Nutrition for a nursing woman - basic principles
Contrary to the belief of most young mothers and the recommendations of some doctors, breastfeeding does not require a strict diet on the part of the nursing mother. The diet of a nursing mother should be as close as possible to the diet of a healthy person leading a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, a strict diet can harm the health of a nursing woman. There are only a few food groups whose consumption is recommended to be reduced or completely eliminated during breastfeeding.
In order for the breastfeeding process to be smooth and enjoyable for both mother and baby, several principles should be adhered to, according to which it is necessary to organize proper nutrition for a woman:
You should eat often - always 3 times and an additional 2-3 snacks. It is important not to convey this, since overeating affects not only the condition of the figure, but also the health of the baby;
It is best to cook food in a double boiler or boil or bake. This way the vitamins are preserved and the food will be truly healthy;
The basis of proper nutrition is cereals, vegetables, and fruits. You should consume fermented milk products every day, among which it is better to give preference to kefirs, sour cream, plain yoghurts, and cottage cheese;
When including vegetables and fruits in your diet, give preference to those that grow in your region. They are more familiar to the body and significantly reduce the possibility of allergic reactions. Vegetables and fruits are sources of carbohydrates and contain fiber, which is so necessary for the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and helps remove toxins and harmful substances from the body;
A nursing woman's diet should also include vegetable oils - they can be used to season vegetable salads;
A woman's diet during breastfeeding should be complete, balanced and varied. If there is no opportunity for adequate daily nutrition, then it is necessary, after consulting a doctor, to supplement the diet with vitamin preparations;
The percentage of the three main nutritional components during breastfeeding should be as follows:
Carbohydrates, which should be mostly complete sugars that fruits and cereals supply the body with, should account for 50-55% of the total daily diet;
30% of all calories consumed should come from complete fats;
In breastfeeding nutrition, 15-20% is allocated to proteins.
Calcium– one of the main elements in nutrition during breastfeeding, necessary for complete, nutritious breast milk. At the same time, even if you don’t like cow’s milk, you can get the required amount of calcium from salmon, legumes, broccoli, cabbage, raisins, herbs, carrot juice and others. Perhaps your body tolerates fermented milk products well - an indispensable product in the breastfeeding diet and an excellent source of calcium.
Iron necessary for the formation of hemoglobin, which in turn helps to saturate all organs and tissues of the body with oxygen. Everyone knows the main source of iron - various varieties and types of meat. To improve the absorption of iron, along with meat, it is recommended to include foods rich in vitamin C in the diet during breastfeeding - vegetable juices, herbs (especially parsley). It was to preserve the hemoglobin necessary for breastfeeding that nature made sure that the nursing mother did not have menstruation.
- You need to be careful about the choice of foods you eat. They must be fresh, grown without nitrates and other substances harmful to the body of the mother and child. Harmful substances that enter the mother's body with food during breastfeeding with milk enter the child's body, leading to the most unforeseen consequences;
Be sure to follow the correct drinking regime. Water not only removes harmful substances from the body, but also promotes normal lactation. It is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of fluid per day. It is better to avoid carbonated water. Dried fruit compote, various teas, and fruit drinks are perfect for nursing mothers.
Everything seems simple and clear, but not everything has settled into place in your head yet, you want specifics and explanations in order to turn off this very head yourself, and adequately fend off the attacks of mothers and mothers-in-law, screaming every time you bring a piece of something to your mouth , which in their opinion is hopelessly harmful. Here I found some interesting information. Written with humor, quite believable and logical. I think it will appeal to many mothers who are intimidated by the stereotypes of our grandmothers from the Soviet and pre-revolutionary past. So, let's destroy them (stereotypes, of course)!
“The most common myth about nutrition for a nursing mother is the need for a strict diet. The child does not have any problems yet, but there are already limitations. This is not to say that these diets do not lead to tangible results - they certainly can. A nursing mother spends an additional 500 kcal per day. But in addition to feeding the child, she also needs to look good, be healthy, perform household chores, and even earn extra money. Nutrition must be complete and varied, otherwise the body will become depleted. The myth of a strict diet very slowly, creakingly, clinging to instructions in clinics and the behests of mothers-in-law, is becoming a thing of the past. Wave after him!
-Good cabbage will not spoil milk
Thanks to modern science, we have learned that milk is not stored in the breast, does not turn sour, and does not disappear of its own free will. And now we know how it turns out. The hormone prolactin is responsible for the quantity, and the hormone oxytocin helps the release of milk. Breast milk is synthesized from blood and lymph. To spoil it with food, you need to eat:
A) Only chemistry. Unfortunately, chemical additives (preservatives, dyes) end up in milk unchanged. And they can cause an allergic reaction in a child. If a nursing mother often snacks on chips and cola, colic and diathesis REALLY will occur, thanks to her diet.
B) Nothing. But even in this case, breast milk will remain a complete food for the baby. All the juices will simply be sucked out of you, as people say, breast milk will colorfully and fully consist of all the body’s resources.
- “Don’t eat cabbage, cucumbers, bread...”
Why does white cabbage make you “puffy”? It contains a lot of fiber. Fiber is not absorbed by the body; it passes through like a cruel brush. The intestines experience excitement. The same reaction happens to rye bread. Fiber is not digested and is released - how can it affect breast milk? - no way. All the myths about the dangers of cabbage, cucumbers and bread came to us from the distant past, when no one had any idea about the composition of breast milk or the reasons for its production, so we will continue to listen to the story about harmful cabbage, passed down from generation to generation, for a very long time . If a nursing mother suddenly becomes interested in a raw food diet, perhaps the predominance of raw vegetables will cause flatulence in both. The danger from vegetables that have undergone heat treatment is minimal, as is the danger from baked fruits.
However, some mothers notice that their child has a stomach ache after eating “fatty” foods. If you put aside excessive suspiciousness and coincidences, this happens.
The fact is that we often do not notice which foods cause discomfort in our body. We simply do not pay attention to short-term flatulence, heartburn, constipation and other symptoms of intolerance. If a nursing mother herself cannot tolerate cabbage, apples or legumes, if these foods cause turmoil in her stomach, most likely the baby will also have a reaction to them, since these problems directly affect the composition of the blood.
Largely thanks to the Soviet past, our consciousness is structured in such a way that we perceive any “special” situation as a system of restrictions, rather than self-knowledge. Are you pregnant? - first thoughts about what is impossible. Have you given birth and are breastfeeding? – again we think about “impossible”.
