Diet of a nursing mother - what can a nursing mother eat while breastfeeding - Agulife.ru

What foods should you avoid?

In order for the baby to receive enough nutrients, vitamins and minerals with milk, the mother should adhere to a balanced and varied menu for the nursing mother. Food must undergo strict quality control, be hypoallergenic, fresh and environmentally friendly. Products containing preservatives, artificial colors, flavor enhancers and other chemical additives should be excluded from the diet.

While you are breastfeeding, new products should be introduced into your menu gradually, preferably one new product every two weeks - so that you can observe the child’s well-being, his mood, the condition of his skin and stool.

There are also general recommendations about what foods a nursing mother can include in her menu, and what she will have to give up for now. What are these requirements?

Breastfeeding: prohibited foods

Alcohol
Coffee, cocoa, strong tea
Chocolate
Citrus and exotic fruits
Spicy foods, herbs (mint) and seasonings
Raw onion and garlic
Soy products
Seafood, caviar
Mushrooms
Chicken eggs in case of allergies in a baby
Peanut
Honey
Vegetables, fruits and berries of orange and bright red color
Marinades, smoked meats, canned food, fermented products (kvass, cheeses, sauerkraut)
Carbonated drinks
Products containing food additives, colorings and preservatives
Be careful with foods that cause gas (all types of cabbage, legumes, grapes, black bread)

Some of these products have a stimulating effect on the child’s nervous system and interfere with normal sleep; others are difficult to digest by the still imperfect digestive tract; still others can cause food intolerances and allergies. Fortunately, there are many more foods that are allowed on the menu of a nursing mother and her baby, and all of them can be gradually introduced into the diet as the baby grows.

As a rule, a nursing mother's diet changes slightly from month to month - along with the needs of the child's growing body.

Drinking regime

After childbirth, it is especially important to maintain the correct drinking regime; you need to drink one and a half liters of water a day. Insufficient fluid in the body and harmful drinks can cause serious problems with breast milk and feeding. In case of urolithiasis or other health problems, you must consult a doctor and follow his recommendations.

Dairy drinks, herbal teas, dried fruit compotes, and diluted juices are recommended for consumption. Carbonated drinks, citrus juices, red berry juices, strong coffee, strong tea, and concentrated juices are prohibited. Alcohol is prohibited.

If you are on a nursing mother's diet, you can drink it 40 minutes after eating.

Mom's nutrition: the first weeks

Immediately after childbirth, nutrition for a nursing mother will not be varied. Don't worry, this is temporary! And even with a limited range of products, you can create an interesting menu for yourself. Take a close look at the list recommended to you by your doctor and choose three or four options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pediatrician-approved products are your personal construction kit.

In the first 10 days, the mother pays close attention to her baby’s reactions to feeding. That is why at this time the menu is limited to products that are less likely to cause various allergic reactions in a child. Baked apples, bananas or pears, buckwheat and barley porridge, and vegetable soups are good for the first 10 days. Unrefined oils are best suited as seasonings: corn, olive, sunflower.

Ask the rest of your family to follow your diet during these three to four weeks so that you don't feel lonely and other people's delicacies don't deprive you of your will. And preparing three or four versions of dishes (for yourself and for others) is not the best activity for the mother of a newborn.

After 10 days, you can add fermented milk products (kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk) and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets, light pumpkin) to the menu. They are best baked, steamed, stewed or boiled.

In the second month after birth, the mother of an infant can gradually return eggs (preferably quail), grain bread or bread with bran (a little and only if you are sure that you do not have gluten intolerance), unsalted cheeses, durum wheat pasta, dried fruits ( dates, dried apricots, prunes), biscuits. And you should still avoid black tea and coffee, alcohol, sugar and large amounts of salt.

In the first two months after giving birth, it is very useful to keep a food diary: hang a table in the kitchen and enter information about what exactly you ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as during snacks and spontaneous raids on the refrigerator.

What can nursing mothers eat from 0 to 2 months?

