Breastfeeding is a unique and special time for both mother and child. Providing optimal nutrition during this period is crucial for the health and well-being of both. Many breastfeeding mothers wonder if the foods they eat will affect their breast milk, and if it is necessary to avoid certain foods to prevent digestive problems or allergies in their baby. This article provides a comprehensive guide to nutrition for breastfeeding mothers, offering practical tips and recommendations to help you create a balanced diet that supports both your health and your baby's development.
General Dietary Guidelines
You do not need to follow a special diet while you're breastfeeding. It is important to focus on eating healthy, rather than losing baby weight, while you're breastfeeding. Making healthy food choices-along with regular physical activity-will keep you healthy while you breastfeed. Simply focus on making healthy choices.
What to Eat
Include protein foods 2-3 times per day such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and seeds.Eat three servings of vegetables, including dark green and yellow vegetables per day.Eat two servings of fruit per day.Include whole grains such as whole wheat breads, pasta, cereal and oatmeal in your daily diet.Drink water to satisfy your thirst. Many women find they are thirsty while breastfeeding; however, forcing yourself to drink fluids does not increase your supply.Dietary restrictions from pregnancy do not apply to breastfeeding moms.
Key Nutrients for Milk Supply
While there’s a lot of hype about specific foods to support milk production, no single nutrient can increase milk production. A balanced diet with enough calories and fluids will help with milk production.
Nutritional Needs During Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding nutrition can be confusing. How much should you eat? What should you avoid? How might your diet affect your baby? Breast milk gives your baby nutrients that promote growth and health. If you're breastfeeding, it's common to have questions about what foods and drinks are best for you.
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Caloric Needs
Yes. You might need to eat a little more to give you the energy and nutrition to produce milk. Breastfeeding requires extra calories. If you still have baby weight from your pregnancy, these extra calories will naturally be used for your milk. If you have lost all your baby weight, you may need to eat an extra 300-600 calories per day. An additional 330 to 400 kilocalories (kcal) per day is recommended for well-nourished, breastfeeding mothers, compared with the amount they were consuming before pregnancy.To get these extra calories, opt for nutrient-rich foods. Focus on making healthy choices to help fuel your milk production. After your baby starts eating other foods at 6 months, you will be making less milk and you can cut back on your calorie intake.
The Importance of Vitamins and Minerals
You can get all the other vitamins and minerals you need by eating a varied and balanced diet.Your healthcare professional might suggest you take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement until you wean your baby.Think about adding supplements to your diet. Your healthcare professional may suggest you take a daily vitamin B-12 supplement.
Vitamin D
Everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D during the autumn and winter months. From late March to the end of September, the majority of people aged 5 years and above will probably get enough vitamin D from sunlight when they're outdoors. So you might choose not to take a vitamin D supplement during these months. But some people may need to take a vitamin D supplement all year round.If you don't eat enough foods fortified with vitamin D and you have limited sun exposure, you might need to take vitamin D supplements. Good sources of vitamin D-fortified foods are cow's milk and some cereals. Too little vitamin D can cause rickets, a softening and weakening of bones. Tell your healthcare professional if you're giving your baby a vitamin D supplement.
Iron, Protein, and Calcium
Choose foods rich in iron, protein, and calcium. Good sources of iron include lentils, beans, enriched cereals, leafy green vegetables, and peas. Vegetarians may choose dairy products too. For protein, try plant sources, such as soy products and meat substitutes, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Good sources of calcium are dark green vegetables and foods enriched and fortified with calcium.Women, regardless of if they are lactating, should get 1,000 mg of calcium daily. The primary source of calcium is dairy products, but there are a lot of great alternatives to cow’s milk including:Tofu, Cooked chard, Cooked broccoli, Calcium-fortified orange juice, Plant-based milks fortified with calcium and Dairy products like cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B-12 is found mostly in animal products. Breastfed infants of women who do not consume any animal products may have very limited amounts of vitamin B12. Low amounts of vitamin B12 can put infants at risk of neurological damage from vitamin B12 deficiency. Iron may also be of concern.
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The Role of Hydration
You need more fluids while you are breastfeeding. Drink when you're thirsty. Drink more if your urine looks dark yellow. Choose water most of the time. Avoid choosing juices and drinks with added sugar.
Foods and Drinks to Limit or Avoid
Be careful about how much you have of some foods and drinks while you're breastfeeding.
Alcohol
There's no level of alcohol in breast milk that's considered safe for a baby. It's best to avoid alcohol while you are breastfeeding. If you choose to drink, avoid breastfeeding until the alcohol has completely cleared your breast milk. This takes at least two hours for one drink. One drink is 12 fluid ounces (355 milliliters) of regular beer, 5 fluid ounces (148 milliliters) of wine, or 1.5 fluid ounces (44 milliliters) of hard liquor or distilled spirits.If you wish to drink alcohol, wait 2-3 hours after each serving (12 oz. beer, 6 oz. wine, 1.5 oz. liquor) before breastfeeding/pumping. Alcohol does not stay in your milk. It is removed as your blood alcohol levels go down. When you are sober, the alcohol is gone from your milk. If you are feeling the effects of alcohol and your breasts are full, you may need to “pump and dump."
