Will mothers who run have a good milk supply?

When someone asks me what kind of nursing I do, I tell them I specialize in mothers and runners. I am a maternal child health nurse and a volunteer nurse at marathons. It is always fun for me when I get to take care of mothers who are runners.

Mother runners who are nursing their babies are often concerned about how running will affect their milk supply.

Understanding the process of making milk helps a mother plan her runs without jeopardizing her milk supply.

The female breast is composed of glandular tissue, where milk is made, and fatty tissue. It is the amount of fatty tissue that determines the size of the breast. The milk producing glandular tissue is organized into 15 to 20 sections called lobes. Within each lobe are lobules, where milk is made. The first few days after a baby is born, milk production is influenced by changes in the mother’s hormones. The more a mother breastfeeds her baby in the first two weeks the more prolactin receptors, milk makers, are activated in her glandular tissue. After those first few weeks, milk production is determined by the removal of milk from the breast. With effective removal of milk from the breast, under normal circumstances, the breasts can possibly make milk indefinitely as long as the milk is removed.

The mother’s body will prioritize for her baby. In the first few months, her body is more interested in making milk to sustain her baby than anything else. The advice I share with mothers is to feed your baby before you run. If you are training for a big race, you may need to keep your runs to less than two hours because your body will be making milk as you run. Stay hydrated. Study after study has shown that running does not decrease your milk production, or the immunologic factors in the milk. Mothers who train to the point of exhaustion may experience a drop in milk production. That is rectified with feeding the baby more often and cutting back on the training. Wear a supportive sports bra.

When I asked mother runners to share with me why they run, they spoke more often about the mental health benefits than the physical. Mothers tell me they run to maintain their sanity, to be with other runners, have time alone, for the endorphins, to eat whatever they want, to be outside and it makes them feel good.

There are many reasons why getting outside and running or walking makes us feel better. The University of Essex published a study sharing that the color green in trees and plants, relaxes us. Spending time with nature is a great stress reliever. The scents of flowers and pine trees have been shown to lower depression and anxiety.

Vitamin D is called the sunshine vitamin. There is concern that a breastfed baby may not get enough Vitamin D from their mother’s milk. Time outside may increase the mother’s Vitamin D levels, thereby increasing the vitamin in her milk.

Tomorrow is Global Running Day. It is a day that celebrates the sport of running. People all over the world will get out and celebrate being outside with a run or a walk. Hope you celebrate Global Running Day with an activity that makes you feel good about yourself and makes you happy.

This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Will mothers who run have a good milk supply?."