Diet during Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding doesn’t mean that you need to eat something special during this period. But it would be good to eat a healthy, nutritious diet, like everyone else.

A healthy diet consists of:

• A fibre rich diet consisting of wholemeal bread, pasta, rice, pulses such as lentils, beans and sprouts and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Post pregnancy, some women develop bowel problems like constipation. Fibre helps in the easy evacuation of bowels.
• Starchy foods like pasta, potatoes, rice, wholemeal bread.
• Five portions of all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables per day and not more than 150 ml of 100% unsweetened juice.
• High intake of proteins like chicken, fish, eggs. If you are a vegetarian, soya foods, pulses, nuts, seeds are equally rich in proteins.
• Include two dairy products a day – milk, cheese, paneer, yoghurt – as they are rich sources of calcium.
• Ragi or nachni is a must to include in your diet while you are breastfeeding since it contains large amounts of calcium, vitamin D and is known to increase your haemoglobin. Consuming ragi everyday improves milk production and enhances milk with amino acids, calcium and iron.
• Intake of plenty of fluids – water, soups, skimmed or semi-skimmed milk will help maintain your fluid levels while breastfeeding.

Whatever you eat and drink, goes to your baby through your breast milk. In case of any help, call your paediatrician immediately.

Being a new mom, you wouldn’t be able to find time to make special meals for maintaining your diet. Here are some quick and simple snack ideas which will provide you with the energy and nutrition that a mom needs while breastfeeding –

• Fresh fruits
• Sandwiches filled with salads, grated cheese, cold meat.
• Flavoured yoghurts
• Hummus with vegetable sticks or bread
• Milkshakes and unsweetened fruit juices
• Baked beans or some baked potatoes
• Vegetable soups

Avoid the following foods –

While breastfeeding, a lot more is on the menu than off with a few conditions:

• Excessive caffeine: 1-2 cups of tea, coffee or soda a day won’t harm your baby much. But more than that, may however lead to irritable and sleepless nights for both of you. Excessive caffeine has been linked to colicky babies.
• High-fat dairy and meat: Choose organic varieties of high-fat dairy, poultry and meat, if you really wish to have them. Otherwise, avoid them altogether, as they generally have pesticides and other chemicals stored in animals’ fat.
• Nuts: As long as you are not allergic to any nut, you may consume them as a part of the healthy diet.