After your baby is born, your diet doesn't have to change much to prepare your body for breastfeeding an infant. You should continue to choose healthy foods and eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty. You can even add some of the foods you had to miss out on while pregnant back to your diet, such as lunch meat and sushi. It's important to keep your calorie intake a bit higher than normal to provide you with enough energy while breastfeeding, so avoid dieting while your baby is nursing.
Significance of Breast-Feeding Nutrition
If you neglect to eat a proper diet while you are breastfeeding, your body will take the nutrients it needs to create healthy breast milk, according to Baby Center. While your breast milk will contain the vitamins that your baby needs to thrive, you may start to experience some side effects if you are not getting enough nutrients from your diet. If you are not getting proper nutrition while you are breastfeeding, you may experience a loss of energy and strength.
Caloric Intake
Your body burns up to 500 extra calories per day while you are producing breast milk. Baby Center recommends that breastfeeding moms consume at least 2,000 to 2,700 calories each day, but avoid counting calories if you can. If you eat when your body feels hungry, you should be getting enough food to support your breast milk production. Suddenly reducing your caloric intake can have a negative effect on your milk supply, so avoid dieting or watching your calories while you are breastfeeding.
Nutritional Considerations
What to Expect recommends that nursing mothers consume a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients in their diets to help keep themselves healthy. Aim for three servings of protein per day to keep your energy levels high. Try to take in three servings of foods rich in calcium per day and at least one serving of an iron-rich food each day. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables when possible and reduce your intake of high-fat foods.
Liquid Intake
When you're breastfeeding a baby, it's important for you to stay hydrated, according to Baby Zone. Aim for drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water, milk or juice per day. Avoid beverages that are high in sugar and try to abstain from too much caffeine. Caffeinated beverages cannot only contribute to dehydration in nursing moms, but they can also cause sleeplessness and irritability in breastfeeding infants.
Expert Insight
Most mothers do not need to avoid any foods while breast-feeding, according to La Leche League International. If you have food allergies, you should continue to avoid foods you are allergic to, but other than that, you can safely eat anything, even the foods you avoided in pregnancy. Cautionary advice to avoid spicy foods, tomatoes or garlic while breastfeeding are not supported by medical research.