Apples, pears, bananas (baked)
Cereals (buckwheat, barley, corn, rice)
Soups - vegetarian
Quail eggs
Cereal products: durum wheat pasta, grain and bran bread
Drinks: herbal or weak black tea, fruit drinks, dried fruit compotes
Fermented milk products (kefir, plain yoghurts, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk)
Steamed vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets, light pumpkins)
Quail eggs
Biscuits

List of approved products

The main source of protein is meat. It is necessary for mother and baby, which means it must be included in the list of products in the diet of a nursing mother. You can eat beef, turkey. It is better to exclude fried meat; it can be stewed, boiled, baked.
Porridge is the necessary energy. You can eat buckwheat, corn, and oatmeal. Rice porridge is strong and can cause constipation in the baby. Porridge needs to be cooked in water. But when using, you can add a piece of butter.
Fish - only 1-2 times a week. You need to choose low-fat varieties, for example, pollock. Better boiled or baked.
Fermented milk products are rich in calcium. You need to choose low-fat types. It is important to remember that kefir can cause flatulence in a baby.
Fruits – baked apples, bananas.
Cheese is acceptable in small quantities, low-fat, hard varieties.
Floury. Products made from durum wheat, coarsely ground with bran are acceptable.
Salads should be seasoned with unrefined oils, sunflower and olive.
The diet of a nursing mother, and proper nutrition in general, implies the need to drink enough water for proper lactation. There are also special herbal preparations.
You can eat vegetable soups as much as you like. You will have to abstain from legumes and cabbage.
Sweets are prohibited! In rare cases, natural marshmallows, marshmallows, and marmalade are acceptable.
If you cook broth, it should be low-fat. Turkey is ideal, without the skin.
Potatoes can be eaten either boiled or mashed potatoes in water.
You can’t eat eggs every day, but you can eat them twice a week. The baby may develop a rash when exposed to protein. This product should be used with caution.
Instead of cookies, you can afford biscuits. Dryers and crackers can be used in small quantities.

It is very important to monitor your diet; it should be varied and nutritious. It is unacceptable to use diets for weight loss. This can be harmful to your health and the health of your baby.

“The basic rule: introducing new products in the evening, at night, is prohibited. New foods can be eaten in the morning, before lunch. Then, you need to watch the newborn’s reaction for a couple of days.”

Svetlana Titova

Nutrition for a nursing mother: from 2 months to six months

Starting from 3 months, you can gradually introduce some foods that were previously prohibited into your diet. After consuming each of them, you need to carefully monitor your baby’s reaction: if he has even a hint of an allergy, this product should be excluded and tried again in about a month. It is possible that the allergic reaction was simply a symptom of the immaturity of the baby’s digestive tract. Now you can add to your menu:

Pearl barley, oatmeal, wheat and semolina porridge;
Fresh fruits (not tropical and not containing red pigment);
Juices (from green and yellow apples, soft pumpkin, carrots or beets);
Sour cream;
Morse made from blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, rose hips.

You can also try to gradually include fresh onions and nuts in your diet (except pistachios and peanuts, which should be tried with caution, a couple of pieces a day). But the listed products will affect the taste of the milk, which the baby may not like. Therefore, it is important to know when to stop and be attentive to the behavior of the baby. Although scientists say that a baby’s eating habits begin to form in the womb: when the baby gradually swallows amniotic fluid, then his first acquaintance with his mother’s diet occurs.

Can I drink milk?

You should still be careful when handling cow's milk protein, as it often causes an allergic reaction in children. It is this that can cause abdominal pain in a child, so you should be careful when handling cow's milk products. Alternatives include goat milk products, including cottage cheese and plain yoghurts.

In addition to proteins, fats and carbohydrates, milk contains some vitamins and microelements, and its especially useful components are calcium and phosphorus. If, having included milk in your diet, you have not noticed a negative reaction in your baby, you can continue to consume it. Fermented milk products, such as kefir and cottage cheese, are especially useful now. A convenient option may be Agusha curd, rich in calcium and vitamin K2, which is necessary for the absorption of calcium by the bones.