You need to try very hard to harm your child by eating a varied and high-quality diet. If you think of feeding as food restrictions, you will inevitably be drawn to chips and chocolate. Out of a feeling of protest. And many local doctors “put” nursing mothers on a diet for a reason that has been discussed many times - for easy control. Are you on kefir and buckwheat? - wonderful. We leave you aside. Well, actually, I also eat fish, whispers the tired mother. Yeah! - says the doctor, it’s all about the fish! In this case, the doctor will “treat” with stereotypes, not with wise advice, and a modern mother who knows the Internet and some logic should not panic. Children of the first year of life have the right to diathesis, skin rashes, and dry skin. And these problems are very rarely associated with the mother’s diet - in the event that there is no obvious abuse on her part of products from the “risk group”. And fish is not a risk. This is useful.
What should you eat to make your milk more nutritious?
1. The period of feeding a child is a natural process. Not a disease, not a special stressful condition that threatens life. No special diet is required. Not a single living creature on the planet changes its diet after the birth of a baby. Eat normally. Like pregnancy, breastfeeding is a great opportunity for the whole family to switch to a healthy diet. A child may have an allergic reaction not to a single product, but to some dish with complex gravy or other additives (broth cubes, surrogates from bags). You can eat simpler, but more varied and healthier.
2. During pregnancy, the child “took” useful substances for its development from the mother’s body - and during feeding, it will use maternal resources. A nursing mother should not be hungry. Her health depends on her nutrition - and not only at the moment, but also the state of her immunity in six months, a year and beyond.
3. Breast milk is not bad or “poor”. In countries with a low standard of living, scientific research into the nutrition of children under one year old and nursing mothers has been conducted more than once, and the results have been made public. The breast milk of a woman who is undernourished remains complete in composition, providing the baby with all the necessary substances. What can we say about the composition of the milk of our non-starving compatriots.
And yet there is a “risk group”
So, during the “breastfeeding” period you can eat everything that is considered healthy food. And now it’s time to remember about an individual approach. All people are different, each body is individual. Everyone has their own rhythm, including the rhythm of assimilation of certain products, everyone has their own benefits and harm. There are categories of foods whose consumption in excessive doses can cause a reaction in a child. There is an opinion that if a nursing mother takes them in microdoses, nothing bad will happen, the effect on blood composition will be minimal. Introducing allergens through breast milk in small quantities will prevent the occurrence of allergies in the future. With the help of breast milk, the baby better adapts to these products. But the consequences of overeating can be unpleasant. Especially if the parents are prone to allergies, and this tendency will be passed on to the child.
What products should you pay attention to:
1. A person’s relationship with cow’s milk gradually deteriorates. A hundred years ago he tolerated it tolerably, but now it’s getting worse and worse. When cow protein enters the bloodstream, it often causes an allergic reaction. In fermented milk products, the protein is in a modified form; they are unlikely to be harmful.
2. Cereals contain gluten, and this protein can also cause intolerance. Pasta and bread should not be the mainstay of your diet.
3. Red vegetables and fruits, exotic fruits. By the way, they are less digestible. An allergy “to red” can occur if the mother has a predisposition to it; in other cases, the reaction is possible due to overeating - after a full plate of cherries, for example.
4. Alcohol. There are no safe doses of alcohol during breastfeeding.
If you are passionate about trying something “forbidden”– for example, you are drawn to kiwi, introduce the new product gradually. Don't refuse, but try. Eat half of the “forbidden” fruit and watch your reaction. If there is no reaction, eat another half the next day. If nothing happens in two weeks, most likely nothing will happen. The main thing is not to worry about restrictions. You can eat - you can't overeat. But you also knew in everyday life that overeating is not healthy, and not just during the nursing period. If you made several sandwiches with strawberry jam, and your stomach turned a little after that, the child may have a skin rash not from the strawberry jam. And because the mother does not know her body, she does not know that it is harmful for her to eat bread in large quantities. And for some, bread is not a hindrance, but from monotonous food consisting of “empty” carbohydrates, the skin on the hands dries out and the hair deteriorates - my mother usually attributes these symptoms to her nursing position - they say, I’m giving away all the vitamins! And again he doesn’t watch his diet. Everything is individual. A dermatologist, when looking at a child’s diathesis, must look at the mother – at her skin. Ask if she has gastritis or eczema. And if so, did she choose the right diet for herself? Restrictions in everything are the wrong diet.
Here is also an excerpt from an interview with a nutritionist (Dietitian-nutritionist of the Ural Federal Center for Healthy Nutrition, researcher at the Laboratory of Hygiene and Physiology of Nutrition of the Ekaterinburg Medical Center for Prevention and Health Protection Olga Vyacheslavovna Anokhina)
How to feed a nursing mother?
- Olga Vyacheslavovna, how should a nursing mother eat so that milk remains valuable for as long as possible, so that deficiencies of certain substances that arise in the mother’s body are not projected onto milk? What products are appropriate to increase the consumption of, and what products, on the contrary, reduce the value of breast milk?
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, this is all the more reason to think about how you eat and finally balance your diet. A nursing mother needs more protein, vitamins and microelements, and much less fat and carbohydrates so that the milk is not very fatty and carbohydrate-rich, because all this contributes to the development of fermentation and putrefactive processes in the intestines. It is wiser to maintain a fractional diet, six meals a day - we have already talked about it: eat often, but little by little.
But what about the widespread idea that “a nursing mother needs to eat for two,” and many strive to increase the amount they eat, citing the fact that in order to produce milk it is necessary to consume a large amount of food.
It is important not how much a nursing mother eats, but how varied the food is. When we eat traditional foods, we inevitably go through “extra” substances - we oversaturate ourselves with fats and carbohydrates, that is, exactly what is at the top of the above pyramid, and what we are advised to eat as little as possible. It's better to maintain a balance. Let mother eat a lot, but let it be a variety of foods that saturate the milk with vitamins, minerals and everything necessary. Because, think for yourself: what good is it to eat small meals six times a day if all these portions consist of a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea? This is not proper nutrition, although it is fractional and the portions are small. The food pyramid must be followed.
Is it true that different women have different milk composition? Some people have fatty milk, some have “liquid” milk, it happens that a seemingly thin woman breastfeeds 15-kilogram babies, while for others the baby is thin and constantly asks for the breast. Is this related to the quality of the milk?
