Diet for nursing mothers: options, sample menu, grocery list

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Diet for nursing mothers should be as safe as possible for the baby, balanced and varied. There are foods that are not only possible, but also highly desirable to include in the diet during breastfeeding. They allow you to effectively fill the need of the female body for vitamins and useful trace elements.

Breastfeeding

Breast milk is the ideal food for a newborn. Women's milk, which is normally produced by a young mother, contains the most important substances for a small body in the right proportions. It is well digested by the baby's fragile digestive system, performs a protective function, improves the child's immunity, contains all the necessary minerals, vitamins and special proteins.

Breastfeeding reduces the baby's risk of allergies, various infections and diabetes, and prevents obesity. The process of feeding itself has a beneficial effect on the normal emotional, psychological and physiological development of children, formsresistance to adverse external factors, strengthens the bond between mother and baby.

Women also benefit from breastfeeding their own milk. So she recovers much faster after childbirth and can more effectively establish a connection with her baby. New mothers who breastfeed are less likely to experience postpartum depression.

The benefits of milk for a child depend on its qualitative composition and quantity. The protein content in it practically does not depend on how much protein the mother consumes, but the amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients may vary depending on the woman's diet. That is why the diet for nursing mothers should be balanced and varied. These are the basic principles of nutrition.

As for the calorie content of the diet, in the first six months of a baby's life, a wife should consume 500-600 kilocalories more than usual. This is not very much, so you don’t need to eat for two - the extra calories will settle on the hips and waist. Here it is better to follow a different rule: eat not for two, but for two.

Diet of a nursing mother

An effective diet for breastfeeding moms must follow a few rules. The body must be provided with a complete set of nutrients, sufficient caloric content of food. The menu should be not only balanced, but also varied.

Nursing mother should choose products that do not contain preservatives, dyes, nitrates, variousartificial additives. It is advisable to eat all natural. Food should be eaten frequently, about five to six times a day, preferably half an hour before feeding.

The following are dietary tips for breastfeeding moms. Let us consider in more detail the products, the use of which is permissible and prohibited dishes. An example menu for a week of diet for a nursing mother will also be given.

Various food

Diet for nursing mothers should include the main food groups. What to do if the doctor did not give any specific recommendations about the diet? In this case, the diet for nursing mothers should contain about 200 g of lean meat per day, poultry meat (in the form of meatballs, meatballs, boiled) or low-fat fish (pollock, hake, cod, pike perch, carp), 100-150 grams of cottage cheese with low fat, 20-30 grams of hard cheese, 200-300 grams of fruit, a pound of vegetables, 15-20 grams of butter, 25-30 grams of vegetable oil.

The postpartum diet for nursing mothers must contain dietary fiber, which stimulates the activity of the intestines. In this regard, it is necessary to include in the daily diet at least 400 grams of fresh or processed vegetables, approximately 300 grams of fruits and berries, about a glass of juices with pulp.

Suitable both freshly prepared and canned. Do not include tropical fruits (except bananas) in the diet for nursing mothers, which can cause allergies. It is good to add dried fruits, oatmeal and buckwheat, millet cereals to the menu, which are rich in dietary fiber.

Milk (about one litre) and products containing milkshould be consumed only in processed form: casseroles, concentrated milk without sugar, cheesecakes. An excess of whole cow's milk can cause a reaction in a newborn. Partially, it is desirable to replace it with fermented milk products, namely kefir, yogurt or fermented baked milk. It is good to alternate these dairy and sour-milk products.

Many young mothers enjoy eating special cereals for nursing, which are sold in supermarkets in the same departments as baby food. These cereals are enriched with trace elements and vitamins, which are beneficial for women and safe for children. Some women bake pancakes or pancakes, cook porridge with baby formula.

Confectionery and sugar should preferably be consumed in a very limited form, since such products not only contribute to the deposition of excess fat in the body, but also have an allergenic effect.

Providing security

The list of products in the diet for nursing mothers should ensure the safety of milk for the baby and the absence of certain substances in it that can have an extremely adverse effect on the gastrointestinal tract, other organs and systems of the newborn. So, dishes should not contain ingredients that can cause an allergic reaction. In this regard, it is necessary to limit the consumption of foods that contain a large amount of s alt and essential oils: smoked meats, canned goods, onions and garlic, fish and meat broths, pickles, sausages.

