The extra calorie requirement for a mother when breast-feeding is

RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2022

Applied Nutrition & Dietetics

Easy

Appeared in: RUHS, Jaipur, M.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam-2022

Explanation

Lactation is a highly energy-demanding physiological process, requiring more calories than pregnancy.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 2020 guidelines, a lactating mother needs an additional 600 kcal per day during the first six months of breastfeeding.
This extra energy is essential for synthesizing and secreting an adequate volume of nutritious breast milk (approximately 750 mL/day) to support the infant's growth.
Meeting this requirement also prevents the depletion of the mother's own energy and nutrient stores, safeguarding her health.

Option A: This value is too low for lactation. An additional 300-350 kcal per day is the standard recommendation for the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
Option C: This amount is significantly insufficient to meet the metabolic demands of milk production, which can lead to reduced milk supply and maternal fatigue.
Option D: This is an excessive amount of additional calories for a mother with a single infant. Consuming this much could lead to significant and unwanted postpartum weight gain.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Nutritional requirements during lactation as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses play a crucial role in educating new mothers about proper nutrition during breastfeeding to ensure both maternal health and optimal infant growth.
Inadequate caloric intake can lead to reduced milk supply, maternal fatigue, and nutrient deficiencies, compromising the well-being of both mother and child.
What if? If a mother is exclusively breastfeeding twins, her additional energy requirement would be significantly higher, potentially increasing to 1000-1200 kcal per day. In this case, she would require specialized nutritional counseling to meet these demands.

How to Approach the Question

Identify the key physiological state in the question: 'breast-feeding' (lactation).
Recall that lactation has a higher energy demand than pregnancy due to the energy cost of milk synthesis and secretion.
Differentiate between the caloric needs of pregnancy and lactation. The common recommendation for pregnancy is an extra ~350 kcal, while for lactation it is significantly higher.
Evaluate the options based on standard nutritional guidelines (like ICMR). The value of +600 kcal is the standard recommendation for the initial period of exclusive lactation.
Eliminate the other options: 300 kcal is associated with pregnancy, 200 kcal is too low, and 1000 kcal is generally excessive for a single infant.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart A (pp 1-232 of 464) pp. 168-170, 20-22