Yes, as a rule, a mother gets the feeling that there is “something wrong” with her milk if the baby is constantly “hanging” on her chest... There may be a lot of milk, but it is poor in nutritional composition, and then we first of all start take care of mom's digestion. Because maybe the mother eats right, but not everything she eats ends up in the milk. And already against the background of a balanced diet and having eliminated the problems of food absorption, we introduce additional nutritional correctors. The same wheat germ - they are not only rich in vitamins and microelements, but also due to their bioavailability they are better absorbed (even with digestive disorders), these microelements quickly enter the blood, and therefore saturate the milk.
How do you feel about vegetarianism for nursing mothers?
This is acceptable if a woman has practiced vegetarianism before, but she definitely needs nutritional correction, because both she and the child will have deficiencies - this applies primarily to protein, zinc and B vitamins of animal origin. Since complete protein for humans is still animal protein, in dietetics it is believed that at least 50% of the total protein consumed should be animal protein. And even with a balanced diet, they still require additional nutritional adjustments adjusted for pregnancy or breastfeeding. This does not mean that you need to forcefully give meat to a woman if she has not eaten it on principle for several years. You can adjust your diet by increasing other protein-rich foods in your diet. As a rule, these are non-dairy based protein carriers - soy or other nutritional correctors.
There are many different rumors about a hypoallergenic diet for nursing mothers: red foods are prohibited, even red apples are prohibited, citing the fact that the baby may have an allergy... How justified is this?
The list of allergens is very large; there are allergens of the first, second and third order, depending on the degree of intensity. And if we exclude all allergens from a nursing mother’s diet, then, strictly speaking, she will have nothing to eat. Therefore, the first thing you need to pay attention to when treating allergies is the intestines. I have not seen a single child with allergies who had an absolutely healthy gastrointestinal tract. Gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract and again gastrointestinal tract - this is where we start getting rid of allergies. This applies to both the nursing mother and the allergy-prone child whom she feeds with her milk. When a child experiences various manifestations of allergies, you need to consult a competent doctor, and not only apply various ointments to the skin, but work with the cause! As a rule, sorbents, microflora, and other drugs that improve digestion are prescribed, depending on the nature of the problem. Allergy is a consequence. Sometimes, of course, there are cases of family allergies - there are allergy sufferers in all generations, and with them, yes - a hypoallergenic diet can be used, a competent doctor finds an individual approach to such patients. But in all other cases - and the vast majority of them - the cause of the allergy is improper digestion, both for the baby and the nursing mother.
Explain the mechanism of allergy. Why do the same foods cause allergies in one person, but not in another?
Well, for example. Mom ate, say, harmless oatmeal with water. With the help of mother's enzymes and other substances in her digestive tract, this porridge is converted into final products that go into milk, and from there - in semi-cooked form - this same porridge is very well absorbed by the child's body. But! If the mother herself has chronic gastritis, stagnation of bile in the intestines, dysbacteriosis, constipation for many days, insufficient enzymes, and much more, then this banal porridge has not been digested to those particles that are available for the child’s digestion. This very porridge in its “unfinished” form, so to speak, is still difficult-to-digest, foreign food for the child, which will be an allergen by definition. Although my mother ate very good and healthy food.
That is, the problem is not what a nursing mother eats, but how well she digests it?
Absolutely right! That is why, in some cases of allergies in infants, I prescribe treatment first of all to the mother herself. And lactofiltrum, and microflow (because the mother herself has dysbacteriosis), and corn silk, and pumpkinol (because it is necessary to improve the separation of bile, which contains a lot of substances that help digestion), and the same enzymes - I first prescribe it to the mother, and then then you can think about treating the child... But feeding an innocent baby with antihistamines and smearing his skin with allergy ointment does not mean treating allergies, it only means relieving symptoms! You need to start with correcting the digestion of a nursing mother. This, if you like, is my nutritional position.
Impressive? It seems to me that everything is very competent. All that remains is to listen.
How to react to skin manifestations in a baby on breastfeeding.
In the most alarming case (this does not apply to slightly reddened cheeks or dry skin), when skin problems really interfere with the child’s life, the mother switches to a diet: white and green vegetables, green fruits, gluten-free cereals (rice, buckwheat, corn) and gluten-free pasta, sweets - marmalade, marshmallows, simple cookies and dried goods, any meat is allowed - except chicken, white fish, fermented milk products without chemical additives. As you can see, the list is huge, and it’s impossible to go hungry.
For those who are especially suspicious: you can exclude any type of food for two weeks and carefully monitor the child’s reaction - for example, exclude all gluten (gluten cereals, bread, pasta). If within a month there are no changes in the condition of the child’s skin, then most likely the problem is not in the mother’s diet. And once again analyze your health! If a mother has gastritis, problems with the gallbladder or pancreas, she needs a gentle diet, since all these problems inevitably affect the child’s absorption of food.
In conclusion, I would like to say: constant nervousness and increased suspiciousness of a nursing mother can be a factor much more harmful than “wrong” food. If your baby is not yet a month old, the problems that arise during breastfeeding are most likely associated not so much with the gastronomic “crimes” of the mother, but with the objective difficulties of the adaptation period. Up to three months, babies are often tormented by intestinal colic, which is also most often a consequence of the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract, and not an incorrectly selected menu. Listen to the advice of experts and to your “inner voice” - a mother’s instinct rarely fails.
Currently, there is still a fairly widespread myth that during feeding it is necessary to adhere to a strict diet. Thus, according to our survey, about 90% of respondents (1040 people surveyed) followed, or at least tried to follow, a diet while breastfeeding. Perhaps the roots of this idea go back to Soviet times, when motherhood, including breastfeeding, was viewed as something difficult and heroic. By definition, a “good” mother must courageously go through all the trials associated with feeding. A strict diet is one of these tests. Therefore, a few decades ago, many mothers “didn’t worry” about diets and easily switched to artificial feeding. Thus, an absurd paradox arises:
For a baby, artificial formula is considered a much better option than breast milk from a mother who does not follow a diet.
For example, if a mother ate borscht and fed her, then this, according to most doctors, is something terrible. And a raw apple, especially a forbidden red one, is doubly terrible! And the mixture - please, for your health! Naturally, this idea is completely wrong. Therefore, before blindly believing anyone’s recommendations about nutrition during breastfeeding, let’s still think about how the diet of a nursing mother affects breast milk.
1. How does nutrition affect the quality of milk? How to increase the fat content of breast milk?
It is currently believed that
milk quality, including fat content,
practically in no way depend on the mother’s nutrition!
