That left behind a long nine months of waiting, childbirth, a hospital and the first meeting with the baby. Ahead is your joint and surely happy future and a lot of questions. The first on the list of most women in labor: "What to eat a nursing mother?". Most likely, all women heard about the strictest diet to be followed during breastfeeding, and the list of products prohibited for this time.
Every person they meet has their own opinion on this matter, and even those who have never had children are happy to give advice. If you need to know what you can eat a nursing mother after childbirth, be sure to read our article. In our recommendations, we are guided not by unsubstantiated speculation and groundless conclusions, but by real research results and practical experience.
Eat for two or for two?
Numerous compassionate relatives will try to feed any woman after discharge from the hospital. Grandmothers, mothers and aunts are very fond of saying that a woman in labor needs to eat a lot, because now she is not alone, she has a baby, and therefore her servings of food should be doubled so that the baby does not starve and the milk is not “blue”. Caring and kind women interpret any squeak of a newborn as a call for help and a request to increase the fat content of milk.
As a result, mothers are treated with liters of condensed milk, tons of nuts and fat home-made cottage cheese. And the baby does not get better from this, on the contrary, he cries heart-rendingly and suffers from pain in the stomach. The fact is that his undeveloped digestive system is simply not able to process such an amount of fat. As a result - diarrhea, colic, sleepless nights and tearful eyes in both the child and his mother.
Who needs a diet?
Yes, of course, a woman needs to eat well, but can a nursing mother eat for two? If she wants to quickly return her “pre-pregnant” form and provide the baby with ideal food, then no. You need to eat correctly, choosing healthy and safe food in the diet. The body spends about 500-750 kcal per day for milk production. Therefore, it is not necessary to say that food should be more high-calorie. On the contrary, you need to make sure that the menu contains foods rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. This is necessary for a woman, because nature made sure that her milk contained everything necessary for the development of a newborn baby. While the mother is breastfeeding, her body is depleted, and with the help of normal nutrition, she will be able to make up for these losses.
The main reason why all women need to know what nursing mothers can eat (lists of allowed and prohibited foods will be presented later) is the ability of milk to absorb not only useful substances from the body, but also allergens, alcohol, and various chemical compounds. Some may cause the child to feel unwell, others may cause a rash, and others may cause diarrhea or constipation. To avoid health problems of your child and ensure a comfortable existence, you need to find out what to eat for a nursing mother immediately after childbirth and in the first year of her baby's life. A little further we will talk in detail about the correct diet for each age of the baby.
Why is it necessary?
As we have already said, the body spends more than 500 kcal daily for milk production. But do not forget that the young mother has to live in constant stress. Even if a woman is surrounded by ten nannies, she is still very tired. Sleepless nights, pregnancy, childbirth and lack of time for rest lead to exhaustion of the body. Irrational diet can cause an exacerbation of chronic diseases, nervous disorders, and a decrease in lactation. Fast food and sweets quickly replenish energy reserves, but such food does not bring benefits to the body.
Then what to eat a nursing mother? The first month after birth is the most difficult. At this time, you need to take care not only about yourself, but also about the baby. Eat food that does not provoke increased gas formation or allergic reactions. The caloric content of a daily portion of food should be in the range of 3200–3500 kcal. Given the existing restrictions on the menu, many women do not know how to fill their diet in order to achieve such an indicator.
Immediately after childbirth
So, what should a nursing mother eat on the first day after giving birth? The basis of her diet should be vegetable and cereal dishes, as well as meat and some fruits. The list of allowed products looks like this:
Buckwheat, oat, rice, corn, barley or wheat porridge cooked on water. You can fill the dish with a small amount of butter.
Beef, lean pork, rabbit, nutria, turkey fillet.
Vegetables, except cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, red bell pepper. Potatoes are possible, but in limited quantities.
Baked apples, fresh bananas.
Gray bread, with bran, seeds and cereals.
Galetny cookies, drying, bagels, crackers without raisins.
Vegetable oil up to 15 ml per day and up to 25 g butter.
What to eat a nursing mother after childbirth, you must also check with her doctor. Perhaps she will need products to raise hemoglobin or blood glucose. Surely a gynecologist will advise a woman to observe the correct drinking regimen. It is best to drink pure still water, decoctions of dried fruits, chamomile tea, special fees for lactation. The amount of liquid should be at least one liter per day, but you should not drink more than two liters.
First week
Many women are wondering why they should not eat some foods, but at the same time they were served them in the hospital. The fact is that the ration in maternity hospitals is not compiled separately from other departments of a medical institution. The menu is common to all, but it is better for young mothers to refrain from hospital food. It would be much more reasonable to ask relatives to bring food from home, telling them what to eat for a nursing mother in the first days.
Dishes should be prepared from the products indicated above. Food must undergo sufficient heat treatment. It can be vegetable soup or stew, boiled or spiced meat. Steamed dishes are also welcome. You can’t eat dry food - you need to consume hot food and drink enough to not cause problems with the stool. After childbirth, many women have difficulty defecating, so you should avoid foods that cause the stool to be held together.
Mom's diet up to 1 month
Now let's talk about what to eat for a nursing mother in the first month. The above list is expanding a little from the tenth day after delivery. The following items are added to it:
Sour-milk products, such as low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, pure yogurt, fermented baked milk.
Hard cheese.
Low-fat fish.
The list of allowed vegetables is expanding, you can add beets, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, pumpkin.
Dried fruits - dried apricots, prunes, dates.
Eggs (no more than 2-3 times a week).
Durum wheat pasta.
