The diet of a new mother often has a direct impact not only on the amount of food, but also its value. Mother’s natural food is rich in about 200 substances essential for the development of the child. It contains minerals, vitamins, antibodies, as well as fats and proteins.
In order to provide enough food and cover the child’s needs for nutrients, the diet should be properly balanced, especially because before the baby reaches the first six months of life, breast milk should be the only food for the baby and be sufficient to protect against diseases.
Lactation – how to stimulate the secretion of milk
- Balanced menu – postpartum women often struggle with an excessive desire for sweets, which results from the need to supplement energy resources by the body. Instead of worthless, but high-calorie chocolates, we recommend millet groats with an admixture of dried fruit.
- Remember that coffee and tea reduce lactation and promote dehydration. In addition, the effect of these infusions on the child’s nervous system is an unresolved issue. You can reach for tea made on the basis of natural dried fruit, nettle and chamomile. Mint and sage are forbidden.
- Properly hydrate your body, you should consume up to three liters a day. The best solution is still water with a low degree of mineralization and without the addition of aromas. Nevertheless, freshly squeezed juices are recommended, as the store bought ones usually contain huge amounts of sugar or dyes. However, the consumption of juices should be limited during the autumn and winter gray season, because they cool down the body, especially in mothers who usually complain of feeling cold.
- Cereals such as corn, barley and millet groats, oat flakes and brown rice contribute to the increase in the production of mother’s milk.
- Equally important are beans, lentils and chickpeas, which, despite being difficult to digest, are considered milk propellant.
Lactation – myths
- Herbs – they can be recommended temporarily. Unfortunately, they will not work in the case of long-term lactation problems, because they work for a short time, but very intensively.
- Don’t eliminate anything from your diet. An oft-repeated, unresolved myth is the advice to exclude certain foods from your diet to help prevent colic in your baby. So far, the truth of this statement has not been proven, but it is believed that the problems should be solved by a balanced diet.
- Do not charge with protein, because its excess has a negative effect on the nervous system and kidneys, it can expose the child to a food allergy or protein diathesis. Beef is strictly forbidden, poultry, fish or eggs should be used.