At 4–6 months of life, the baby already tries his first complementary foods. At this point, you have generally learned how he reacts to milk composition based on changes in your diet. Now you can gradually begin to expand your menu by introducing beans, potatoes, mild cheeses and fish.

But remember that the meat of some types of fish may have a high content of heavy metals. Their concentration in the meat of shark, marlin and swordfish can significantly exceed the permissible limit; such fish should be completely excluded from the diet. Varieties such as mackerel, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, trout, and salmon can cause allergies. From the 6th month, you can begin to gradually introduce fish into the menu, but be sure to carefully monitor the baby’s reactions.

And of course, you should not eat raw fish, sashimi, or sushi. The pathogens with which she can be infected are extremely dangerous for both mother and baby, and medications that destroy the infection are incompatible with breastfeeding.

Menu for a nursing mother: snacks without compromising your figure

Creating a menu for a nursing mother sometimes requires great ingenuity: in order for the nutrition of a nursing mother not to cause discomfort for the baby, but to bring maximum benefit to both mother and baby, many factors must be taken into account at the same time. First of all, only natural products can be included in the diet of a nursing mother - preservatives, flavors, dyes and other synthetic additives in food can have a detrimental effect on the health of the baby! In addition, during breastfeeding it is important to give preference to foods that stimulate lactation. When choosing products for her table, a nursing mother must take care that they do not cause digestive problems or an allergic reaction in the baby. At the same time, the diet of a nursing mother should be complete and varied, rich in vitamins, microelements, carbohydrates, proteins and fats, so that with mother’s milk the baby receives everything necessary for full development. And, of course, dishes for a nursing mother should be nutritious and satisfying, because milk consumes a lot of energy, and not only full lactation, but also the general well-being of the mother depends on replenishing food losses!

The feeling of hunger is a pressing problem for women who are breastfeeding. The habitual diet of three or four meals a day for an adult, alternating with rather long breaks, during breastfeeding, as a rule, becomes insufficient, and a woman involuntarily has to “intercept” something to satisfy her hunger between main meals. Most often these are sweets, sandwiches or pastries - after all, the mother of a baby does not have time for unscheduled cooking. Unfortunately, it is these snacks that often become the cause of excess weight gain during the feeding period, which is so difficult to get rid of later. To avoid this unpleasant “side effect” of breastfeeding, we bring to your attention several rules for a competent “snack” for a nursing mother.

Snacks for a nursing mother: soups

Soup is the first and main assistant to a nursing mother in the fight against a sudden attack of hunger. Even a simple vegetable soup with potatoes, carrots and onions can quickly satisfy hunger and provide the body with the necessary energy. In addition to its nutritional qualities, the soup has other advantages: broth and well-cooked vegetables stimulate the intestines of mother and baby without causing colic in the baby. In addition, there will definitely be no excess weight gain from dietary soups: after all, most weight loss diets are based on these first courses! And most importantly, you can prepare the soup in advance in sufficient quantities so that it lasts for the whole day, and you don’t have to rack your brains about what to quickly prepare to satisfy your hunger in a series of household chores and caring for the baby. Vegetable soup with vegetable, beef or chicken broth, chicken broth with noodles, broccoli or celery cream soup, and white fish soup are perfect for a snack.

Snacks for a nursing mother: salads

Another great snack option is green, vegetable or fruit salads. This is perhaps the healthiest option for satisfying hunger: after all, all the ingredients of such salads are consumed fresh, without heat treatment, which means that both mother and baby will receive the maximum portion of healthy vitamins and microelements. Preparing a small portion of this dish will only take a few minutes and will not burden a nursing mother. Here are some salad options for a snack:

grated carrots and apple sprinkled with brown sugar;
a mix of chopped leaves of various varieties of lettuce (romano, frisse, iceberg, Podmoskovny, spinach, arugula), seasoned with unleavened yogurt;
“spring salad”, traditional for our table: chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and white onions, dressed with unrefined sunflower oil;
Greek salad: olives or black olives, cherry tomatoes, unsalted homemade cheese or feta and cucumbers dressed with olive oil;
apple, pear and melon, diced or sliced and topped with sweet yoghurt.

