Smoking has been linked to: • Earlier weaning. One study showed that the heaviest smokers tend to wean the earliest. • Lower milk production • Interference with milk let-down • Lower levels of prolactin. The hormone prolactin must be present for milk synthesis to occur. • One study (Laurberg 2004) indicated that smoking mothers who live in areas of mild to moderate iodine deficiency have less iodine in their breastmilk (needed for baby’s thyroid function) compared to nonsmoking mothers. The study authors suggested that breastfeeding mothers who smoke consider taking an iodine supplement. Although smoking has been linked to milk production and let-down problems, this may be related to poor lactation management rather than physiological causes. Dr. Lisa Amir, in a review published in 2001, concluded that “Although there is consistent evidence that women who smoke breastfeed their infants for a shorter duration than non-smokers, the evidence for a physiological mechanism is not strong.