Therefore, recommendations such as, for example: “you need to eat more high-calorie foods so that the milk is fattier” do not in any way contribute to increasing the fat content of breast milk. Basically, the fat content of milk depends on the following factors:
Age of the child (fat content increases slightly with the age of the baby, especially closer to two years of feeding),
Frequency and duration of feeding (with more frequent feedings, the fat content will be higher than with less frequent feedings; with longer feedings, the fat content also increases);
Time of day (usually by noon, it is believed that the fat content of milk is slightly higher);
May be genetically determined.
The color of expressed milk does not indicate the fat content of the milk. If you express your breasts before feeding, then more often than not, the milk will be less fatty: as they often say, bluish and watery. This does not mean that the mother does not have enough fatty milk. Since breast milk is an emulsion and not a solution, the fat droplets adhere (stick) to the walls of the ducts. Therefore, when expressing, we see less fatty milk. During feeding, the baby will suck out fattier milk, since droplets of fat will come off the walls of the duct during vigorous sucking.
2. How much and what should you eat to increase your milk supply? Is it necessary to eat “for two”?
Quite often you can hear the recommendation that, since the feeding process is an energy-intensive process, the nursing mother needs to eat more than usual. It is not worth eating for two, since during feeding you need an additional 500 kilocalories per day. For clarity: 500 kilocalories is, for example, an additional bowl of soup or a side dish with a cutlet. The main thing you should focus on is, first of all, your appetite. If you want to eat, we eat; if you don’t want to, we don’t eat.
Increasing your diet has virtually no effect on your milk supply!
Studies have shown that when the nutrition of lactating women increases by 700 kilocalories, the amount of milk does not increase. Additional nutrition can go into fat reserves and subcutaneous fat, but not into milk.
3. How much liquid should a nursing mother drink?
Usually during feeding the mother feels thirsty. This is completely normal and is one of the effects of the hormone oxytocin released during feeding. Therefore, you must drink according to your thirst.
That is, if you want to drink, we drink; if you don’t want to, we don’t drink.
Increasing the amount of fluid consumed does not affect the amount of milk. If mom drinks 5 liters a day, then there will be the same amount of milk as she would drink when thirsty. All “extra” fluid will be an additional burden for the excretory system. Therefore, when milk comes in, for example, in the first days after childbirth, there is no point in limiting yourself to drinking. This does not affect the amount of milk. And for the selection process - yes. That is, in a state of dangerous thirst, the amount of oxytocin decreases, so milk is difficult to secrete.
The temperature of the liquid consumed also affects the process of milk secretion. Hot drink leads to the release of oxytocin, that is, to a rush. Therefore, when milk comes in strongly, it would be more reasonable not to drink hot drinks, but to drink liquids (tea, water, etc.) at room temperature.
4.What can a nursing mother eat? What foods are prohibited during breastfeeding?
This is the “hottest” issue for discussion, since there are absolutely diametrically opposed views on this issue.
Let's think about it. First of all, whether we like it or not, we still belong to the class of mammals. It is difficult to imagine that any other mammals sharply limited or adjusted their diet during the period of breastfeeding. Probably, after all, nature was not mistaken; any newborn, through mother’s milk, adapts to its specific diet. And we are no exception. How did the child eat during the period of intrauterine development? Basically, he received nutrients from his mother through the placenta - transplacental nutrition. In addition, the child receives an idea of taste through the amniotic fluid. Thus, during the period of intrauterine development, the child gets used to a certain composition of products. It is logical that after birth, products that are “familiar” to the child will be more preferable. And, conversely, it will be more difficult for the mother to “get to know” new products in her diet: the risk of unwanted reactions may increase. Therefore, it is most preferable after childbirth not to change your diet dramatically, but to stick to approximately the same diet as during pregnancy. The importance of a rational, more or less healthy and balanced diet, in my opinion, is more relevant during pregnancy. Within 9 months, both mother and child adapt to this diet. Therefore, there is no need to suddenly change your diet after childbirth.
What foods should a nursing mother not eat?
Such products do not exist!
We must not forget that nutrients from the mother’s blood, before entering lactocytes (cells that secrete breast milk), pass through the hemato-milk barrier, which is similar in permeability to the placental barrier. Thus, not all substances can pass through this barrier. Therefore, you can almost always choose a medicine that is practically compatible with breastfeeding.
But what about foods that cause increased gas formation? Cabbage, legumes? Is this really ok for a nursing mother to eat? Yes, of course you can. Currently, no studies confirm that gas-forming foods in the diet of a nursing mother lead to increased gas production in the child. Another thing is how many of these foods did mom eat? A bowl of coleslaw? Probably, in this case, the mother herself will really not be very comfortable. And, apparently, the child too. By the way, according to reviews from many nursing mothers who adhere to a vegetarian diet or even a raw food diet, their children did not react negatively to their diet.
But, if the mother thinks that the child is “farting” after eating a plate of borscht, then she, of course, can, for her own peace of mind, exclude this borscht for several days. And try it again after a while. Perhaps it was a coincidence.
I think that in any case, food that is familiar to mom in a reasonable amount will be the optimal solution.
What about apples? Do you have to bake them? What about cucumbers? - If these fruits and vegetables are part of the usual diet of a nursing mother, then there is no point in excluding them from your diet.
Does the mother’s diet really have no effect on the child at all? Yes, indeed, some children (not all!) can react to certain substances present in breast milk. First of all, for a foreign protein. These are, first of all, partially digested proteins of cow's milk, eggs, and nuts. It is precisely these products, if they were practically absent from the mother’s diet during pregnancy, that are introduced with caution.
5. How to eat if a child is allergic? How long does it take for a child to react to foods eaten by the mother?
If there is a suspicion that the child has reacted to any foods consumed by the mother with an allergic reaction (most often, skin rashes), then such foods are temporarily excluded from the diet. After some time, you can try reintroducing the “suspected” foods into the diet, preferably in very small quantities, and once again monitor the child’s reaction. The reaction can occur, on average, after 1-4 hours, sometimes longer. If the reaction appears again, then such products are temporarily excluded from the diet.
It is not always only food that is to blame for allergies; there are also completely other options that also cannot be excluded: cosmetics, household chemicals, water in which a child is bathed, animals in the house, etc.
If a mother completely excludes some foods from her diet, then the risk of the child developing an allergy to these foods increases. Indeed, such products will be completely unknown to the child at the time when he himself begins to eat them; it is possible that the body may react to the new product. Therefore, it seems quite logical to continue introducing the child to products in the following chain:
mother’s nutrition during pregnancy – mother’s nutrition during breastfeeding – baby’s nutrition during the period of introducing complementary foods.
