Everyone knows that during the gestation of the baby, every woman should eat properly, without consuming harmful products. It is very important for the formation, growth and development of the fetus. However, not all women know that after childbirth it is also very important to follow a certain diet. So, proper nutrition of a nursing mother: what is possible and what is not - I would like to talk about this now.
Allowed Foods
Which foods should be preferred, and which are best discarded during breastfeeding? This question haunts many ladies. After all, everyone knows that not only a night's sleep, but also the general condition of the mother depends on the well-being of the baby. So, what can you eat without fear immediately after childbirth and during the first months?
- Meat. It must be mandatory in the diet of a nursing mother. So, it is best to first consume chicken, turkey. A little later, you can introduce livestock meat into the diet. Food should be boiled, steamed or stewed. Fried meat at this time is not recommended for consumption.
- Fish. Also a very useful food product that is needed for the growth and development of the baby. So, in the first month a woman needs to eat exclusively low-fat varieties of fish - it can be cod, pikeperch, pollock. Later, you can try another fish.
- Milk products. They should also be eaten regularly. However, preference should be given to yogurt, cottage cheese in the first month of life of the crumbs. Further, you can introduce yogurt and kefir into your mother’s diet (they are fatter and therefore harder for the baby). Do not mix these products with sugar, honey, jam. In this case, they easily cause gas formation and colic in the child. Regarding milk, it must be drunk in a limited amount (previously it was believed that this was an obligatory food product for a nursing mother).
- Cereal porridge. They are useful not only for mom, but also for the baby. It is better to cook them by prolonged languishing in the oven or over low heat in a pan with a thick bottom. For taste, after cooking porridge, you can add cream, sour cream or butter to it.
- Understanding what you can and cannot eat a nursing mother, you must definitely say about the eggs. It is a healthy food. However, in the first three weeks of a nursing mother, crumbs can only eat quail eggs without fear. Later you can try a little chicken. But you need to remember that they can cause allergies in the baby.
- Vegetables. Undoubtedly, they are useful for the body of mother and child. However, there are many nuances. First of all, it must be said that in the raw form they are forbidden to eat. Also, at first you need to abandon legumes, beets, radishes, turnips, onions, garlic, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers. Some of these products cause increased gas formation, some - allergic reactions.
- Fruits. It is necessary to abandon red fruits and berries. Also in the first months of the baby's life, it is necessary to betray them to heat treatment and it is better to peel them.
- Nuts. You can eat in moderation walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts.
- Bread. Fresh baked goods may cause gas formation. So it is better to refuse their reception. Without fear, you can eat dry biscuit cookies, dried bread (but in moderation), bread.
Mom’s nutrition in the first months of life
What exactly should be the nutrition of a nursing mother in the first months of a child's life? What can you eat at this time? At least the first three days of life of the crumbs, the mother and baby should spend in the hospital. And there it’s worth seeing what you need to eat right. After all, in the hospital, the food will be exclusively dietary and permissible for nursing mothers. By the same principle, you need to try to eat at home. So what can you eat without fear at this time?
- Light soups on vegetable broth.
- Boiled meat, fish of low-fat varieties.
- Side dishes: cereal cereals, mashed potatoes, zucchini.
- Dried bread.
- It is better to refuse raw vegetables and fruits for now. You can eat baked apples without fear.
- Desserts: low-fat cottage cheese, biscuit cookies.
- You can drink weak black tea, compotes (not from red berries and fruits).
That's basically all that you can eat without fear at this time. However, do not be upset, such a strict diet will only benefit the mother and child. The baby will not be bothered by everything related to food, and a nursing mother will gradually begin to return to normal after childbirth.
The second and third month of a child’s life
So, the nutrition of the nursing mother: the second month of life of the crumbs. At this time, you can try to eat soups on meat broths, fresh fruits and vegetables are introduced into the diet (not red varieties, because they can cause allergies in the crumbs). You can pamper yourself with a slice of fresh bread, pastries (in moderation). Also at this time pasta, mild cheeses, sour cream are allowed. You can try stewed cabbage, stewed onions, greens.
Attention: when considering the nutrition of a nursing mother for months, it is worth remembering that by about three months of a baby’s life, a woman should return to her usual diet as much as possible. It is worth remembering that not a single animal in the world changes its diet during feeding. But there is one “but” in this statement. This applies only to those women who have always led a healthy lifestyle and ate exclusively healthy foods.
Fourth-seventh month of a baby's life
Considering the diet, diets of a nursing mother for months, it must be said that after three months a woman can gradually try everything that she is used to (completely eliminating harmful foods). So, at this time you can already eat fresh onions, add various spices, drink herbal teas (however, they are not recommended to be abused, since they can cause allergic reactions).
Seventh - twelfth month
By the first year of a child’s life, a nursing mother can fully return to her usual diet. So, you can gradually introduce previously banned foods such as legumes, citrus fruits, natural chocolate, garlic, honey, pork and other fatty meats.
Nutrition table
Having understood what the nutrition of a nursing mother should be like by months, the table is what can be provided as a small conclusion. After all, it will be easier for women to navigate what can be introduced into the diet.
