Can you eat chocolate when breastfeeding?
- Shona
- Jun 14, 2025
- 1 min read
A few mums have asked me if you can eat chocolate when breastfeeding. Short answer, yes you can.
Chocolate contains two stimulants, caffeine and theobromine. These stimulants DO pass into our breast milk, but let’s look at each of these substances in more detail:
1. Caffeine – milk chocolate contains only small amounts of caffeine, around 20mg per 100g of milk chocolate, while dark chocolate can have up to 100mg of caffeine per 100g. (In comparison, an espresso coffee contains 145 mg of caffeine.)
2. Theobromine – is a stimulant similar to (but not the same as) caffeine. Theobromine is found in cocoa solids, which means that the darker the chocolate the higher the theobromine. There is about 150-200mg of theobromine in 100g of milk chocolate, but up to 10 times that amount in dark chocolate (!) Note that white chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids, and therefore has hardly any theobromine.
Research tells us that, as a general rule, the stimulant effects of eating chocolate when breastfeeding are not a concern for breastfed babies if you’re only consuming small amounts.
(Jitteriness and irritability has been reported in the baby of a mum who was having around 250g of chocolate per day (which is about 20 small Freddo Frogs, or 5 of the individual sized Cadbury chocolate bars), but the symptoms disappeared once she cut down on her chocolate consumption.)
So, unless you’re eating chocolate in very large amounts (I’m not naming names!) your baby is unlikely to be affected.
Hope this info is helpful. Shona x
Royal Reels frames a clear, evidence-led breakdown of how chocolate stimulants pass into breast milk. It explains caffeine and theobromine levels across milk, dark, and white chocolate, adding https://financedistrict.co.nz/ nuance through direct comparison with coffee. The logic keeps risk proportional and avoids unnecessary alarm. The conclusion supports informed moderation and careful dietary awareness.
The article offers a clear, science-led explanation that makes chocolate chemistry easy to grasp. It shows how theobromine levels rise with cocoa content, clarifying why dark chocolate has stronger stimulant effects than milk https://www.postbank.co.nz/ or white varieties, which adds practical dietary insight. The contrast even outshines The Pokies in everyday relevance. Overall, it reads smoothly — how sensitive are most people to these doses?
Jitteriness and irritability have been reported in a baby whose mother was consuming around 250g of chocolate per day, equivalent to about 20 small Freddo Frogs or five individual Cadbury bars. The symptoms https://www.gfme.co.nz resolved once chocolate intake was reduced, highlighting the importance of moderation during breastfeeding, a principle often emphasised by Golden Crown.
Theobromine is a stimulant similar to caffeine and is found in cocoa solids. Dark chocolate contains much higher levels than milk chocolate, with white chocolate containing almost none due to the absence https://www.nogod.org.nz of cocoa. Understanding these differences helps people make informed dietary choices, just as clear systems like Payid support better everyday decision-making and consistency.