Breastfeeding melts off the baby weight, right? Breastfeeding leads to an “earlier return to prepregnancy weight,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
This is because “breastfeeding burns extra calories, so it can help you lose pregnancy weight faster,” as many popular websites, like WebMd claim.
Sounds pretty clear cut, right?
So when I failed to lose weight while breastfeeding my first child, I was shocked. Weren’t those pregnancy pounds supposed to be falling off? Why were my pre-pregnancy jeans still collecting dust in the back of my closet?
Breastfeeding an infant does burn an average of 480 calories a day. So why wasn’t I losing more weight?
But like so many other alleged benefits of breastfeeding, breastfeeding-aided weight loss turns out to be vastly overblown.
In other words, my experience was completely normal. For most well-nourished women, long-term breastfeeding results in only a trivial amount of extra weight loss by 6 months postpartum, usually only of 1-2 lbs.
“In most reports, rates of weight loss did not differ between lactating and nonlactating women.” states a 1998 review of the research on postpartum weight loss.
“The effect of breastfeeding in mothers on return-to-pre-pregnancy weight was negligible, and the effect of breastfeeding on postpartum weight loss was unclear,” concludes another large 2007 review.
Large research reviews all find that breastfeeding does lead to greater weight loss at 6 months after birth, but that the amount lost is so tiny as to be trivial: Breastfeeding mothers shed an extra 1-2 lbs on average–provided they breastfed for at least 6 months. Breastfeeding during the first 3 months after giving birth has no effect on weight.
(According to a 2015 review, randomized controlled trials put the added weight loss for breastfeeding mothers at an average of about 1 lb. Cohort studies report a greater amount, of about 2.5 lbs. The true benefit is thus probably closer to an average of 1 lb than of 2.5 lbs.)
In short, while there may be lots of good reasons to breastfeed, weight loss does not seem to be one of them.
Why Doesn’t Breastfeeding Lead to Greater Weight Loss?
Breastfeeding sure seems like it ought to lead to significant weight loss. Breastfeeding, after all, does require calories. Lots of them. Women burn between 400-560 extra calories a day breastfeeding during the first 6 months after giving birth, the amount burned by an hour of running.
So why aren’t breastfeeding women shedding their baby weight?
Unfortunately, when it comes to taking off those extra pregnancy pounds, your biology is working against you.
In food-rich environments, breastfeeding women make up for the extra calories burned breastfeeding not from fat reserves, but by eating more and moving less.
Breastfeeding makes you hungry. Prolactin, the major hormone regulating breast milk production, is released each time you nurse; it is a potent stimulator of appetite.
Prolactin may explain why breastfeeding frequency is inversely related to weight loss–the more often women breastfeed, the less weight they tend to lose.
During the first 3 months of breastfeeding, when feedings are most frequent, breastfeeding moms lose weight at the same rate as formula-feeding moms. But between 3 to 6 months, when milk production remains high but feedings are spaced further out, breastfeeding moms lose a little more weight–an additional 1-2 lbs, on average–than formula-feeding moms,
In the past, prolactin’s stimulatory effect on appetite was adaptive. When living in an environment with a scarce or unpredictable supply of food, you need to save those precious fat reserves laid down during pregnancy for times of shortage.
But these days, the boost in appetite is arguably maladaptive, at least in developed countries, where food is plentiful and in constant supply. The shortage never comes, so women tend to hold onto their pregnancy fat reserves indefinitely.
Prolactin is just one piece of the weight loss problem. Lack of sleep is also a likely culprit.
Babies who are formula-fed are far more likely than breastfed babies to sleep through the night by 3-4 months of age, whereas breastfed babies tend to wake up to nurse in the middle of the night until 9-10 months of age.
Inadequate, broken sleep, such as that of new parents, wreaks havoc on the appetite. The body shifts into crisis mode, trying to conserve energy for what it assumes must be hard times. Energy levels tank. The hormones regulating appetite downshift into starvation mode: Levels of leptin, a hormone dampening appetite, drop, while levels of ghrelin, a hormone stimulating appetite, rise. Poor quality sleep increases activity in brain areas sensitive to rewarding, highly desirable foods, making it harder to resist high-calorie food.
Biology is not the only force working against weight loss while breastfeeding. For many women, breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, poses serious logistical challenges to getting exercise. Breastfeeding on demand sucks away a tremendous amount of time. Who can fit in a workout when they are nursing every 2 to 3 hours for half an hour at a time?
Exclusive breastfeeding also makes it hard for other people to give you a break, so you can go to the gym or out for a walk.
This was certainly true for me. Both of my children refused, and I mean refused, to take a bottle. By 2 months of age, the mere sight of a bottle would send my son into hysterics. During the first 6 months after I gave birth, I could sneak away from him for at most an hour at a time.