That is, in all links of this chain the nutrition should be approximately the same. This reduces the risk of allergic reactions.
If a child suffers from allergies, then it is very important to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible, since breastfeeding (especially after a year) reduces the manifestation of allergic reactions and is “their” food for the child.
I would like to note that sometimes hormonal rashes in newborns are confused with an allergic reaction. Hormonal cleansing rashes are typical for a child during the first 2-3 months, and are in no way related to the mother’s diet. With hormonal rashes (neonatal acne), small red pimples with a white center are observed. Their peculiarity is the so-called volatility: in the morning the pimple is in one place, by the evening it disappears, but appears in a new place. In addition, such rashes are localized mainly on the face and less often on the chest.
Thus, in nature there is no special diet for nursing mothers. You should not limit yourself to those foods that your mother always ate before and which are the main food for a particular family. If the child really reacted with allergic rashes to any product from the mother’s diet, then the mother excludes such a product from her diet for a while and after a while it is gradually introduced again. If a mother begins to use a new product while breastfeeding, then such a product is introduced in small or moderate quantities, monitoring the baby's reaction.
I believe that breastfeeding should not be associated with artificial restrictions in the nutrition of the nursing mother, strict diets, etc. Let me return to the results of the survey we conducted, which was discussed at the beginning of the article. It turned out that in the group in which mothers continued to eat during the feeding period the same way as during pregnancy, there were significantly fewer problems with breastfeeding than in those groups that adhered to the diet during feeding.
And, of course, the breast milk of any mother with any diet for the child, in principle, cannot be compared with an artificial formula.
That is, no matter what the mother eats or drinks, her milk will always be in a different qualitative dimension than the artificial formula
Therefore, I am bewildered and feel that I am being deceived when someone recommends strict restrictions on a nursing diet and at the same time absolutely calmly considers artificial formula an equivalent replacement.
Feed and stay healthy!
Kastakovskaya Elena,
lactation consultant,
Center "Art of Motherhood", Kharkov
How many hopes are connected in the popular consciousness with the influence of mother’s food on her breast milk! Every mother who has recently given birth receives dozens of advice from relatives and friends about what exactly she needs to eat, when and how, so that there is more milk and so that it is of the most ideal quality for the baby.
Source: Shutterstock
And then it often happens that when the milk begins to decline, the lactation consultant begins to ask the mother what she did to maintain lactation? And she tells in detail: I did everything I could! She ate this and that, and drank liters of tea, and special drinks for lactation...
But, alas, the connection between mother’s nutrition and breast milk is not at all as direct as is often thought. Let's try to figure out what will really bear fruit and what will turn out to be false hope. Let's start with the most popular myths.
IT IS NOT TRUE
If you drink more, you will get more milk.
This is wrong. Milk production is not related to the amount of fluid consumed, but to the level of feeding hormones, prolactin and oxytocin. They are produced in response to breast stimulation. To improve milk production, the most effective recipe is to feed more often. Any warm drink stimulates the flow of milk: there is no more milk, but it is easier for the baby to suck it out. But if a nursing mother does not want to drink, then there is no need to forcefully pour tea into herself! You can take a warm shower or apply a warm compress to your breasts, they stimulate the flow of milk. The secret is not in the flow of liquid, but in the effect of heat.
A nursing mother should eat dairy products.
And this is a myth. “What about tea with milk or condensed milk,” many will exclaim, “it helped me!” In fact, it could be tea without condensed milk. And even just hot water. The effect would be the same, because oxytocin loves warmth. It is not at all necessary to rely on dairy products to increase lactation. Milk is a source of calcium, but there is much more calcium in sesame seeds, almonds, canned fish, halva, chickpeas, parsley and dill). It just happened historically that dairy products were valued among the people and were treated to nursing mothers. But mothers who don’t like dairy don’t need to force themselves, lactation will not suffer from this in any way.
If a mother eats fast food, her milk becomes harmful.
In principle, nothing terrible happens to lactation after fast food: the mother’s body has filtering systems that are enough to prevent moderately harmful foods from affecting breast milk. So the baby will not “drink Coca-Cola” directly from the chest. And he won’t have to “chew” pieces of hamburger while grabbing his mother’s nipple. Healthy eating is primarily the interest of the mother herself! If you often eat fast food, then this will have an extremely small effect on breast milk, but on women's health.
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Nuts and sour cream will make the milk fattier.
Alas, this is not true either. Although the fat content of milk varies greatly from the beginning of feeding to the end, its average fat content is more or less constant, and does not depend on the mother’s nutrition. The mother's diet does not affect the amount of fat in breast milk, but it does affect the ratio of fatty acids and different types of fats. And if a nursing mother eats a lot of animals and hard-to-digest fats (lard, fatty meat, cow’s butter and sour cream, nuts), then the fats in breast milk become more viscous. And due to increased viscosity, they leave the breast less easily, which creates the preconditions for the development of lactostasis.
PARTIALLY TRUE
Lactation teas increase milk production.
Such teas include many components: manufacturers try to put together a whole bouquet to impress a nursing mother with the power of many herbs. Unfortunately, most scientific studies do not confirm the effect of increasing milk supply. Mothers who have been helped by one or another miracle remedy, in most cases, misinterpret the usual increase in milk flow from a hot drink. There are few herbs in nature that have a lactogenic effect. But they all work not on their own, but in conjunction with frequent feedings with good latching on the breast! These are galega, shatavari, torbangan and milk thistle. Unfortunately, lactogenic teas often include herbs, which are not only useless, but also cause digestive and sleep disorders, nervousness and allergies in mothers and babies. So be careful with multi-ingredient lactation teas: they have an equal chance of helping a little or not helping at all, and even causing harm.
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A nursing mother should not go on a diet.
It is important for a nursing mother to eat a varied diet and get proteins, fats, carbohydrates, nutrients and minerals from food. A strict diet, which is often recommended after childbirth, is not necessary in most cases. It happens that mom goes on a diet (mainly to lose weight). It is important to know: on a low-carbohydrate diet, a decrease in lactation is often observed (which is not surprising, since carbohydrates are actively used for milk production). But if you eat the same thing as usual, just reduce the size of the portions, this will not affect the amount of milk. Milk production begins to decline only with prolonged (at least half a month) fasting, with clearly insufficient and depleted nutrition.
