When it comes to feeding a nursing mother, many have associations with strict rules, restrictions, a strict diet and big problems for the baby, if the mother ate “something is not right.” The theme of the diet during lactation is shrouded in various myths and horror stories, and young mothers usually do not know who to listen to: pediatricians, grandmothers, friends or breastfeeding consultants. Recommendations and opinions are contradictory, so we will understand together.
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And where is the food?
Strictly speaking, lactation does not depend on mother's nutrition. The process of milk production is regulated only by hormones (prolactin and oxytocin). Breast milk itself is produced from blood plasma elements, so nutrition affects lactation in the same way as blood composition - very indirectly, slightly changing the content of certain elements. Even with very poor nutrition, a woman is able to breastfeed, and the baby will not suffer from a lack of nutrients. The body of a nursing mother is configured in such a way that everything that is useful and necessary for the baby gets into milk, and if anyone suffers from a deficiency of necessary substances, then this is the mother herself. It turns out that a nursing mother needs to monitor nutrition so that her body has enough resources for itself, since the baby will take its own in any case.
We already wrote an article on nutrition, you can find: what you can eat a nursing mother, what to eat is not recommended
Video tutorial: Mom’s nutrition for breastfeeding - general principles
What and how to eat a nursing mother
The diet of the nursing mother is not much different from the diet during pregnancy, and the recommendations for the organization of nutrition are similar.
- It is advisable to increase the daily calorie content by 500-600 kcal compared with the usual state. If you do not go beyond these numbers, then this will not affect the figure. Milk production requires increased energy consumption, so there is much to spend on extra calories.
- Eating is often recommended in small portions to provide the body with a constant flow of nutrients. Trying to enter meals in some mode does not make much sense, it is enough to eat by appetite. It is good to have something for snack in the availability. Given that at first the baby is near the breast for a long time, the feeling of hunger can catch during or immediately after feeding.
- The basis of nutrition of a nursing mother after childbirth is the classic nutrition pyramid. In the diet, cereals, meat, sometimes fish, vegetables and fruits must be present. By and large, the more varied the food, the better. There are no strict prohibitions, but there are some products with which you should be careful and introduce them into your diet in a special way. They will be discussed separately.
- A lactating woman needs to drink enough fluids. Usually it is about 2 liters per day, but if you don’t really want to drink, you should not pour water into yourself by force. Here it is important to find a middle ground and not get carried away by the water body, since it is a question of a sufficient amount of liquid, and each one has his own, determined by weight and constitution.
Anna Sergeyevna Fedyaeva, a neonatologist, an employee of the Department of Pathology of Newborns and Premature Children at the Children's City Clinical Hospital No. 1 of Nizhny Novgorod, talks about the nutrition of a nursing mother.
"Not" for a nursing mother
Strictly speaking, there are no strict prohibitions and restrictions on the nutrition of a nursing mother. However, some foods are associated with a risk of allergies in the baby, so their use is better to limit and generally eat with caution.
- Protein of cow's milk. Contrary to popular belief about the benefits of cow's milk for babies, this product is extremely undesirable for consumption not only by the baby itself, but also by its mother. In its composition, cow's milk is very far from human and contains proteins that are alien to our body. Mom's intake of whole cow's milk can cause intestinal problems in the baby or cause allergies. Quite another matter is fermented milk products (kefir, fermented baked milk, cheese). There, the same protein is in a different, slightly altered form and is perceived by the body much better.
- Vegetable protein is gluten free. All mothers have heard and are aware of gluten-free cereals for babies, but not everyone excludes this protein from their diet. Gluten is found in all cereals, with the exception of rice, buckwheat and corn. Sometimes it causes an allergy, so you need to be careful with other cereals, introduce them gradually and monitor the reaction.
- Chemical additives (colorants, preservatives, flavorings). The body of a newborn baby has not yet prepared for such a “chemical attack,” and that which goes unnoticed by an adult can cause an allergy in a baby.
- Exotic fruits. At this point, it all depends on the region of residence. So, in Spain, oranges are used for the first feeding, and in our latitudes they are exotic. The best option would be to eat local seasonal fruits, this reduces the risk of an unwanted reaction.
- Fruits and vegetables are red. The potential allergen is precisely the red pigment, and in large doses. So a child can “sprinkle” from a whole plate of strawberries or tomato salad, and nothing will come from a couple of berries or spoons. In some cases, the allergen can generally be eliminated, for example, by cutting off the skin from a red apple.