The Bottom Line
Despite burning a considerable number of calories, breastfeeding has a negligible effect on body fat and total body weight for most well-nourished women.
The medical establishment, as well as many researchers, seems reluctant to admit this. For example, many of the research articles cited in this post have titles that suggest breastfeeding has a major impact on weight loss. Dig into their actual findings, though, and you find a different story: the differences in weight loss between breastfeeding and formula-feeding mothers are almost always small, and often vanish altogether when other factors, like age, gestational weight gain, and prepregnancy weight are taken into account.
Some of this reluctance may be because science can never “prove” a null result. It is always possible that the lack of an effect is due to poor study design, or poor measurement, or some other form of bias. A series of better-designed studies could find that breastfeeding leads to significant weight loss.
Still, when the vast majority of the evidence does not support the idea that breastfeeding helps women lose their pregnancy weight, major medical organizations like the AAP have no business stating otherwise.
The emphasis on breastfeeding for weight loss almost feels like a bait-and-switch. Because in fact, when it comes to holding onto extra pregnancy pounds, the biggest factor is not breastfeeding, but how much weight you gained during pregnancy.
What about you? Did breastfeeding help you lose your pregnancy weight?
References
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I breastfed each of my three children for a year, and I lost my pregnancy weight each time within that first year. Nothing noteworthy there, really.
My interesting story of weight loss and breastfeeding, however, happened with my first. When she was three months old, I started caring for a friend’s three-month-old son.
That baby? Would NOT take a bottle. Not, not, not. Every feeding was pure trauma for all concerned. After about a week of this, I looked at this hungry child, screaming against the bottle while snuggled against my milk-filled breasts, and thought, “Oh, why am I fighting this?”, and popped him on. Blissful silence ensued, punctuated only by gulps and sighs.
I ‘fessed up when his mother arrived, fearing she might object, but in fact she was relieved. So, for the next three months (until my friend moved out of town), I nursed two babies during the day, five days a week.
The weight? *Melted* off. I attributed it to the sudden doubling of my calorie needs for lactation. Maybe, having established my eating patterns, I didn’t increase my calorie intake? Or, because I nursed them tandem, I didn’t have a concomitant doubling of prolactin production?
Whatever the reason, in that three-month period, from 3 to six months postpartum, I shed all — all — of my pregnancy weight gain. I found it fascinating.
I breastfed my child for 18 months so – believe me – I am very pro-breastfeeding… But if someone had stuffed their tit into my crying child’s mouth without bothering to even ask me first I would be absolutely FURIOUS. In this day and age, where everyone has a cellphone glued to their face, there’s really no excuse. I’m glad the child’s mother wasn’t upset but I don’t want other people to read this comment and assume it would fly for everyone. It wouldn’t.
I lost a ton of weight when I STOPPED breastfeeding around 4 months. But that may be because my engorged 36H breasts probably weighed about 15lbs, so I lost a ton of weight in my breasts when I stopped.
It was such a relief to find this post. I breastfed my son until 22 months. It was a great experience for the two of us, and I weaned him when it no longer felt as such. But those extra pregnancy pounds? Well, they actually increased during the first six months of breastfeeding, probably because I was sleep-deprived, not getting enough exercise and eating terribly. Many of my friends and colleagues, however, could swear breastfeeding had melted all their postpartum fat, and I felt like the utmost failure. I’m pregnant for the second time now, taking more care not to add too many pounds, and already knowing that I won’t be able to count on breastfeeding to help shed them.
Thanks Deborah. I had the same experience with all three!
I breastfed exclusively and lost all of my pregnancy weight within 6 months. I sometimes didn’t lose for a few weeks and then suddenly lose a lot when he had a growth spurt (once whilst on holiday and eating loads). My son is now 7 months and I am 8kg (about 18lbs) lighter than pre-pregnancy. I have been trying to slow the weight loss, as since he was 6 months, I’ve been losing at least 1lb or 0.5kg a week and am getting too thin now. I am getting married this year and may have to buy a new dress because I can’t slow the weight loss despite eating a lot. My son is colicky after formula and weaning much slower than I was expecting. Have not been this skinny for years.
I’m 13 weeks post-partum and I now weigh 1kg less than my pre-pregnancy weight.
I’ve been trying to find info on this topic online, but am struggling. I weighed 48kg prepregnancy, and weighed 57kg at full term (birthing a healthy 3,4kg baby girl). Two weeks postpartum I was. Ack to 48kg. However, I have not been able to maintain my weight since then – which is surprising because I’ve never had difficulty maintaining my weight in the past. Ive been exclusively breastfeeding since her birth 12 weeks ago. I am convinced that breastfeeding is causing my weight gain. I won’t stop breastfeeding for this reason, obviously, but I need to know there’s a reason for it and that things will go back to normal after she’s born! My thighs have ballooned in size as have my upper arms. They were skinny when pregnant! Im not eating enough to be causing this…
Same, never had an issue with weight before or while pregnant. Went up 2 sizes now since delivery 9 months ago. Did you end up losing the weight after you stopped breastfeeding?