Vitamins are a must!
Those that a nursing mother receives with a varied diet - yes, of course they are needed. But with synthetic vitamins, not everything is clear. The official position of the Ministry of Health is that multivitamins for breastfeeding mothers are poorly absorbed, can cause side effects in both mother and baby, and are likely to cause nutritional imbalances when taken. Also, based on studies, WHO believes that during breastfeeding, the introduction of multivitamins is not required, with the exception, perhaps, of vitamin B12 for lactating women who are strict vegetarians, calcium supplements for women who do not consume milk and dairy products, and iron supplements - if proven iron deficiency. Everything else is strictly according to indications! If you have reason to believe there is a deficiency of some vitamin or microelement, then yes, but drinking synthetic vitamins just like that, for the purpose of prevention, is not recommended.
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AND THIS IS SO!
∙ginger can increase lactation.
This spice has long been used in eastern countries to improve health and increase milk production. The effect is most noticeable in the first few days after birth. The study did not find any side effects, so feel free to include cookies, gingerbread with ginger, hot ginger drinks in your diet - everything will come in handy!
∙Fenugreek, a seasoning with a spicy-nutty odor, has been used for centuries as a lactogon.
Fenugreek is known under the names “shambhala”, “helba” and “fenugreek”. Like other lactogens, it does not perform miracles. But if you often feed or stimulate lactation by pumping, then with the help of fenugreek, milk production will be more active. Fenugreek seeds can be brewed with or instead of tea, or you can find fenugreek cheese.
The composition of milk will be well affected... Let us remind you: there is no such thing as “inferior milk”: the child always receives from his mother the substances he needs for growth and development. And most of the components of breast milk do not depend in any way on the nutrition of the mother herself. However, there are some substances, the content of which still changes in milk depending on the mother's food.
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- Omega-3 fatty acids , their content in human milk depends on the mother’s menu. Omega-3 is considered food for the brain, which means that those babies whose mothers include fatty ocean fish in their diet have a chance to become smarter. In addition to fish and seafood, omega-3 fatty acids are found in pumpkin, green leafy vegetables, red beans, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil.
- B vitamins in breast milk also depend on the mother’s nutrition. These vitamins affect the speed of metabolic processes, the health of the eyes and liver, and the growth of the nervous system. The baby will have a good level of B vitamins if the mother receives them fully from food. Common sources of B vitamins are fish, meat, rice, eggs, green leafy vegetables, nuts and legumes.
- Selenium in small quantities is necessary for adequate functioning of the hormonal system and helps to better absorb vitamin E, which is important for health. The child’s body needs little selenium; its intake through breast milk depends on the mother’s diet. Liver, eggs, corn, legumes, rice, barley and wheat are rich in selenium.
- Polyamines- substances that help the baby’s intestines mature in the first weeks of life. Even if at first the newborn reacts negatively to the mother’s diet, which is reflected in her milk, then thanks to the action of polyamines this reaction disappears. The content of polyamines in breast milk depends on nutrition. There are many of these substances in citrus fruits, meat and legumes. And when a nursing mother is advised to follow a strict diet to prevent allergies in her baby, the opposite effect is actually achieved: the poorer the mother’s diet, the fewer polyamines in her milk and the slower the maturation of the baby’s digestive system.
Taisiya Lipina
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Breastfeeding is a natural process established by nature itself. The unity of mother and baby helps the newborn to feel love and care, and the mother to establish a psycho-emotional connection with the baby.
And in order for the feeding process to be painless for two, you need to find out how the nutrition of a young mother affects the quality and taste of breast milk.
How does a mother's diet affect the quality of her baby's milk?
Healthy and nutritious nutrition of the mother determines the composition of breast milk and its quantity.
Protein that enters the body with mother's milk– one of the main components responsible for the growth of a child and the formation of his nervous system. A lack of protein in a baby’s body can negatively affect its development.
Important!
An excess of easily digestible carbohydrates in the mother's diet (confectionery, honey, sugar, jam, chocolate, breakfast cereals, grapes and bananas) makes breast milk very sweet. Such milk can cause dysbiosis in a newborn.
That is why it is important for a nursing mother to remember that sugar in her body is released not only from sweets, but also from other foods, and then in the right amount enters the baby’s body with breast milk in the form of milk sugar (lactose).
What foods should be included in a nursing woman's diet?
The daily calorie intake for a young mother is 3000-3200 calories. This is enough for both mother and baby - the energy costs for one breastfeeding are 500-800 calories, the rest will serve as energy for the mother herself. But exceeding the norm can provoke hypogalactia- decrease in the amount of breast milk until it disappears.
To ensure that the baby and mother feel good, pediatricians recommend that breastfeeding women adhere to rules 1-1-4- this is the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and eat healthy foods in quantities sufficient for two.
Healthy foods in the diet of a nursing woman:
- Lean fish (protein, vitamin D).
- Dairy and fermented milk products (protein, calcium).
- Liver (folic acid).
- Cereals (millet, oatmeal, buckwheat – vitamin B1).
- Cottage cheese, cheeses (vitamin B2).
- Butter, eggs, pork, beef liver (vitamin A).
- Carrots, greens (beta-carotene).
- Red bell pepper, currants, sea buckthorn (vitamin C).
- Walnuts (increase the fat content of milk, making it more nutritious).
You should also not forget about the rules for drinking fluids:
The daily fluid intake for a nursing woman is no more than 2 liters. Excess fluid impairs the properties of breast milk, making it watery and diluted.
In the first months of life, the child is especially sensitive to substances that come with mother's milk, so the young mother should pay special attention to composing her diet. Improper nutrition of the mother can cause diathesis, colic, bloating, and diarrhea in the child.
These products are prohibited for women during breastfeeding:
- White cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli (cause bloating and cause colic in the baby).
- Legumes (provoke flatulence in a newborn).
- Citrus fruits (can provoke diathesis).
- Smoked meats (contain harmful substances that can cause allergies in a child).
- Fried and fatty foods (promotes colic).
- Mushrooms (can cause severe digestive upset in a baby).
- Large quantities of pasta and baked goods (cause fermentation and gas formation in the child).
- Carbonated drinks (dyes contained in drinks can cause allergies in a newborn).
- Coffee (stimulates the child’s nervous system).
Reasons why newborns refuse to drink breast milk
There are several main reasons why a baby refuses mother's milk:
- Maternal malnutrition- if a woman consumes spicy, fatty, smoked foods, onions, garlic and various spices, then her milk may acquire an unpleasant taste for the child. Medicines and herbs can also change the taste of milk. Before taking any medications, a nursing mother should consult a doctor.