It is undesirable to eat food that violates the functions of the digestive tract. These are grapes, confectionery,cottage cheese pastes, curds, sweet cereals, alcoholic products. Products with high allergenic activity include tomatoes, peanuts, crabs, eggs, honey, crayfish, strawberries, citrus fruits, chocolate, cocoa, as well as any food that previously caused an adverse reaction and food intolerance in a woman. It is advisable to avoid eating the meat of young birds, as their protein is highly likely to cause allergies.

Specialized foods can saturate the diet for nursing mothers (reviews from women are positive) with essential vitamins and minerals, enough protein. These are Femilak, Dumil Mama Plus, Olympic, Enfamama and others. Such cereals are made on the basis of milk, the most important useful substances, vegetable oils, mineral s alts are added to it. With insufficient breast milk production, Milky Way is a special product for nursing mothers that stimulates lactation.

Drinking regimen of a nursing mother

A young mother should drink (that is, in addition to the usual 1.5-2 liters of clean water a day) about one liter of various liquids. Suitable juices, fruit drinks, tea and milk. But you can not introduce more fluids into a strict diet for a nursing mother after childbirth, you must first wait for the production of real breast milk, and not colostrum. Up to this point, the amount of liquid should be limited to one liter. Otherwise, on the second or fourth day after birth (at this time lactation usually begins), the amount of breast milk may be toolarge, making it difficult to separate properly.

Products to increase lactation

The quality and quantity of milk is determined, rather, by a predisposition at the genetic level than by the diet, but if there is a shortage of the main product of the baby, you should first of all pay attention to the correct drinking regimen. This was discussed above. In addition, to increase milk production, you can use special products that are recommended in the diet for nursing mothers for the first month of a baby's life and beyond. The use of specialized juices enriched with nutrients is very useful. Teas with plant extracts (anise, nettle, fennel, cumin, lemon balm and others) are also recommended. A very important issue for a nursing mother is the normal functioning of the intestines. The chair should be daily or at least once every two days. To prevent constipation, you need to eat enough fruits and vegetables, oatmeal and buckwheat porridge, juices and compotes, fermented milk products.

Diet after caesarean section

If the caesarean section is planned, then the diet must be adjusted in advance. A few days before the operation, foods that increase flatulence should be excluded from the diet. These are wholemeal bread, nuts and grapes, legumes, cabbage. Eight hours before a cesarean, you can’t eat at all, and on the first day after the menu should not be plentiful or too high-calorie. It is advisable to drink more mineral water or ordinary purified water. You can slightly acidify it with lemon.

On the seconda day you can diversify a meager diet with chicken broth, but it must be prepared without excess fat. It is enough to drink 200-300 ml, but not at a time, but during the day, because the food should be fractional (6-7 times a day). You can eat some fat-free cottage cheese or natural yogurt without additives.

As for drinking, the diet after caesarean for nursing mothers should contain rosehip broth, jelly, tea, fruit drink, compotes. You can drink a maximum of 1.5 liters per day. On the third day, you can already eat steam cutlets, meatballs, baked apples (no more than one or two per day). In the first few days after the operation, baby food is excellent. Next, you need to gradually introduce buckwheat, oatmeal, millet porridge into the menu, but it is better to postpone fresh vegetables, berries and fruits until the beginning of the next month.

Lactose free diet

Some newborns don't digest breast milk well, resulting in a lactose deficiency. In this case, a lactose-free diet for nursing mothers is necessary. A woman needs to avoid foods high in milk sugar, such as whey, whole and powdered milk, ice cream, bagged soups, "fast food", croquettes, loose spices, store-bought salad dressings, and so on. Against the background of a lactose deficiency, you should continue to breastfeed your baby if possible, otherwise a special infant formula is used.

Hypoallergenic food

A hypoallergenic diet for nursing mothers with allergies should exclude all foods that could theoretically harm the baby. Modern doctorsargue that if the young mother is not allergic, then there is no need to adhere to such a diet, but in case of concern, it is better to seek help in compiling the menu from a specialist.

It is necessary to exclude the use of foods that most often cause allergies in children. These are fish, honey, chocolate, citrus fruits, bananas, confectionery. It is worth giving up nuts, caviar, coffee, hard cheese and smoked meats, spices, berries, vegetables and fruits that have a red color, spicy vegetables (horseradish, radish, radish), eggs, mushrooms, pastries, alcoholic beverages.