Hey Christine. Yes, everything went back to normal eventually! I wrote this comment 3 months postpartum originally, and as I recall, around 9 months I started to feel like I was back in my body – and my body weight and shape started normalising. My menstrual period returned at 18 months postpartum and once that was back I felt 100% “normal”. Your timeline may be a little different but I have every faith that this body change is temporary, and not to worry. I know how distressing it can be with a baby and feeling like everything – including your body – is different. At minimum, wait for your period to return, as it is our hormones that regulate weight (including hormones that stimulate milk production, which do cause some weight gain). Lots of love.
I’ve been trying to find info on this topic online, but am struggling. I weighed 48kg prepregnancy, and weighed 57kg at full term (birthing a healthy 3,4kg baby girl). Two weeks postpartum I was back to 48kg. However, I have not been able to maintain my weight since then and it’s been steadily increasing – which is surprising because I’ve never had difficulty maintaining my weight in the past. I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding since her birth 12 weeks ago. I am convinced that breastfeeding is causing my weight gain. I won’t stop breastfeeding for this reason, obviously, but I need to know there’s a reason for it and that things will go back to normal after she’s born! My thighs have ballooned in size as have my upper arms. They were skinny when pregnant! I’m not eating enough to be causing this…
Here is my story I was very overweight at 5 feet tall I was 145 pounds when I got pregnant with my son fast forward to when he turned 10 months old I ended up 115 pounds with zero exercise in zero change to diet. MY body DID literally melt off my pregnancy weight AND MUCH MORE. how did I go from pre pregnancy weight of 145 to 115 with no diet and no exercise by the time he was 10 months old? Breastfeeding. I found results from my friends to be completely mixed. Half my breastfeeding friends lost pregnancy weight and beyond and the other half gained fat and water. I have no idea why. It’s a medical mystery to me.
I exclusively breastfed my twins, and after an initial 40 lb weight loss in the first month postpartum, I actually gained weight while I nursed. Everyone told me the weight would just melt off, but I was very dismayed to discover the opposite. I was constantly, insatiably hungry. Despite my efforts to eat well and exercise, the extra pounds just wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t until the twins self-weaned at 15 months that I was able to see any real difference in my body. I am nursing my first singleton now, and there has been such a huge difference when it comes to my appetite and sleep/energy levels. I’m mostly maintaining my weight and not gaining, but it does seem like I retain extra fat stores in my upper arms and thighs while nursing. I’ve found that my body just looks different when I’m breastfeeding, and I’m learning to be OK with that.
I think whether breastfeeding helps a woman lose weigh really varies from person to person, so while the overall statistics don’t bear out a benefit, some individual mothers benefit a lot and other mothers may actually gain weight while breastfeeding. The only way to tell which you will be is to try it yourself. With each of my boys I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight by doing nothing but breastfeeding (no exercise, no attempt to diet, nothing). I actually had my appetite drop after giving birth. With my first son I gained 50lbs. He weighed 9.5 lbs at birth and 22lbs at 4 months old; I am convinced he sucked all my pregnancy weight off. With my second son who only weighed 7.5lbs and was much smaller all of his infancy, I only gained about 25lbs. My third son weighed 8.3 lbs at birth, I gained somewhere around 35lbs and he remained between the other two in weight as he grew. I think my body understood the reserves I would need to feed each baby. However, I had a SIL who took off absolutely no weight while breastfeeding, even though she was carefully watching her diet and exercising.
I agree that everyone is different. I have a three month old that is exclusively breastfed. I gained about 65 lbs during my pregnancy. This was due to a diet consisting of pizza and milkshakes, the only two things that could make my nausea and heartburn go away. I was about 133 lbs prepregnancy. I am losing a little over a pound a week and at this rate I am considering breastfeeding for life (joke). I think we have to be careful of what we eat. It is too easy to eat take out, junk food and sweets, especially at the beginning when you aren’t sleeping, your body is still recovering and your baby is so needy. I gave myself the first two weeks postpartum to eat what I liked. After that, I watched what I ate. Many people brought sweets, pastries and cookies to my house after I gave birth. I threw them away. It’s hard enough being home alone with a screaming baby and I didn’t want the temptation of eating the first thing I saw. I also did not diet or starve myself. I eat high fat food, like whole milk, whole milk yoghurt, meat and eggs. At about 13 weeks postpartum I also incorporated a small amount of excercise, about 15 min of strength training twice a week. My baby has also been sleeping through the night since she was six weeks old and I still breastfeed on demand. We have off days where she will wake once or twice, but it is no longer the norm. I don’t think this all has to do with luck.