Caffeine
Avoid drinking more than 2 to 3 cups (0.4 to 0.7 liters) of caffeinated drinks a day. Limit caffeine. Drinking a small amount of coffee (up to 2 cups a day) or other drinks with caffeine is okay while breastfeeding. Too much caffeine can make your baby fussy or keep baby awake.Caffeine can reach your baby through your breast milk. Caffeine is a stimulant, so if you have a lot, it may make your baby restless and keep them awake. Caffeine occurs naturally in lots of foods and drinks, including coffee, tea and chocolate. It's also added to some soft drinks and energy drinks, as well as some cold and flu remedies.There’s not enough information to say how much caffeine is too much, and babies respond to caffeine differently. But it’s a good idea to reduce how much caffeine you drink, especially when your baby is less than 6 months old. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s recommended that you have no more than 200mg a day. Caffeine is passed into your milk but most babies are not bothered by it. If your baby isn’t sleeping well or is irritable, you may want to limit or avoid caffeine. Newborns may be more sensitive to caffeine than older babies.
Fish
Seafood can be a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Eating fish is good for your and your baby's health. Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily. Oily fish includes mackerel, sardines, trout and salmon.But most seafood has mercury or other contaminants in it. Too much of these things in breast milk poses risks to babies as their nervous system grows. To limit this risk, avoid seafood that's high in mercury. Examples include shark, swordfish, and king mackerel. Do not eat tile fish, swordfish, shark and king mackerel. They contain high levels of mercury.DocasaHexanenoic Acid (DHA) is an important omega 3 fatty acid needed by babies for brain development. You can boost the DHA in your milk by eating fish 2-3 times per week. The best sources of DHA are: salmon, bluefish, bass, trout, flounder and tuna.
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Addressing Food Sensitivities and Allergies
Some foods or drinks in your diet could cause your baby to become fussy, have a reaction, or have intolerance. Symptoms of an intolerance include a rash, diarrhea, and wheezing. If you think that something in your diet might be affecting your baby, avoid that food or drink for up to a week.Babies love the flavors of foods that come through your milk. You might be surprised to learn that breast milk typically does not cause allergic reactions in babies and avoiding certain foods does not typically prevent your baby from developing a food allergy. Unless it is recommended by a doctor, you do not need to remove foods from your diet to prevent your baby from developing a food allergy.According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, only two or three out of one hundred babies who only receive breast milk have an allergy to it and this is often linked to cow’s milk in the diet of the person who is breastfeeding. If you think your baby might be allergic to your breastmilk, talk to your doctor. Talk with your baby's doctor if your baby has any of the symptoms listed above. You might notice that your baby has other reactions to the foods that you eat. These reactions might include crying, fussiness, or more nursing after you eat certain foods. These are less serious symptoms and go away within 24 hours. If you find that your baby always has trouble after you eat certain foods, you can try to remove these foods from your diet for a while and then gradually add them back one at a time to help identify if a particular food is causing your baby trouble. Talk with your baby’s doctor if symptoms continue.
Allergies in Baby
In rare cases a breastfeeding baby may develop a food allergy to foods the mother is eating. The most common symptoms are green, mucus-like and blood-specked stools. Colic and reflux are not usually caused by food allergies. The most common foods that cause allergies are dairy products, soy products, wheat and eggs. Less common foods that cause allergies include fish, nuts, peanuts or corn. A baby could develop an allergy to any food you eat. Keeping a food diary of symptoms along with what you eat might help you know which foods are causing the problem. As long as your baby is gaining weight and not anemic, the allergy is not going to cause any long-term problems. You do not need to stop breastfeeding. Removing the suspected foods from your diet by carefully reading all food labels should solve the problem but it may take 4-6 weeks for the infant’s symptoms to resolve.
Spicy and Gas-Producing Foods
Spicy and gas-producing foods are normally tolerated by most babies. If you find your baby is often gassy or colicky and has increased diarrhea after you eat a particular food, try avoiding that food for several weeks and see if the symptoms go away. Then try the food again to see if you still need to avoid it.
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets
Vegetarian diets can be compatible with breastfeeding. If you avoid meat, make sure you eat other sources of iron and zinc such as dried beans, dried fruit, nuts, seeds and dairy. If you avoid all animal products (vegan diet) you will need to take a B12 supplement to make sure your baby does not develop a B12 deficiency.
Meal Planning and Snacking
The foods you eat while breastfeeding are important for your health and your baby’s health. Salmon, chia seeds, and butternut squash are a few nutritious foods you can try as you breastfeed.
Sample Meal Options
- Option 1: Make your own naturally flavored waters: try cucumber and mint or a fruit combination like strawberry and orange slices. Place the ingredients in a 2-quart jar, crush them with a wooden spoon and cover with several cups of ice. Fill the jar with water and chill for several hours to infuse the flavors.
- Option 2: Spaghetti squash tossed with grilled or broiled shrimp and pesto sauce. (Cut the spaghetti squash in half, remove the seeds, place cut side down on a cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes. Once cooked, scrape out the squash with a fork into strands.
- Option 3: Whole grain toast with nut butter.