Nursing your newborn isn’t always easy. Despite what your friends or family may have told you, here are four proven (and not as widely known) facts about nursing nutrition:
1. There really aren’t many dietary restrictions” at all.
That’s right. Contrary to what you may have been told ““ and what was a very popular belief in the past ““ what you eat doesn’t have much influence on the quality of your breast milk.
“It used to be that many moms wouldn’t breastfeed because they didn’t eat a very healthy diet,” said Sandi Brown, a registered nurse and lactation consultant with St. Elizabeth Healthcare, but, in reality, research shows that most of what nursing mothers consume is not passed on to the baby.
In fact, a baby still will receive all the nutrients he or she needs from breast milk even if the mom isn’t making the healthiest food choices.
The only things lactation consultants advise nursing moms stay away from are nicotine, caffeine and alcohol, although caffeine in moderation is probably OK.
Outside of nicotine, caffeine and alcohol, the only thing you can eat that is shown to affect your breast milk is healthy fats, like eggs, avocado, olive oil and seafood.
“Those are healthy fats we want, that lead to more fat in a mom’s milk,” Brown said.
Of course, babies also should be monitored for reactions to certain foods, such as lactose, and the foods should be eliminated from a mom’s diet if necessary.
2. Staying hydrated is more important than eating healthy.
Especially right after delivery, it’s very normal for moms to not have much of an appetite.
“Moms need to rest a lot during this time, and the appetite will come back once they get more active again,” Brown said.
Instead of focusing on eating during this transition period, nursing moms should concern themselves more with staying hydrated.
Because 87 percent of a mother’s breast milk is water, drinking water and other fluids will help ensure you’re producing enough milk for your baby.
“I tell nursing mothers to listen to their bodies, to eat when they’re hungry and drink when they’re thirsty because the body knows what it needs,” Brown said.
But do be careful not to drink too much.
It may seem counterintuitive, but Brown says women who drink more than they did before nursing tend to produce less milk than women who drink the same amount as they did before nursing.
3. You have to be exclusively breastfeeding to ensure you burn 500 calories a day.
Most people know the statistic that you can burn 500 calories a day breastfeeding, but not as many know the caveat: that it only applies if you are exclusively breastfeeding.
If you are exclusively breastfeeding, though, those 500 calories a day equate to one pound per week!
4. If you are vegetarian, vegan or have had gastric bypass surgery, you’ll probably have to take a supplement.
All nursing moms are encouraged to take a multivitamin while breastfeeding, but nursing moms who are vegetarian, vegan or have had gastric bypass surgery also should ““ in most cases, anyways ““ take a vitamin B12 supplement.
“The breast milk of these nursing moms, particularly vegan nursing moms, isn’t the same consistency and quality of standard breast milk unless they take the vitamin B12 supplement,” Brown said.
That’s because women who are vegetarian, vegan or have had gastric bypass surgery are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiencies, and also are at risk for passing that deficiency onto their babies, which could cause slow weight gain.
