Nutrition for Nursing Moms

7/3/2008

Congratulations for choosing to breastfeed. It’s a gift to your baby that has benefits for you as well. Here are some tips on eating well while you’re nursing:

• Continue the healthy diet you followed through your pregnancy—one high in protein, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Getting the right nutrients—and enough of them—is essential to both you and your little one. Plus, eating well will give you the energy you need to care for the new addition to your family.
• You’re still eating for two, so the most important thing is to make sure you get enough calories. You must eat an extra 500 calories a day, or you’ll lose weight too quickly and your milk will not have enough of the healthy fatty acids your baby needs. Aim for a total of 2,500-2,700 calories a day. Make healthy choices for your meals and snacks, because filling up with junk food now may predispose your nursing baby to obesity later.

• Choose any healthy foods that appeal to you, though I do urge nursing moms who eat fish to choose varieties untainted by mercury, pesticides or other toxins that may be transferred in breast milk. Some infants get gassy after mom has eaten cabbage, onions, garlic, liquid cow’s milk, or a lot of protein. Others have no problems. In fact, some even nurse more avidly after mom has eaten garlic. If you find that a food or a category of foods gets a reaction from your baby—gas, digestive difficulty, fretfulness—two to four hours after you eat it, just limit or skip food for a while. 
• It’s also important to drink enough fluids to keep the milk flowing and your digestive tract working properly. Make sure to get at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water, milk, fruit or vegetable juice, or soup a day. In fact, why not keep a bottle of water next to your favorite nursing spot as a reminder to drink liquids before, during, and after a feeding?
• You can still drink a little coffee, tea, or alcohol when nursing if desired. Just limit your intake of caffeinated beverages to no more than two cups/glasses a day. You can have a little glass of wine or beer with a meal, but drink it after nursing and at least two hours before nursing again so it doesn’t pass through to your child.

What else do you need? I always ask new moms to keep taking their prenatal vitamins while nursing. They help replenish her stores of iron and folate. In addition, make sure you get:

• At least two grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids through food or fish-oil supplements during pregnancy and lactation. Evidence is piling up that these healthy fats improve development of the brain and the vision in child and may reduce postpartum depression in moms.
• 1,300 mg a day ofcalcium, from foods like dairy products, calcium-fortified soy milk or orange juice, or from a combination of foods and supplement. Baby’s needs come first. If your calcium intake is low, baby will get enough to build bones and teeth, but your own calcium stores will be depleted, weakening your bones.

Remember, breast milk is low in vitamin D and iron, so be sure to give your breastfed baby liquid vitamins containing 400 IU vitamin D, 1,500 IU of vitamin A, and 10 mg of elemental iron daily. Most infant vitamins also contain additional vitamin C for optimal iron absorption.