More about the fact that you can’t eat to a nursing mother (and that it is categorically not recommended for mothers during HB) – https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/kormlenie-grudyu/chto-nelzya-pri-grudnom-vskarmlivanii.html
It is believed that if the mother has no allergies to anything, then the baby is unlikely to have it. Sometimes, quite unexpectedly, a reaction appears to seemingly harmless and familiar products, to some varieties of fish or meat. Attention to the reactions of the child and the timely elimination of an undesirable product will help to avoid protracted problems. Usually, mothers gradually expand the diet and by the age of 6 months they don’t refuse anything to themselves, because the baby’s body adapts to new substances and becomes able to absorb them.
Consultation of Irina Zakharova (professor of DMN)
Myths About Breastfeeding
On the topic of feeding a nursing mother, there are many misconceptions that are passed from mouth to mouth and confuse mothers. Which of this pure water is untrue, and what is still the place to be?
- The more fluid that enters the body of a nursing mother, the more milk will be. We have already determined that the amount of milk depends only on the hormone prolactin produced as a result of breast sucking, therefore it is impossible to increase milk production by increasing fluid intake. However, another hormone is involved in lactation - oxytocin. He is responsible for the "leakage" of milk from the breast. The release of this hormone provokes hot flashes known to all women. A warm drink starts the production of oxytocin in the body, so it’s easier to feed after a cup of tea - the milk itself flows into the mouth. This process does not affect the amount of milk, so if you need more milk, you do not need to adjust the diet or increase fluid intake. The only way to achieve the effect is to attach the baby to the chest more often.
- Nuts increase lactation and make milk fatter. In general, the composition of breast milk is almost constant regardless of the foods consumed, and to increase the fat content of milk through nutrition is generally impossible. Passion for nuts does not increase the fat content of milk, but changes the composition of fats, making milk more viscous, and therefore difficult to obtain for the baby.
- Cucumbers, cabbage and grapes cause increased gas formation in the baby. This is not quite a myth, such a reaction can really be, but if the mother herself does not suffer from bloating after these products, then the child is most likely not scared.
- Onions, garlic and spices make milk tasteless. Here, too, is not so simple. The taste of milk may change, but this does not mean that the baby will refuse to breast, so there is no need to categorically refuse these products. In existing studies on this subject, children on HB did not neglect their mother's breasts.
Klevoshina Ekaterina Nikolaevna - a consultant on breastfeeding and caring for babies - tells how to eat properly for mother during the neonatal period. It gives recommendations on nutrition: what should be excluded from your diet for the period of feeding, and what should be paid attention to (on the composition of products, on their combination and on the method of their preparation). Thanks to these recommendations, a nursing mother will be able to eat quality and varied without consequences for her child.
It turns out that the nutrition of a nursing mother is not associated with special difficulties and is not something beyond the limits. With caution, you can eat absolutely everything.
There is an opinion that the more varied the mother’s nutrition, the less digestive and allergic problems the baby has, since the breast-fed baby gets acquainted with different products through mother’s milk and his body adapts to them. When we say "everything is possible," we mean everything within the framework of a healthy diet. Fast food, alcohol and lots of sweets have no place in the diet of a nursing mother. By and large, adhering to the principles of a healthy diet will not hurt anyone, but for young mothers this is especially true. Often, after the birth of a child, the whole family switches to proper nutrition, which in itself is a big plus for everyone.
Grocery list
- Breastfeeding Fruit
- Fruits in the nutrition of a nursing mother
- Breastfeeding Vegetables
- Melon
- The apples
- Bananas
- Grape
- Watermelon
- Cabbage (fresh, salted)
- Beet
- Cucumbers (fresh, salted)
- Tomatoes (fresh, salted)
- Honey while breastfeeding
- Sunflower seeds (fried, pumpkin)
- Walnuts
- Fish (fried, salted, dried, red)
- Teas
- Ice cream during the GW period
- Apricots and dried apricots
- Dill
- A pineapple
I almost agree with everything that is written in this article. Only now I think that lactation depends on my mother’s diet. The more correct the regimen for mother, the milk is more nutritious and healthier.
The fact that nuts make milk viscous, I was convinced from my own experience. When a baby is very young, it is desirable to limit such products, preferably. I already came to this opinion after the birth of the second.