As before, you need to steam, boil, stew or bake. Fried foods, spices and seasonings are still banned. The sweet tooth is probably interested in the question of what you can eat for a nursing mother the first month of delicious. Pamper yourself with a small portion of homemade apple, apricot, plum or cherry jam. If it is possible to purchase good halva, natural marmalade or marshmallows, you can gradually introduce them into the diet. But in general, the amount of sugar in the diet for the first time should be minimized. Due to its abundance, milk will be very sweet, it provokes fermentation in the intestine and increased gas formation, colic.
What can a nursing mother eat after a month?
During this period, babies usually suffer from abdominal pain, so the diet should be gentle. If a child has a reaction to a product, it should be excluded from the menu for the next few weeks. As a rule, by the age of three months, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is getting better for children, and mothers no longer need to be afraid to eat foods that cause gas. But you should still beware of allergens and unhealthy foods. A food diary will help to track the reaction of the body to a particular gastronomic innovation. New products need to be added to the menu one at a time and observed during the day for the baby’s reaction. If there is an effect on the body, then its manifestations will be visible within a few hours after the experiment in the form of a swelling, rash or loose stool.
What can a nursing mother eat after 1 month:
All previously introduced products
fresh vegetables, including tomatoes, fruits (seasonal and growing in her place of residence);
walnuts, almonds, cashews;
raisins;
honey.
On the basis of cereals, dried fruits and nuts, you can cook granola - a tasty and healthy treat.
Up to three months banned, whole cow's milk, legumes, canning, marinades, sausages, convenience foods, smoked meats, ketchups, sauces and mayonnaises, chocolate, coffee, black tea, alcohol, citrus fruits, strawberries. No matter how strong the temptation to try a forbidden dish, you need to remember about the baby who, due to the minute pleasure of her mother, will suffer for several hours, if not days, from discomfort in her stomach or itching due to allergies.
However, doctors categorically do not recommend maintaining a strict diet for too long. From the first week of a child’s life, his mother should gradually return to a normal full-fledged table. Every new product eaten by a nursing woman passes into her milk. It changes its taste and aroma, so the baby gets a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the gastronomic variety of food, encounters the first allergens, gets used to the fact that there can be any kind of food. Sitting on lean porridges and potatoes, mom harms not only herself, but also the baby.
List of allowed and prohibited products up to six months
What to eat a nursing mother when the baby is already three months old or more? Now you can already eat almost the same way as before childbirth. The main thing is to follow the principles of healthy eating. Women who ate rationally before, return to their usual menu. Cereals, pasta, most vegetables and fruits, berries, dairy products, different types of meat and fish - this is all that should be in the diet. In addition, products can not only be cooked and stewed, fried foods are allowed, but with some reservations.
So, you need to use a small amount of fat for frying and eat food exclusively from the first pan. The main danger of fried foods is that vegetable oils, when heated, emit a large amount of carcinogens and cholesterol, which tend to penetrate into breast milk. The pancreas of children works only by the age of three or four, they don’t have enough of their enzymes to process such heavy food, so don’t get carried away with cutlets and meatballs.
And from a newcomer what to eat a nursing mother? The list of products is complemented by meat broths and legumes, so rich in protein. You can try to eat fresh tomatoes, citrus fruits, starting with small portions. Some children do not react to them in any way, but others have an allergy after a year, therefore, in the case of such controversial products, everything is very individual and there are no general recommendations. Tea and coffee lovers also begin to drink their favorite drinks, but without fanaticism and not looking at night. Whole milk is another product that should be administered with caution. If the mother tolerated it well before, then she can use it for cooking cereals and other dishes again.
Taboo:
sausages, sausages and smoked meats;
processed cheese;
long-term storage products containing preservatives and flavor stabilizers;
mayonnaise and ketchup;
carbonated drinks;
alcohol;
confectionery for industrial production (cakes and pastries).
If this product is made on the basis of sour cream or butter cream, then you can eat it in a small amount.
Diet from 6 months to 1 year
What to eat for a nursing mother in the first period after the birth of a baby (up to six months) we figured out. From the sixth month, already in the baby’s diet, it is necessary to introduce new food - not milk or a mixture, but adult food, but correctly prepared and homogenized.
Mom's diet should be as varied and safe as before. Only some sweets are excluded from the previously banned list. You can try to eat cookies, chocolate, although, as before, with caution and selectively.
During this period, the child is actively growing and developing, his teeth begin to erupt. The composition of breast milk is adjusted to its needs, enriched with proteins, vitamins and minerals, and all this due to the reserves of the mother’s body. Therefore, a woman needs to eat enough meat and foods containing calcium. What should a nursing mother eat in order to maintain her health? It can be cereals, dairy products, apples, nuts, meat and fresh herbs.
Restrictions after a year
Any woman who has kept GV up to a year usually already knows what to eat for a nursing mother during this period. Moreover, her knowledge is not theoretical, but practical. She should already study the body of her child, find out from which products he has allergies or discomfort in his stomach, and what she can eat without fear.
Common prohibitions include alcohol, energy, soda, mayonnaise and sauces in large quantities. You can eat canned goods, groceries and confectionery from the category of perishable ones, but only if there is confidence in their freshness and safety.
But you can already safely eat garlic, and spices, and a variety of seafood, which often cause allergies. It is at this time that taste habits begin to form in the child and this is a great opportunity to teach healthy food not only to him, but also to himself. After the baby is one year old, the mother can, using breast milk, “introduce” him to many products and thereby reduce the likelihood of negative reactions from the baby’s body in the future.
This is a great chance to eat a variety of berries and fruits, including exotic ones like mango, pomelo, kiwi, avocado or pomegranate. Some vegetables are also best given to the baby through the chest. This applies to eggplant, bell pepper, olives and olives.