Snacks for a nursing mother: dairy products

Dairy, or rather fermented milk products, are an irreplaceable part of a nursing mother’s diet. Dairy cuisine has a beneficial effect on the quantity and fat content of breast milk, saturates it with calcium necessary for bones, cartilage and muscle tissue, blood vessels, the heart and nervous system of the baby, promotes normal digestion and the prevention of intestinal dysbiosis. However, in the context of our topic - snacking - fermented milk products become particularly attractive: they are very filling, do not harm your figure, but, most importantly, they do not need to be cooked at all! Yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, Varenets, tan, ayran, young cheeses, sour cream - these and other fermented milk products are perfect as a snack for a nursing mother. Nutritionists recommend purchasing products with a short shelf life and without additives; It is better to diversify the fermented milk dish with dried fruits, nuts, berries or slices of fruit yourself, taking into account the baby’s tolerance of these products.

Snacks for a nursing mother: healthy sandwiches

In fact, a sandwich can also be useful - you just need to be creative in preparing it. For example, for the base, instead of white, you can use whole grain bread, pita or sheet pita bread, as well as diet bread. And instead of sausage, meat, poultry fillet or fish, previously baked in a sleeve in the oven, are ideal for filling. If you add a sprig of parsley, a few leaves of crispy lettuce and a slice of tomato and homemade cheese to this filling, then you simply won’t need the sauce, and hunger won’t have a chance!

Snacks for a nursing mother: porridge

Another worthy candidate for the role of a snack is cereals. Buckwheat, rice, millet, oatmeal, pearl barley - all these cereals contain many substances necessary for the development of the baby and maintaining the strength of the nursing mother. On average, it takes no more than twenty minutes to prepare a portion of porridge. Like soups, most porridge varieties can be prepared ahead of time and then simply reheated before serving.

Snacks for a nursing mother: on the go

All of the listed “snack” options have only one, but very significant drawback: they can only be used at home. But what if hunger finds a nursing mother outside the home? For example, while walking or going to the doctor, in transport or in line at the store - in a word, in a place where you can’t warm up a bowl of soup, and drinking kefir from a bottle is somehow inconvenient... In this case, they are perfect for the role of a snack dried fruits, nuts, seeds or even dry muesli - they will successfully replace cookies and sweets, which many women use in a similar situation to the detriment of their figure and digestion. Dates, figs, dried apricots or prunes can perfectly satisfy hunger; they are very high in calories (so you shouldn’t get too carried away with them), but at the same time they are easily and quickly digested, having a beneficial effect on digestion. Of the variety of nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and, of course, pine nuts, known for their positive effect on lactation, are suitable for a nursing mother. You can also enjoy pumpkin or sunflower seeds, which contain many useful microelements, vitamins and proteins. A bag of a mixture of nuts, seeds and dried fruits can always be in a nursing mother's bag.

Nutrition for a nursing mother: from 6 to 12 months

At six months, mother can gradually expand her diet, but preference should still be given to boiled, stewed, steamed or baked dishes. Try small quantities of fruits that you have previously abstained from. And it is better to conduct such experiments in the morning - so that during the day you can notice the baby’s reaction if it occurs. What you can try to include in your diet for 6 to 12 months:

Meat (beef, chicken)
Beans and legumes
Boiled and stewed fish
Seafood
Zucchini, squash
Cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli (with caution)
New fruits (moderate)
Any nuts (except peanuts)
Garlic

In the second year of the child's life, the mother returns to her normal diet - of course, taking into account the baby's preferences, if she continues to breastfeed.

Prohibited foods for nursing mothers

Some foods are simply contraindicated for a nursing mother. However, they are not recommended to be included in the diet or simply to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This group of products includes sausages, canned food, baked goods, fatty foods, spicy, salty foods, and spices.

Read: Children's health: normal blood sugar levels in children

Mom should also not eat grapes or other foods that cause bloating and fermentation in the intestines. It should also be taken into account that the aroma of some foods is transferred to the milk, so it is also advisable to avoid garlic and onions so that the baby does not refuse the breast during the feeding process.