Good article. I myself will soon give birth in 5 months. I read the article and take it into service. Everything is well-painted - what is possible, what is impossible. The main myths that I have read about on the Internet more than once are also listed.
When I was pregnant, I sat on the Internet a lot, read about how and what is needed for the baby, how to feed. The first child and questions were the sea. This article helped me understand the nuances of breastfeeding, did everything as it was written. The daughter was fed a year and 5 months., There was milk, everyone is happy
When I was breastfeeding, I followed a diet for a nursing mother of month 2. Then I began to expand my diet and watch the child’s reaction to those. or other products. I got lucky. My baby is not allergic. But I also know such mummies who have to eat only buckwheat and green apples. Therefore, everything is truly individual.
Diet and another diet !!! This is my second time mom and once again I’m convinced! First porridge, dietary meat and do not be shy in quantity, this is protein! Soups on 2 m broth with carrots, herbs, onions, biscuit cookies, a little cheese, egg, fish. Then gradually !!! (be sure to look in the diaper) cottage cheese 0% and kefir 1%, at the 2nd month of cabbage, drain. butter 50 gr, steam cutlets, meatballs, meatball soups, dumplings, milk with tea, 0.5 marshmallows, water up to 3 liters. You still need to go to the toilet, stopped teak deteriorating. Then we follow the advice of some articles, introduce products gradually, be sure to look at the behavior. You and your baby are assured of a peaceful sleep. If I departed from this, I would break off “nothing will happen”, sleepless nights and crazy days are provided (diarrhea, mucus, discoloration of feces, colic, increased irritability, in a word OP)
Diet and diet again !!! But this is apparently individually everything is very. I have a second child and have the same severe restrictions with him as with the first. It’s easier for me to list the products after eating which, with the baby, everything is fine than those from which diarrhea, colic and even vomiting. Here is what I eat calmly: boiled non-fat beef and soups with it. Cooked potatoes, pasta, porridge with almost no milk and only buckwheat or rice. Grade 2 bread, hard cheese, butter, cottage cheese is not fat. Tea with milk. And all this without sugar, a maximum of 3 teaspoons per day. Homemade crackers, yeast-free drying. Here is the whole list of products that I consume! A step to the right is a step to the left of this list and diarrhea in the child for 3 days is provided, along with sleepless nights. And at 2 months we were prescribed massage and Pantogam syrup. She gave only once the prescribed dose and for a week now we have been treated for vomiting and diarrhea. Although other children have all the rules. So everything is very individual. Someone has a strict diet, but someone doesn’t.
The amount of milk depends on the amount of liquid! If you don’t drink enough, where does the extra liquid come from to produce milk (even though it is produced from our blood)! It was checked on myself, I began to drink more, I began to get enough milk, all other things being equal (such as frequent application and “milk”)
As far as I can remember, everyone constantly said (and continues to do so) that women who breastfeed their children, especially boys, should be very limited in their nutrition (because they have more often stomach problems). And when my time came, a huge number of restrictions sat in my head - that’s how we lived for the first month. My son was very pleased with his health, but he wanted more variety in nutrition. Gradually, I began to introduce products that I loved before pregnancy - and no matter how surprising it seemed, but everything was still fine with us. The first thing I returned was a natural non-fat sour milk (I did and am doing it on the yeast of the Bakzdrav company). The fact is that after the birth there were still some problems with the stool - and I really did not want to resort to medications. And in fermented milk there are many probiotics that restore the microflora and kill pathogenic bacteria. In general, I can tell you my current opinion - if you ate well before your birth (without mayonnaise, smoked meats, fatty and other harmful foods), then feel free to maintain your diet as before. The only thing - at least for the first time it is worth giving up spicy and seasoning. But fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, seafood can be eaten safely - unless, of course, none of the family has an allergy to these products (otherwise there is a risk that even crumbs can develop allergic reactions).
After the birth of my first child, I was horrified with my husband, none of my relatives were there, we coped as best we could, the situation intensified constant quarrels. You talk about nutrition, I didn’t eat at all amid stress. Naturally, I searched for answers to all questions that excite me on the Internet. Then the child stopped eating my milk, I had to look for a replacement. Now the child is already two years old, of course there are problems, but they are not like that anymore.
in one place eggs are not recommended products, in another - in second place in the pyramid of proper nutrition ...
Somehow, somehow, the rewriters messed up ...