Baby's first month

The diet for nursing mothers for the first month should contain a large amount of fruits and vegetables, while giving preference to a raw food diet. The basis of nutrition should be such products (unless, of course, there are contraindications):

1. Meat boiled or stewed, but not fatty.
2. Dairy and milk, little by little and not very often.
3. Fish (perch, cod, hake).
4. Eggs, one every two or three days is enough.
5. Wholemeal bread.
6. Coarse wheat pasta.
7. Wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal.
8. Olive, sunflower, corn oil, butter.
9. Vegetables fresh or boiled, can be steamed. Do not abuse potatoes.
10. Marshmallows made from natural ingredients, marshmallow, only once or twice a week, and even then only a little bit.

Forbidden foods (they should not be consumed until the babybefore 3 months old):

• nuts;
• cabbage;
• coffee;
• mayonnaise;
• processed and blue cheese;
• dried fruits;
• honey;
• sausages;
• legumes;
• whole cow's milk;
• ketchup;
• sauces other than soy;
• semi-finished products;
• vegetable marinades;
• strong tea;
• juices;
• alcoholic drinks;
• homemade pickles;
• any canned food.

Mom's nutrition: two to six months

The older the baby gets, the more a nursing mother can expand her diet. From two to six months, you can enter lean borscht, freshly squeezed juices, homemade jam (apple or cherry), fresh onions and honey, raw fruits and vegetables according to the season, cherry, blueberry, currant fruit drinks on the menu.

Diet from six months to a year

At this time, a nursing mother can already treat herself to something fried, but not greasy. You can try seafood, garlic, chocolate, legumes, exotic fruits. Everything should also be abandoned from mayonnaise, sweet soda, processed cheese, refined sugar, fast food, sausages, canned food, semi-finished products, smoked products.

For babies over one year old

When a child is over a year old, a young mother can gradually return to her usual diet. But this does not mean at all that you need to switch to fast food, eat dry food or just once a day. It is advisable to adhere to the general rules of he althyfood, but sometimes you can treat yourself.

Sample menu for the week

The nutrition of a woman who is breastfeeding a baby not only can, but should be varied. Even with such a seemingly small list of allowed foods, the diet can be quite tasty, he althy and not annoying. Below is an example of a suitable menu for several days.

Diet of a nursing mother for weight loss

Diet for nursing mothers for weight loss is not much different from the usual he althy diet that will not harm the baby. You just need to completely abandon the fat and flour. If a woman begins to gain weight after childbirth, then it is necessary to give up bread, pasta, nuts, fatty fish, pork, confectionery, soda and seeds. A diet for nursing mothers for weight loss must contain cereals, vegetables and fruits, meat can be eaten once a day. You should eat fractionally. Medicines and dietary supplements for weight loss during this period, in general, must be abandoned, as they can harm the newborn.

Here are examples of dishes that a nursing mother can eat who wants to quickly return to their previous parameters after childbirth:

1. Breakfasts: toast and some Edam cheese; one egg and three bran bread toasts; some unsweetened cereal with milk and toast.
2. Lunch: 150 grams of boiled potatoes, some Edam cheese, peach or pear, seasonal vegetable salad; a slice of ham, two slices of bread, low-calorie yogurt and some cheese; banana, boiled beans and two toasts;any vegetable salad topped with a yogurt dressing and a teaspoon of butter, a bun.
3. Dinner: 150 grams of jacket potatoes, 200 grams of chicken meat, some vegetables, an orange; cheese, banana, vegetable salad; spaghetti with sauce, apple, vegetable salad; cod steak, low calorie milk puree, natural yoghurt.
4. Snacks: jam sandwich, crackers, lettuce, cheese, biscuit slice, bun.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the diet for a nursing mother. In most cases, this is just a he althy diet with a small list of prohibited foods. It would be good for mom to continue to adhere to he althy principles in nutrition, because this will help maintain the body in a normal state, provide energy, all the necessary nutrients, make you feel good and look great. Yes, and the child will benefit if he is taught from early childhood to the correct principles of nutrition and a he althy lifestyle. Why not start doing it right now? The menu of a nursing mother is a great start for further following the rules of a he althy lifestyle.