In the first weeks after giving birth, a young mother needs not only congratulations from the household. Neonatologists and child psychologists argue that in order to establish a strong bond between the mother and the newborn, both of them need peace and their own space for communication, and not a noisy crowd of curious people.
It is emphasized that this state of affairs favors the establishment of the process of breastfeeding. An important role in the processes of postpartum recovery of the mother and the establishment of lactation plays a balanced diet.
Multivitamins or ... carrots?
In the first weeks after childbirth, a woman should consume enough fluid for normal lactation, fully eat, including dairy products, meat, cereals, vegetables and fruits in her diet. If the diet is drawn up correctly, there is no need to take special vitamin complexes.
In search of the most healthy products, it is worth paying tribute to the modest but healthy root crop - carrots.
4 wonderful properties of carrots that you might not know about
Firstly, carrots for a nursing mother are not only an excellent source of vitamins A, E, C, which are necessary for the most important metabolic processes, and therefore, the return of a woman to her best shape. Carrots are rich in B, K vitamins, contain phosphorus, manganese, molybdenum and even calcium, which is so necessary for mother’s bones and teeth during lactation.
Secondly, while discharging from the hospital, the woman in labor is forced to endure residual bleeding for some time. Phytoestrogens contained in carrots will help to cope with them faster.
Thirdly, carrots for a nursing mother are a source of a special substance falkarinol, which has an antifungal effect and reduces the risk of developing thrush in the postpartum period.
Fourth, the use of salads with fresh carrots contributes to the normalization of stool in recently born women suffering from constipation.
Carrots and Lactation
It is not necessary to look for nutrients in overseas fruits and vegetables. An important component of a woman’s healthy diet during lactation can rightly be an ordinary carrot.
With breastfeeding , the need for its valuable properties increases many times, because with an unbalanced diet of the mother, the substances necessary for the production of milk will be extracted by the body from its own tissues.
A lack of vitamins can adversely affect the course of the postpartum period, so experts recommend consuming carrots when breastfeeding in any form: boiled, stewed, cheese, and also in the form of juice. For better assimilation of vitamins, it is useful to season carrot dishes with butter or sour cream.
The opinion that carrots and dishes from it can directly affect the production of milk in the mammary glands is being called into question by scientists. It is proved that the guarantee of full lactation is the sufficient production of the hormones prolactin and oxytocin, as well as regular emptying of the mammary glands and heavy drinking.
Science has not received evidence of the influence of carrots on the production of these hormones. Therefore, the recommendation to mix milk and grated carrots while breastfeeding is simply a tradition.
Is carrot the culprit and rash?
The dependence of the development of allergic reactions and digestive disorders in children on the inclusion of carrots in their diet still causes a lot of controversy among pediatricians, breast-feeding specialists and nursing mothers themselves.
Adherents of opposing points of view give equally convincing arguments in defense of their views on the maternal diet.
In our country, pediatricians often give a recommendation during lactation to adhere to a certain diet. The assertion that a nursing mother can not afford to eat anything other than the products on the list of permitted foods is based on fears of causing the baby colic and allergic reactions.
Years of experience show that this statement is not true for everyone.
Indeed, milk is formed in the mammary glands from those substances that enter the mother’s body with food. But how justified is the fear of harming the baby with their own breast milk after eating carrots from a scientific point of view?
Theoretically, an allergic reaction or digestive upset in both the child and the mother can occur even from harmless carrots. In this case, it must be replaced with other vegetables and fruits.
But in practice, such cases are not common, because carrots are not considered by the medical science to be strong allergens such as chocolate, strawberries, eggs, citrus fruits, milk and seafood.
By adding a reasonable amount of raw or processed carrots when breastfeeding, most women take no risk.
Can carrots harm a mother?
In case of excessive enthusiasm for carrot juice , the skin of the mother may turn yellow. This happens due to the excess intake of carotene, a substance that makes carrots orange. If mom drinks more than a liter of juice per day, then her skin becomes orange.
This condition is called carotenoderma and is not dangerous for the mother and child. By reducing the intake of carotene-containing foods, you can easily get out of this condition, and then decide whether the nursing mother can combine carrots with other vegetables and orange fruits.
How to exclude colic and rash in infants, if the culprit is carrots with HS (breastfeeding)?
As for infants, experts believe that no one except the mother herself will answer the question about the dependence of the occurrence of colic and rash in a newborn on natural feeding on certain products in the mother’s diet.
Therefore, the question of whether it is possible for a nursing mother a carrot, she must decide on her own.
If the child is calm, the skin is clean, and the stool is normal, there is nothing to worry about.
Otherwise, pediatricians recommend that mothers exclude carrots from the diet and start a special food diary, adding all the foods and drinks they consume.
Food diary| date of | Product | The reaction of the child (bloating, colic, rash, stool) |
If negative reactions persist, despite the fact that carrots are excluded from the diet, the cause is sought in other products or environmental factors.
In severe cases, when diathesis and colic bother the baby too much, the mother is forced to resort to special diets. Those affected by this problem will have to carefully study the information about what a nursing mother can do in the first month of natural feeding.
8 rules for a nursing mother in the first month of breastfeeding
To compile a proper diet, it’s not necessary to search the Internet for complex multi-page tables. It will be enough if the nursing mother becomes wise to combine the elementary rules of a healthy diet and scientifically based recommendations:
- Foods that are a source of protein, such as peas, beans, beans, meat and dairy products, are carefully and gradually introduced into your diet. An excessive immune reaction in the form of an allergy in a child occurs precisely on a foreign protein.
- Avoid artificial colors and flavors in food. In infants susceptible to allergic reactions, they are guaranteed to cause diathesis, and in breast milk they will be present for up to several days, exacerbating the reaction.
- Do not get involved in sugar, as well as products like honey, chocolate, jam and confectionery. Quickly falling into milk, sugar makes it sweeter, but it is more difficult for a baby to digest it.
- Refrain from drinking alcohol. It easily passes into breast milk and, in high doses, can negatively affect the baby’s liver. On the admissibility of half a glass of champagne in honor of the birthday of a nursing mother, it is better to consult a pediatrician.
- For each meal, try not to mix a large number of products. This simplifies keeping a food diary.
- Pay tribute to fermented milk products to replenish calcium reserves. With a lack of calcium in food, the body "pulls" it out of the bones and teeth of a nursing mother. Try to introduce other foods rich in this element into your diet, for example, carrots, broccoli, nuts (with caution!), Beans, sesame, dates.
- Drink more fluids, preferably clean water, do not abuse coffee and tea.
- Before taking medications, consult with a specialist regarding the admissibility of the prescribed treatment during lactation.
Conversations with a pediatrician, sanity and a balanced approach to catering will help determine what a nursing mother can do in the first month. Own intuition, combined with a scientific approach, will preserve the well-being and health of the nursing mother and child.