Has happiness appeared in your home? A tiny miracle needs you like no one else, and its small body is in your breast milk, especially for the first months of life. In the article we will tell you what you can eat to a nursing mother so as not to harm the baby, and his stomach will adapt more easily, as well as how to improve the quality of lactation.
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The importance of proper nutrition for a nursing mother
Newborns need nutrients and lactobacilli. Having been born, it is difficult for an infant to immediately get used to a new lifestyle, including other nutrition. The digestive system is especially affected for the first 3–6 months, because the baby’s stomach is sterile at birth.
The faster the body receives a sufficient number of trace elements, the faster the gastrointestinal tract will work. Mother’s breast milk can help the newborn in this difficult period.
From the first day, getting colostrum, the little man’s stomach begins to be enriched with the necessary bacteria.
Breast milk contains a unique composition that cannot be found in any artificial substitute.
It not only helps to digest the digestive system, but also has a number of positive properties:
- boosts immunity;
- improves the functioning of the endocrine system;
- promotes mental and physical development.
At the same time, a natural product can harm a baby if mom does not monitor her diet. Therefore, it is very important for lactating women to eat right.
The baby will receive the same food as the mother. In this regard, there are recommendations on the menu for nursing mothers.
Observing them, you:
- reduce the risk of baby's digestive tract diseases;
- accelerate the restoration of the intestinal microflora of the newborn;
- reduce the period of colic;
- improve your health and baby;
- improve the metabolism of the child.
Colic in a newborn is a very common phenomenon. They do not depend on the type of feeding (artificial or natural). However, due to breastfeeding, cramps disturb the baby much less often and resolve faster than those who eat dry formulas from birth.
Diet for the first month after birth
The first month after birth is the most demanding in terms of the diet of nursing mothers. This is due to the fact that the stomach of the newborn has not yet been saturated with the necessary trace elements.
The kid needs to gradually get used to the new product. In the first month, it is better to refuse innovations and stick to a strict menu (see table 1).
The well-being of the baby while breastfeeding directly depends on the diet of the mother.
Products to be excluded in the first month of feeding:
- Dairy products, including condensed milk. From them the baby will puff. There is a stereotype that these products contribute to an increase in breast milk. In fact, the tide has nothing to do with drinking milk.
- Fatty, salty, smoked food. It will be difficult for a baby’s sterile stomach to absorb such food.
- Fresh fruits (especially citrus) and vegetables. Fruits with lactation in the first weeks after birth provoke fermentation in the body.
- Juices. They contain a lot of sugar, which contributes to fermentation.
- Legumes.
- Flour products.
- White cabbage in any form.
- Puddings, yogurts, cottage cheese and other dairy products.
- Berries, honey, nuts. An allergic reaction is possible to consume these products. It is better to enter them with caution after two to three months.
- Coffee, strong tea.
- Chocolate.
You should also refrain from adding seasonings to food and use foods that can cause allergies with caution. For example, cheese, chicken, etc.
Table 1 Sample menu of a nursing mother
| Times of Day | Dish | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Porridge without milk, tea (preferably herbal, sugar to a minimum) | Try to use different cereals without abusing semolina and oatmeal, as they interfere with the absorption of calcium |
| Lunch 1 | Soup, crackers | Try to give preference to vegetable broths and turkey meat. Chicken soups are possible if allergies are not found. Exclude the use of bread, replace it with bread and crackers |
| Lunch 2 | Boiled filet of turkey, white fish and chicken (if there is no allergy), a side dish of buckwheat or rice, a drink (stewed fruit, tea) | Beef and pork should be introduced later, vegetable puree with caution |
| High tea | Tea, biscuits, crackers, oatmeal cookies | In the first month of feeding, take cookies without additives, you can try a baby product. |
| Dinner | Steam cutlets from chicken or turkey and buckwheat (rice). Any permitted drink | You can try vegetable and fish cakes, only at least in the second - third week and with caution |
Turn the baby on her stomach daily 10 minutes before feeding. This will help him better absorb food intake.
Green tea and coffee affect the nervous system and heart. Remember this in the first month of feeding. For prevention, it is advisable to give the child drops based on simethicone, dill water and regularly massage the tummy.
Monthly nutrition rules - table
Starting from the second month, nursing mothers are allowed to slowly introduce new foods into the diet (see table 2). The body of each baby is individual. Someone begins to feel bad even after buckwheat. Keep this in mind. Watch the baby's reaction to each dish.
Table 2 Approximate product entry by month, starting from the 2nd
| Month | Product | Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | Apples, pears, fresh and boiled vegetables; Meat broths (beef, pork); Pasta, greens, eggs; Bread, cottage cheese, milk porridge | At this stage, red fruits and vegetables should be excluded. This also applies to fish. The first six months, it is better to refrain from fish fatty and red varieties |
| 4-7 | Onions, garlic, spices; Other fruits; Pastries, sweets; Yogurts, kefir, sour cream | Spicy spices, including garlic, use with caution. For sweets, give preference to marshmallows, pastille, Meringue cakes and halva |
| 8-12 | Other foods excluding junk food | Familiar foods that were consumed before birth should be introduced gradually and in moderation. |
Many mothers worry where to get calcium if dairy products are not desirable, especially in the early stages of feeding? In fact, calcium is much more in other foods. For example, sesame is the richest calcium product. It is not forbidden to nursing mothers. You can sprinkle any dish with seeds. It will become both tastier and healthier.
Greens also have a lot of calcium. Add spinach leaves everywhere, and you will replenish the body's calcium reserves.
A poor diet can cause vitamin deficiency, so take care of yourself and get a vitamin complex in a pharmacy. Do not forget about vitamins to stay beautiful and feel good.
Diet restrictions
First of all, limit yourself to those products to which the baby has an unhealthy reaction. If such a product is necessary for your body or you just really want it very much, there is a solution. Firstly, you can use a little bit of everything, unless of course the baby has a severe allergy, and we are not talking about alcohol. Secondly, milk that arrived after consuming an unwanted product can be decanted.
If the product is healthy, but the baby does not perceive it, use it once a week. For example, cottage cheese fixes, but it is very useful. Therefore, it can be eaten by a nursing mother periodically and in small portions.
There is a list of products that should be excluded throughout the feeding:
- alcohol;
- soy sauce, mustard (affect the taste of milk);
- food enriched with harmful components;
- too greasy and spicy food.
Feeding the baby is also introduced gradually. On breastfeeding, they begin to feed the baby with food from 5-6 months.
When should you follow a strict diet?
A strict diet for lactation is necessary in the following cases:
- The first month after birth.
- Allergy in a child.
- The work of the digestive tract is disrupted in the baby, or in the mother herself.
The list of permitted products in such cases is assigned by the pediatrician.
Drinking regimen during lactation
The more fluids you consume, the more breast milk will be. It really is. Young mothers are recommended to drink a lot of tea even in the hospital. This is no accident, a warm, plentiful drink increases lactation.
During lactation, you can not drink soda.
The rate of fluid intake during lactation increases by 1-1.5 liters. If before childbirth, the female body needed one or two liters, then after childbirth this figure will already reach 2 - 3.5 liters. The fact is that a nursing mother produces about 1 liter of fluid per day, so she needs to replenish it from somewhere.