In general, nutrition during breastfeeding is the correct diet with a healthy selection of nutrition for the woman as a whole.

Useful and interesting video on the topic: “Menu for breastfeeding or how to eat healthy”:

07 Aug 2014 Yuki 497

Share this post

We recommend reading along with this article

Balanced diet and proper nutrition during breastfeeding
What nursing mothers should not eat: list of prohibited foods
When and how to properly introduce the first complementary foods to a baby
How to lose 5 or more kg per month after pregnancy and childbirth
Features of the menu for a baby at 10 months
Diet for high bilirubin in the blood: basic rules and...
What is the recommended menu for children with diabetes?
First feeding at 4 months - basic recommendations on the path to adulthood
Choosing a complex of vitamins by age for children

To avoid allergies

While you are breastfeeding, you should avoid foods that cause allergies in your baby. Be sure to monitor your baby's reactions and observe how changes in your diet affect your baby's behavior, the condition of his skin, as well as the frequency and nature of stool.

There are several food groups that are best excluded from your diet during feeding.

First of all, these are coffee, tea, alcohol, carbonated drinks and chocolate.
Also on the list of prohibitions are exotic (especially citrus) fruits, soy derivatives, seafood, raw and lightly salted fish and products containing various chemical additives (preservatives, flavor enhancers).
Sweet, fatty desserts should also be avoided while breastfeeding.

If a baby is predisposed to allergies, the mother should be especially careful about her diet. In this case, you need to limit your consumption of cow's milk protein. If a mother abuses these products, the baby may develop severe allergies, bloating and other unpleasant symptoms.

It is worth reducing the consumption of another protein - gluten, which is present in all cereals except rice, buckwheat and corn.

In children with a hereditary predisposition to allergies, a pigment that turns vegetables and fruits red often causes a reaction. Therefore, you should be careful about red fruits and berries in your diet.

Most often, allergies occur to cow's milk protein, chicken eggs, nuts and fish (more than half of all cases).

To choose the right products for her menu, a nursing mother can use the funny “traffic light rule”: the red, yellow and green colors of the products correspond to the traffic lights - from prohibitive red to permissive green.

Some decoctions, like coffee, can cause a negative reaction in a baby. This is ginseng (stimulates the nervous system), infusion of hawthorn (lowers blood pressure), sweet clover (contains substances that impair blood clotting), and mint.

Any new product is introduced into the diet of a nursing mother no more than once every two weeks.

What foods should you not eat to avoid colic?

Colic in a child is a common and unpleasant phenomenon. Almost always, the cause of colic in a baby is the mother’s incorrect diet.

We recommend reading: Menu for a nursing mother by month

List of foods that can cause gas in your baby during breastfeeding:

Brown bread, rich pastries.
All carbonated drinks.
Sugar and all sweets.
Excessively fatty foods (lard, smoked sausages, food cooked with large amounts of butter or mayonnaise, fatty dairy products).
Whole cow's milk.
Fresh vegetables and fruits (especially white cabbage, cucumbers, sweet peppers, grapes).
Legumes (peas, beans, lentils).
Raisin.

The entire list must be excluded from the diet if the child suffers from colic. You can add these products to the menu only when the baby reaches the age of 4-5 months, when problems with colic gradually recede and the baby’s digestive system becomes more mature.

Sometimes it happens that a child still suffers from gas and bloating, despite all the food restrictions taken by the mother. Then it may be a matter of the woman's health. With gastritis, constipation, ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems, there are not enough enzymes to fully digest food. Therefore, even healthy food eaten by the mother is not completely digested; particles remain inaccessible to the newborn’s digestion, which, when released into the milk, can cause colic in the baby. In this case, a nursing mother should focus on treating her gastrointestinal problems.

