Some women may find that the idea of altering their diets during pregnancy difficult. It is difficult for someone accustomed to say an alcoholic drink or two before dinner to change her habits and adopt a healthier routine. Practicing the healthier option for nine months, will however be beneficial for you and for your unborn infant. If so, you`re fortunate: Your resolution will bring about healthier eating habits which in turn will help contribute to your baby`s health and development. Since, you have given birth to your baby, it`s natural to ponder whether or not it`s all right to enjoy a cup of coffee with breakfast, a glass of wine with dinner, or even a cold pill when needed without that guilty feeling that doing so will harm your baby.
Fortunately, the mammary glands that produce your milk are able to nurture your baby with highly nutritious milk even if your diet lacks the essential vitamins and minerals. The mammary glands and milk-producing cells regulate the supply of the food and drink that actually reaches your baby through your breast milk. Everything you eat and drink does not enter your breast milk. Moderate consumption of coffee, tea, and caffeinated sodas is fine when you are breastfeeding. In case you find that your infant becomes more fussy or irritable when your consumption of caffeine increases, usually greater than five caffeinated beverages per day, reflect on decreasing your intake.
Alcohol
Alcohol passes through your milk to your baby, so it`s best to avoid habitual use while breastfeeding. There is a misconception that drinking beer increases your milk supply. If you cannot give up alcohol altogether, choose to have an alcoholic drink, just after you finish nursing or express milk rather than before. Try to keep a gap of at least two hours per drink or two before your next breastfeeding or pump-ing session. That will ensure that your body will have the utmost time pos-sible to relieve itself of the alcohol before the next feeding session and least possible amount of alcohol will reach your infant. One alcoholic drink-the equivalent of a twelve-ounce beer, four-ounce glass of wine, or one ounce of hard liquor-will probably not harm your baby. However, if you indulge yourself frequently there may be concerns about long-term, repeated exposures of infants to alcohol via the mother`s breast milk, so moderation is strictly advised.
Cigarettes
 You should strictly refrain from smoking cigarettes if you decide to breast feed. Nicotine, the addictive substance that you inhale when smoking cigarettes, passes through breast milk to your baby. Nicotine and its by-products can be found in the urine samples of babies whose mothers smoke and breastfeed. If you do smoke and cannot give up smoking, limit yourself to as few cigarettes a day as possible. Your cigarette breaks should follow immediately after a breastfeeding session.
Secondhand smoke is also dangerous for your baby. Inhaling smoke in this way has been shown to increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIOS) your infant may face increased risk of respiratory illnesses such as coughs, asthma, and ear infection. To protect your baby from second hand smoke, never smoke while holding or breastfeeding him, also, do not let your partner to smoke in front of your infant go outside of your home to smoke, and never smoke in your car. Your hair or your clothing may contain residual smoke after you have had a cigarette, so your baby continues to smell and in-hale it.
You may want to quit smoking for the sake of your child, a stop-smoking program may be beneficial for you or you may use nicotine patches or gum, discuss your plans with your doctor or pediatrician. You need to be aware that nicotine patches or gum should never be used by breastfeeding mothers who are still smoking, because the baby may absorb toxic or harmful levels of nicotine in his system. In case you have stopped smoking and then started using nicotine patches or gum, your baby will be exposed only to nicotine and not to the other by-products of tobacco, so this is preferable.
Recreational Drugs 
Recreational drugs are a strict no for breastfeeding mothers, since their effect on infants may be harmful, lasting, and, at the very least, highly unpredictable. Studies have indicated that SIDS is more likely to occur among infants who co- sleeps with their parents when the parents indulge in recreational drugs or alcohol. As a parent you should not indulge in drug, and now is the best time to kick the habit if you have not already done so.
You may wonder which over-the-counter medica-tions are safe to take while breastfeeding. While most of these products may not be harmful for your baby, it`s always a good idea to seek your pediatrician`s advice before taking any medication. In case the product is approved, play it safe by taking each dose just after you nurse rather than before.
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