First week | Potatoes, zucchini - boiled, soup on vegetable broth, boiled beef, dried bread, baked apples. |
First month | Bran, baked or boiled vegetables, buckwheat, yogurt, kefir, biscuit cookies, stewed fruit. |
Second month | Meat broths, cottage cheese, rice, nuts, millet porridge, fruit berries (not red varieties). |
Third month | Sour cream, cream, most vegetables, herbs, dried fruits, mild cheeses. |
Fourth to Twelfth Month | A nursing mother can return to a full diet (if it does not contain harmful foods). |
About the need for a diet
Nutrition of a nursing mother for months, table - this is all clear. However, it is worth mentioning in which cases it is better for a woman to adhere to a strict diet. So, this will have to be done in the following cases:
- If the mother, father or the baby himself suffer from allergic reactions to food.
- If a woman’s diet should be limited for reasons of diseases of the digestive tract of her or her baby.
The rules for drawing up the diet of a nursing mother
What should be the proper nutrition of a nursing mother, a menu for months? So, nutritionists and children's doctors can talk a lot about this. However, each woman herself must know and feel what she needs to eat, and what is best to refuse, despite the recommendations of doctors. However, there are simple rules for making a diet, which are still better to adhere to:
- New foods need to be introduced into the diet gradually. So you can understand the reaction of the baby to them.
- It is recommended for nursing mothers to keep a food diary, recording the time and volume there for the first time after giving birth to a consumed food product. You also need to evaluate the reaction of the baby. And in order to balance the nutrition of a nursing mother by months, a table for introducing new products is what you need to compose yourself. So, following her, a woman will know when and what she will be able to start eating again.
- For the first time after childbirth, a new food product must be consumed in small quantities, gradually increasing its volume.
After the introduction of any new food product (albeit not dangerous at first glance), you need to carefully monitor the reaction to it not only of the baby, but also of the nursing mother. It is also worth remembering that after the mother ate something new, the child's reaction will manifest itself over the next 12 hours. Well, if you really want to treat yourself to something forbidden, but tasty, it's better to do it in the morning. So until the evening the baby will already “try” it and the reaction will appear earlier than at night (when the mother should, like the child, have a good rest).
Allergic food
Considering the nutrition of a nursing mother for months, you definitely need to tell what is best not to eat during this period. So, the first category of taboos is food that causes allergic reactions.
- Honey.
- Some nuts.
- Red berries and fruits.
- Citrus.
- Chocolate.
- Cow's milk.
- Chicken eggs.
- Crab sticks.
- Pickles, marinades, sauces, mayonnaises, ketchups.
- Smoked meats, sausages, sausages.
- Semi-finished products.
- Alcohol.
- Soy food.
- Tomatoes
- Exotic fruits.
- Food products from vacuum packaging.
Foods that cause colic in a child
We further consider the nutrition of a nursing mother by month: menu, diet. So, again, there is a second large group of foods that are best avoided, as they can cause colic and gas formation in the baby’s tummy.
- Cow's milk.
- White cabbage.
- Legumes.
- Bell pepper.
- Fresh pastries, bread.
- Cucumbers
- Peas.
- Pears
- Grapes
- Raisins.
- Carbonated drinks.
Products regarding their fortified value
What else is important to tell, considering the nutrition of a nursing mother for months? A table of foods that contain certain vitamins is a good place to stop. After all, you need to remember that all food should be as fortified and healthy as possible for a woman and her child.
Vitamin C | Currants, cauliflower, rose hips, sea buckthorn. However, it is important to remember that after heat treatment, vitamin C “leaves” food in large quantities. |
Vitamin B1 | The kidneys and liver of beef and poultry, as well as oat, buckwheat and millet groats. |
Vitamin B2 | The kidneys and liver of beef and poultry, as well as cheeses, cottage cheese and eggs (quail, chicken). |
Vitamin PP | The kidneys and liver of beef and poultry, as well as cheeses and cereals - oat, millet, buckwheat. |
Folic acid | Cod liver, greens, kidneys and liver of beef and poultry. |
Vitamin A | The kidneys and liver of beef and poultry, granular caviar, eggs (quail, chicken), as well as butter. |
Beta carotene | Rosehips, dill, parsley, red carrots. |
Myths and facts about breastfeeding
So, the nutrition of a nursing mother, a table for entering food and fortified foods - all this has already been considered. Now I want to debunk some common myths about food while breastfeeding.
Myth 1. You need to eat for two. Not for two, but for two. A woman, of course, will eat more, because many useful substances will go into milk. But overeating is also very harmful. It must be remembered: the main thing is not quantity, but the quality of food.
Myth 2. If you eat one thing, the child will not have problems. You can’t do this, because food should be varied. Only in this way the baby will be able to receive the whole complex of vitamins and minerals.
Myth 3. There must be cow's milk in the diet. Many ladies still believe that cow's milk can trigger increased production of breast milk. These facts are not proven, so the statement cannot be considered true. Moreover, modern nutritionists say that cow's milk is allergenic.
Myth 4. You cannot fight colic. Of course, you cannot fight, but you can regulate them with the help of food. So, from the diet, it is necessary to exclude what can increase gas formation in the stomach.
Myth 5. You need to eat what the body requires. Not certainly in that way. If the body asks for carrots, you can not refuse it. But if chips or soda - this rule does not work here.