If you notice signs of allergies in your baby

It may happen that, despite all the mother’s efforts to follow a diet that is as safe as possible for the baby, it is not possible to protect him from allergies: the mother could treat herself to a strawberry during the summer season or a tangerine on New Year’s Eve. How do you understand that your child’s body is signaling that he or she has a food allergy? What are the signs of allergies?

Skin redness
Excessive dryness of the skin or, conversely, its wetting
Child's anxiety
Bloating, colic, vomiting
Diarrhea or constipation
Difficulty in nasal breathing

If several of the above symptoms appear, you need to carefully look at your diet and remove recently introduced foods from it. After all manifestations of allergies have disappeared in your baby, you can carefully check your list of foods consumed for the presence of allergenic ones (and exclude them for the entire time of breastfeeding), gradually begin to introduce foods in small quantities (no earlier than a month) and carefully monitor the reaction. baby. The dose can be increased every few days. If there is no reaction in the baby’s skin and gastrointestinal tract, we can conclude that the product is not dangerous for him, and calmly eat it (in reasonable quantities!).

Diet for mom figure

A few months after giving birth, if there are no contraindications, the mother can slowly begin to take care of her figure: do exercises, adjust her diet and gradually expand her diet - after all, the most strict period of the first weeks after birth is over.

As a rule, the weight gained during pregnancy gradually begins to fall off after the 3rd month, when the mother’s body has become accustomed to the new rhythm and provided proper nutrition. The process of breastfeeding itself contributes to this, as well as, of course, the new, busy schedule of the young mother.

If the weight does not go away, you should reconsider your diet and change something in it, but in no case resort to strict diets when feeding an infant - this can harm the baby! Nutrition should be varied, but balanced and as healthy as possible.

When feeding a mother who wants to lose weight, a mother's diet must include protein of animal origin, as well as fermented milk products (if the baby is not allergic to cow's milk protein), vegetables and herbs. Green leafy vegetables (spinach, sorrel, lettuce) contain a lot of calcium, vitamins, and microelements that promote recovery after childbirth, as well as the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Not too sweet fruits and berries of soft colors are an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants; they can be included in the menu.

It is worth excluding vegetables with a high starch content from the diet, and moving the intake of slow carbohydrates (bread, cereals, pasta) to the first half of the day. The same applies to sweets, which are generally best removed from the menu for this period. An exception may be, for example, dry unsweetened cookies.

And of course, drink plenty of fluids! It not only helps maintain water balance, but also stimulates lactation, especially if it is a warm liquid: a cup of warm drink 10 - 15 minutes before feeding stimulates the release of oxytocin and causes a flow of milk.

Breastfeeding is a wonderful time when a new mother has the opportunity to change her eating habits, learn healthy recipes and lay the foundation for a new, healthier lifestyle for years to come. We are sure that a nursing mother will no longer be able to change some of the eating habits acquired at this time after stopping breastfeeding, because they are aimed at maintaining the health of both babies and their adult mothers. Take care of your health! A breastfeeding diet for weight loss can be delicious!

Rules for using honey during breastfeeding

In the first two months of breastfeeding, honey is strictly prohibited until the baby gets a little stronger.

From the 3rd month, you can begin to gradually introduce natural honey into the mother’s diet. For the first time, you can literally eat a drop of dessert, and after that you need to carefully monitor your baby. An allergic reaction may appear within 3 days after feeding in the form of redness and rash.

If nothing happens, you can use 1/3 tsp. honey once every 3-4 days. By the 4th month, it is permissible to increase the frequency of consuming treats up to 1 time every 2 days.

When the baby turns 6 months old, you can increase not only the frequency of taking the product to daily use, but also the amount of honey to 1 teaspoon per day. Of course, the process of increasing the amount of honey consumed should be smooth. If you follow the instructions and dosages, nursing mothers can eat any honey, but it is best to use the acacia variety. It contains a greater number of nutrients, while the variety has a pleasant taste and aroma without bitterness. Acacia honey, compared to other varieties, contains fewer substances that cause allergies.

Of course, young mothers are also interested in the question of the duration of exposure to the product. Honey enters milk within 20 minutes after consumption and is completely eliminated within 24 hours.