- Teething- this painful process for the baby can be the reason for breast refusal. Pay attention to your child's gums - if they are swollen and enlarged, it means he is teething.
- Bottle feeding- another reason for refusing breastfeeding, because it is much easier for a baby to suck milk from a bottle. Having become accustomed to receiving it quickly and effortlessly, the child refuses his mother’s breast.
- Runny nose- when a baby’s nose is stuffy, he cannot suck milk and breathe at the same time, so before feeding you should clear the baby’s nose of dry crusts and mucus.
During the period of breastfeeding, a woman gives her baby more than just milk - she boosts the baby’s immunity, lays the foundations for his health, but most importantly, the mother gives her love.
During feeding, the baby feels protected next to his mother. This is what makes feeding a newborn doubly comfortable and enjoyable. On the other hand, mothers who have lost milk do not need to reproach themselves - it is important to learn to give their love to the baby in a different way.
Rules for creating a menu for a nursing woman
The main principle of creating a diet for a nursing woman is the mother’s needs and the baby’s reaction to certain foods. Everything should be tasty and healthy for both you and your child.
We create a menu for the breastfeeding period:
- We focus on those products that are allowed and do not cause health problems for the child. From the 2nd month of the baby’s life, we gradually begin to introduce one new product into the mother’s daily diet.
- When preparing a dish, it is advisable to follow the rule of light food processing (cook in a double boiler, slow cooker, bake in the oven, stew in a tightly sealed container).
- We do not consume products containing preservatives, dyes, thickeners, flavor enhancers, as well as exotic fruits and vegetables.
- During the first month of a child’s life, we do not consume foods that cause bloating and colic in the baby.
- If an allergic reaction occurs in the baby, we gradually exclude foods that may be the cause.
- The best drinks for a nursing mother to drink are water, dried fruit compote, and tea.
- The diet of a nursing woman should be complete and not meager in terms of food - the richer your menu, the better.
Menu for 7 days
When creating an individual diet, use the lists of permitted and prohibited foods, and try to diversify your diet as much as possible.
Monday:
Breakfast. Buckwheat porridge in water with sunflower oil, dried fruit compote.
Dinner. Chicken breast soup, 200 g mashed potatoes.
Afternoon snack. Stewed vegetables (carrots, zucchini, eggplants, bell peppers, onions).
Dinner. A glass of kefir.
Tuesday:
Breakfast. Cheese pancakes with sour cream, tea.
Dinner. Soup with buckwheat and boiled meat, 1 quail egg.
Afternoon snack. 200 g cottage cheese casserole with cherries.
Dinner. 200 g beet salad with olive oil.
Wednesday:
Breakfast. A glass of yogurt.
Dinner. Soup with beef meatballs, 100 g of rice with stewed vegetables.
Afternoon snack. Baked apples (green) in dough.
Dinner. 200 g.
Thursday:
Breakfast. Kefir, biscuits.
Dinner. Fish soup, 100 g buckwheat porridge, 1 chicken egg.
Afternoon snack. Fruit of your choice (peach, several plums) and 30 g of walnuts.
Dinner. Mashed potatoes, 100 g boiled chicken breast, 50 g steamed asparagus.
Friday:
Breakfast. with dried fruits, tea.
Dinner. Vegetarian vegetable soup with sour cream, 100 g oatmeal, 100 g boiled turkey.
Afternoon snack. A piece of watermelon.
Dinner. White omelette.
Saturday:
Breakfast. Baked apples with currants, dried fruit compote.
Dinner. Vegetable puree soup (onions, carrots, celery root, potatoes), 100 g of baked rabbit meat with sour cream.
Afternoon snack. A glass of yogurt.
Dinner. Fish baked with vegetables.
Sunday:
Breakfast. 1 quail egg, 50 g hard cheese, tea.
Dinner. Chicken broth, 200 g vegetable stew.
Afternoon snack. Cottage cheese casserole.
Dinner. 100 g boiled turkey, stewed vegetables.
In Ireland, immediately after childbirth, tea and toast with butter and jam are served. In Israel, they bring grapefruit salad for breakfast. In the USA, lunch is served with tomato soup, a sandwich with red fish, coffee and chocolate cake. In Australia, dinner is stewed meat with cabbage and green peas. In post-Soviet countries, immediately after childbirth they give a list of permitted and prohibited products (if they did not have time to give them out during pregnancy).
So does a nursing mother need a diet? And if necessary, which one? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to understand how the mother’s diet affects the composition of milk.
Milk is produced in the mammary glands from components of the blood plasma; accordingly, the nutrition of a nursing mother affects milk to the same extent as it affects the blood. If a mother suffers from digestive problems, then toxins and allergens can enter the bloodstream. With a lack of enzymes, food may be poorly broken down and larger proteins will penetrate into the blood, which, once in milk, will be more difficult to absorb by the immature intestines.
Thus, the first thing a mother needs to do is to improve the functioning of her body, tired from pregnancy and overloaded during childbirth. This means that the mother’s diet should be healthy and nutritious. A nutritious diet requires the presence of five food groups in the diet: vegetables, fruits, cereals, dairy products and meat (sometimes fish). Recommendations on rational standards for the consumption of food products that meet modern requirements for a healthy diet were approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia N 614 of August 19, 2016. A vegetarian diet is allowed, taking into account the receipt of all necessary substances from plant products and additional intake of vitamin B 12.
You need to eat in small portions, but often. You can forget about the regime at first, just eat according to your appetite. Usually the feeling of hunger comes during or immediately after feeding. Taking into account the fact that at first night feedings cannot be avoided, it is advisable to have something nutritious in stock for a snack, so as not to run to the refrigerator in the middle of the night.
It is advisable to increase the daily calorie content of food consumed by 500-600 calories compared to the pre-pregnancy state, since milk production requires increased energy consumption.
There is an opinion that when breastfeeding you need to drink a glass of water before and after feeding. However, drinking too much liquid puts a strain on the kidneys, which is a stress factor for the body, and any stress blocks the release of hormones. Accordingly, excessive fluid intake (as well as thirst) can lead to decreased milk production. It is necessary to drink enough water. Usually this is about 2 liters per day, but each body has its own standards, which means you need to listen to your feelings.
10-15 minutes before evening feeding (when there is usually less milk), it is advisable to drink a glass of hot tea or other warming drink - this promotes the production of oxytocin and, as a result, better milk flow.
