Yom Kippur Fast – Breastfeeding Together with Infant Formula
Question
Answer
Shalom u’vrachah
Attached are the instructions of our teacher, Rabbi Amram Fried, regarding the Yom Kippur fast for a nursing woman:
A nursing woman fasts on Yom Kippur. She should prepare well during the two days before the fast by drinking a large amount of grape juice. If she is able to pump milk, she should do so before the fast so that she will need to nurse less and will lose fewer fluids. It is likewise recommended that immediately after the fast ends, she drink a large amount of grape juice in order to restore the milk supply.
Regarding a nursing baby: if he consumes pumped milk, one should make sure to prepare a sufficient quantity for him before the fast. If the pumped quantity is not sufficient, or if the baby only nurses and does not take a bottle, and the mother does not have enough milk for the baby, and the baby does not eat other food, and if
the mother fasts this would pose a danger to the baby — the mother should drink grape juice in measured amounts every four minutes. And if that is not sufficient, she should drink normally [and generally drinking is sufficient, without eating].
