The recommended daily extra energy intake for an adult lactating mother with a baby of 3 months is:

DSSSB October 2024

Applied Nutrition & Dietetics

Easy

Appeared in: DSSSB October 2024

Explanation

The recommended additional daily energy intake for a lactating mother during the first 0-6 months is +600 kcal, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.
This increased energy is necessary to support the production of an adequate volume of breast milk (approximately 750-850 mL per day) to meet the nutritional demands of a rapidly growing infant.
Since the baby in the scenario is 3 months old, the mother falls into this initial high-demand lactation period.
This value accounts for the energy content of the milk secreted and the metabolic cost of its production.

Option B: An extra 150 kcal/day is severely insufficient to cover the energy demands of milk production, which alone requires about 500 kcal. This would lead to significant maternal nutrient depletion.
Option C: An extra 250 kcal/day is less than half of the recommended amount and would not support adequate milk synthesis, potentially leading to poor infant growth and maternal malnutrition.
Option D: An extra 100 kcal/day is a negligible amount and fails to meet the high metabolic demands of lactation. It would likely result in a compromised milk supply and maternal health issues.

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 must educate new mothers on the importance of adequate caloric and nutrient intake to ensure successful breastfeeding and prevent maternal depletion syndrome, which includes fatigue, anemia, and osteoporosis.
Inadequate energy intake can directly impact milk volume. If an infant shows signs of poor weight gain, the nurse should assess the mother's dietary intake as a potential contributing factor.
What if? If the mother was lactating and had twins, her additional energy requirement would be significantly higher, often estimated at 600-1000 kcal/day or more, depending on the infants' needs. The standard +600 kcal is for a single infant.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key information in the question: the patient is a 'lactating mother', the baby's age is '3 months', and the question asks for 'daily extra energy intake'.
Recall that nutritional recommendations for lactation are typically divided into two phases based on the infant's age and feeding pattern (exclusive breastfeeding vs. complementary feeding).
Recognize that a 3-month-old baby falls into the first phase of lactation (0-6 months), which involves exclusive breastfeeding and has the highest energy demand.
Retrieve the specific recommended daily allowance (RDA) for this period.
Compare this value with the given options and select the one that matches the recommendation for the 0-6 month lactation period.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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

E6 Nutrition Kumud Khanna 2e p. 104-106