It is widely believed that some foods consumed by a nursing mother can cause gas formation and allergic reactions in the baby. In most cases, it is this misconception that leads to the fact that the mother begins to eat buckwheat and water, which contributes to dysbiosis, vitamin deficiency, calcium deficiency, low hemoglobin, malnutrition and other unpleasant things in both the mother and the child (with insufficient nutrition of the mother, in milk first comes from maternal reserves, but over time these reserves are depleted).
As for gas-forming, strengthening, laxative products, their “hostile” properties do not enter the blood (and therefore into milk). However, if the product consumed has a negative effect on the mother’s digestion, then this can also affect the blood (milk) (you can read more about how to deal with colic and gas).
Allergies are often confused with food intolerance. An allergy is a defect of the immune system, which is very often influenced by a hereditary factor, while food intolerance is associated with immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract. The cause of food intolerance in the form of bloating, changes in stool character, dysbacteriosis and atopic dermatitis should be sought, first of all, in the method of breastfeeding, and not in the foods consumed by the mother.
Along with breast milk, the baby receives only in microdoses the broken down proteins of foods (traces of peanuts, gluten, etc.) consumed by the mother. At the same time, along with these microdoses, mother’s antibodies (immunoglobulins) enter the milk, which help the baby’s body absorb the resulting protein. Breast milk seems to digest itself. Therefore, if the mother eats a varied diet and does not overuse any particular product, an allergic reaction in the baby, as a rule, does not manifest itself (even if the child later turns out to be allergic, the mother can find out about this at the stage of introducing complementary foods).
However, there is an exception - cow's milk protein (cmp). It has not yet been studied why this protein enters breast milk in an undigested form (logically, it should be broken down by the mother’s body into amino acids). This feature often becomes the reason for the exclusion of all dairy products from a nursing mother’s diet. In most cases, such an exception is unfounded, since, as a rule, only the “hard” bkm contained in whole milk is difficult to digest. At the same time, fermented milk products are absorbed much better. In addition, fresh natural fermented milk products contain beneficial bacteria that promote comfortable digestion for the mother and envelop the walls of her intestines with a protective film, which prevents toxins and allergens from entering the blood (and milk).
Thus, breastfeeding should not turn into torture; on the contrary, you need to eat everything. Products that the mother introduces to the baby through breast milk are much easier to introduce during the complementary feeding period and are less likely to cause allergic reactions in the future. At the same time, when a mother unreasonably follows a hypoallergenic diet, this slows down the process of maturation of the baby’s gastrointestinal tract and its adaptation to a new type of diet.
So why do pediatricians so often like to put moms on a useless (and often harmful) hypoallergenic diet? There are several reasons:
1. Previously, it was believed that failure to follow a diet increases the likelihood of developing atopic dermatitis in a child. This assumption has long been refuted by modern research, but many doctors do not want (or are unable, due to little free time), to follow new trends in the field of medical science. Even with an existing diagnosis of “atopic dermatitis,” it is advisable to prescribe a diet only for moderate and severe symptoms of the disease (even in this case, the diet is prescribed for a period of 4 weeks, and if no improvements are observed during this time (or they are insignificant), the diet is canceled). Otherwise, the harm from a hypoallergenic diet significantly outweighs the benefits, and after several months of such a diet, the lack of nutrients becomes a new cause of exacerbations.
2. There are pediatricians who are still convinced that a child should have stool at least once a day (and preferably after each feeding) in the form of a yellow mush. With artificial feeding it is possible, but with breastfeeding the situation is completely different. Firstly, with exclusive breastfeeding, bowel movements may occur once every few days (and sometimes once every 10 days). In most cases, this is quite normal and is due to the fact that breast milk is absorbed much more easily than formula, and this contributes to a slower filling of the rectal ampoule. However, some doctors prescribe suppositories and enemas for the child, and beets and prunes for the mother (which is absolutely useless, given that milk is produced from blood plasma, and not from the contents of the intestines). Secondly, breast milk is not homogeneous, unlike formula. Its composition changes even during one feeding (not to mention the time of day, age of the child, etc.), accordingly, the color and consistency of the child’s stool can constantly change. This is normal and does not require any diet.
3. Sometimes the pediatrician knows what and how it should be, but it is easier for him to put the mother on a diet, because he does not have the time or desire to explain the essence of the processes occurring in the baby’s body, or there is no contact with the mother. And the doctor prescribes a diet to somehow keep the mother occupied (this is especially common for atopic dermatitis associated with enzyme deficiency - it is often easier for a mother to bring herself to the point of exhaustion in the process of calculating “all allergens” than to feed her beloved little one less often).
Unfortunately, true medical indications for a nursing mother’s diet still exist. A classic example is cow's milk protein allergy (usually manifested by blood in the baby's stool). The complete exclusion of products containing bkm from the mother’s diet eliminates all or almost severe digestive disorders and rashes in the baby, which means that a dairy-free diet is definitely justified for some time.
But it should be noted that a strict diet for a nursing mother is prescribed for false reasons much more often than when there are true objective indications for it.
Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. The nutrition of a nursing mother should be healthy and nutritious. The diet should contain vegetables, fruits, cereals, dairy products, meat (sometimes fish);
2. Do not overuse whole milk or any specific product. Even buckwheat consumed in kilograms can cause allergies, since the immunoglobulins supplied with mother's milk may not be enough to break down such an amount of buckwheat protein;
3. Milk is formed from blood components; accordingly, the mother’s nutrition affects the composition of milk to the same extent as the composition of the blood. To avoid toxins and allergens getting into the blood (milk), the mother needs to improve her digestion;
4. You should not use large amounts of preservatives and dyes, which strongly irritate the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and, as a result, increase the absorption of allergenic substances into the blood (and milk);
5. Some foods can affect the child’s gastrointestinal tract if they contain substances that can penetrate into the blood (milk). These include, but are not limited to, alcohol and caffeine;
6. Any product excluded from the mother’s diet for any reason must be replaced with an equivalent product (in terms of the presence of vitamins and other useful substances);
7. To avoid allergic reactions in your baby, you must follow a hypoallergenic diet (which does not apply).
In conclusion, I would like to note that breastfeeding is a natural continuation of hemotrophic nutrition (through the umbilical cord); accordingly, after 9 months of intrauterine life, the baby has already become accustomed to the nutrition of a pregnant mother, and a sudden change in the mother’s nutrition will be additional stress for him.
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