Jane Park Jane Park

Why Breastfeeding Mums Should Drink Cleaner Coffee

The quality of your coffee really matters for your overall health & your breastfed baby’s gut, immune system & skin too.

Personal Story

A few weeks after having my second baby, I told my husband, “We need to buy an espresso machine TODAY!” I wasn’t a coffee drinker, but after several sleepless nights and taking care of my newborn + 4 year old, I understood why so many parents rely on coffee. Matcha just wasn’t cutting it.

Freshly postpartum, I innately knew.

Whatever I ate or drank, impacted my gut health & my baby’s too.

As a nutrition consultant, I knew I wasn’t drinking too much caffeine, but I didn’t like how even “organic” coffee made me feel—jitters, stomach aches, and, let's be honest, frequent bathroom trips.

So, I started researching & learned something not too surprising: the quality of your coffee really matters.

The turning point for me was learning that moldy coffee can make you need to use the bathroom more often because your body is trying to flush out the toxins. And here’s the kicker—70-90% of coffee can contain mold! Yikes, right?

To see if it was true, I switched to coffee beans that were tested to be free of mold & pesticides… guess what? No more extra bathroom trips plus I felt hydrated, energized, and jitter-free.

Just because coffee is “organic” doesn’t mean it’s mold-free or good for your gut. So, if you're breastfeeding, or just want a cleaner, healthier coffee experience, here's what to look for:

Look for Coffee That's:

• Organic AND Tested for Mold & Mycotoxins (toxic mold)

Why It Matters for Your Health (and Your Baby’s)

Drinking coffee daily means you could be chronically exposed to mycotoxins, which are toxins produced by mold. These toxins can cause issues like:

  • Digestive problems: Mycotoxins can upset your stomach, causing discomfort or diarrhea.

  • Skin irritation: Some people notice rashes or itchy skin.

  • Weakened immune system: Mycotoxins can make you more vulnerable to infections.

  • Mood and brain function: Some mycotoxins can affect your memory or mood.

  • Hormonal imbalances: Certain mycotoxins can impact hormone balance affecting reproductive health.

These issues can also impact your baby’s gut, skin, and immune health through your breastmilk. That’s why it’s especially important to choose coffee that’s tested for mycotoxins if you’re breastfeeding.

What Else to Look for in Coffee:

  • Roasting conditions: Ideally, coffee should be roasted in a smokeless roaster to avoid harmful chemicals like acrylamide.

  • Fair Trade & Regeneratively grown: This supports the environment by making the soil better than when the farming process began and ensures farmers are paid fairly.

  • 3rd Party Testing: This is reliable testing for things like heavy metals & contaminants.

My Favorite Coffee Brands:

  • Equip Clean Coffee – use code "mumwithabun" for 15% off your first order.


    One-time purchases are discounted 15%, subscription orders are discounted 30% for the first month.
    (All recurring months of subscription will be 15% off)

  • Purity Coffee – use code "mumwithabun" for 20% off your first order.

The Benefits High-Quality Coffee Offers

Bonus Tip for Breastfeeding Mamas:

If you’re going to drink coffee, add a healthy fat like grass-fed / raw butter (if you can find a reliable source) or coconut cream. This addition can help support your stress response to caffeine as it slows the release of caffeine into your bloodstream. It also improves your milk quality with extra brain & hormone supporting fatty acids & vitamins which baby needs extra amounts of in his/her first year of life. Make your cup of coffee a win for both you & your baby.

P.S. There’s really something magical about the coffee + butter combo…
Don’t knock it ‘til you try it - taste & see for yourself!

Note on Caffeine

I did the math for Equip Clean Coffee - 12g of coffee beans (the amount that goes into my cup daily) provides 100mg of caffeine. Mum, 0-150mg of caffeine daily is ideal, but staying under 300mg of total caffeine daily is a good goal to keep.

You got this!

P.P.S. My guilt-free weekly affogato = double shot of espresso using Equip Clean Coffee + coconut milk based vanilla ice cream… is a must try <3

Read More