I have had 3 and I only lost weight properly after I stopped breastfeeding, even though I was eating really healthy low calorie foods and exercising lots. It was so frustrating to have everyone tell me I was obviously eating too much 😡
When marketing to women, it is highly effective to introduce some immediate benefits on physical appearance. Weight loss especially is going to influence more women to breastfeed because it is such a compelling claim.
In my own personal experience, with my two children, only when I stopped exclusively breastfeeding did my weight really start to fall off.
I wonder how many millions in sales the breast pump companies are making now that they are able to double the price and have insurance companies pay?
I gained 60 lbs and lost 50 lbs by 3 months post partum with every child x 4 kids. Don’t think your story holds much truth as the amount of weight lost with breastfeeding can be astronomical like with myself or hardly any weight loss with some women. Diet and lifestyle plays a role too, as well as metabolism and genetics.
I absolutely agree with your article. I think that because breastfeeding is such a beneficial thing to do for your baby, many sites try to sell the idea of breastfeeding to new moms by saying it will help them get them back to their previous weight in no time. And although I love breastfeeding and it’s beneits, I don’t think it’s very helpful when it comes to weightloss. I am a breastfeeding mom to a 9 month old baby boy, and although he is now eating some solid foods, I still find that because I’m still feeding him, I am constantly hungry. I have managed to lose weight regardless because of my discipline and dedication, but I wouldn’t give any of the glory to breastfeeding.
I was a healthy weight pre-pregnancy and gained a healthy amount during pregnancy. With everything I heard and read, I expected to find it difficult to keep my weight up to a healthy level while breastfeeding. My daughter is now 14 months old, I’m still nursing her (around the clock), and I JUST got back to my pre-pregnancy weight – still with a larger belly than before.
Our stories are as unique as our bodies it seems, but it was so comforting to me when I finally realized I wasn’t the only mama not losing weight while breastfeeding. Read my post partum weight loss journey here: https://mamarissa.com/weight-loss-after-pregnancy-while-breastfeeding/
And just know that if you are feeling bad about yourself, this is not something wrong with you. A lot of women have a hard time losing weight while breastfeeding, including super-athlete Serena Williams!
I’m not sure why breastfeeding did seem like a natural way for me to lose wait after a baby. You article makes total sense, and I wonder what did allow me to lose wait. I did work an office job before kids do I sat most of the time. Now, three kids later, I nearly never sit. I have friends who don’t lose weight until after weaning, and I do wonder if having time to exercise after weaning is the difference. I only gainabout 25 pounds during pregnancy and allow about a year to lose it. I think I’ve realized about losing wait since having kids and focus more on not eating after dinner or at night. I’m always surprised when people say they eat in the middle of the night ! But clearly from above comments, even conscious efforts to eat healthy still seem to struggle to lose weight. Therefore, maybe it’s more with not gaining much to start than breastfeeding.
I’m 5’1, weighed 120 prepregnancy, gained 55 pounds. Baby was born 7 pounds and some ounces. I exclusively nursed for 2 years. Weight melted off in the first two months. Even the belly fat. Completely gone. I ended up weighing 110 pounds. I was drinking tons of water daily to keep myself hydrated since I was nursing and was thirstier. I also tried to keep my calorie intake up for my breastfeeding, but I never ate at night. Like after 8 p.m.
No it sure didn’t! I breastfed my daughter to age 2 and weight loss was extremely slow going while she was nursing. I lost maybe 1 pound a month if I was vigilant even though I was going to a stroller fit class regularly. With my son; now in the midst of his 2 year stint of breastfeeding, my weight has fluctuated but I only lost the actual weight of the baby after birth then about 10 lbs from daily walking over the course of several months. Then gained it back and then some. I do need to lose weight though as I’m in the obesity category. I didn’t gain an excessive amount during pregnancy but was at my heaviest when I became pregnant. That’s an important factor as well. Coming into pregnancy at a higher weight. Due to weight and age I developed gestational diabetes while pregnant with him as well.
I appreciated this article though! It sheds a lot more light on a topic that I don’t think is very well understood.
Glad I read this, I didn’t gain too much during pregnancy and was up only 5lbs from my pre pregnancy weight one month postpartum. My weight never really fluctuated before pregnancy, weighed 135 with no exercise for the past 15 years but breastfeeding exclusively has me packing on the pounds. I bought a new bikini thinking I was well on my way to my prepregnancy weight and I cannot imagine wearing it now I went from close to a size 4 to a size 8 By 9 months postpartum and I’m not eating more than I used to at all. I’m searching for stories about weight going back to normal once I wean. Uggh