Nutrition for Breastfeeding Moms

Your baby has finally arrived… For nine months, you were fussing over what to eat, evaluating your diet – liking some foods, disliking others or avoiding your favorites. You now feel free to decide what to eat and when to eat. But unfortunately that’s still not the case! Nursing moms need to monitor their diets and watch their baby’s behavior.

This is a time when you will be at the receiving end of a lot of nutritional advice. Some will advise you to eat certain foods that will increase milk production, while others will caution you to banish certain foods from your diet. You will be wondering what the ideal diet is for you, how much you should eat, and whether your diet will affect the quantity and the quality of breast milk.
You will need to customize your diet so that you get continuous nutrition to be active and healthy, and so that you’ll be able to take care of your baby.
The ideal nutrition transition:
1. Increase your calorie intake.
To ensure the production of an ample healthy milk supply, breastfeeding moms should add 100 calories to the amount of calories they were taking during pregnancy for the first two months of breastfeeding, and 200 calories for breastfeeding a baby three to six months old. On average, you need 2,200 – 2,500 calories for the first two months and 2,300 – 2,600 calories for three to six months. These are only general guidelines and can vary with age, body size and activity pattern. For extended breastfeeding, beyond six months, the calories need to be reviewed and customized. Lower intakes may support rapid weight loss, but may not meet vitamin and mineral requirements.
2. Proteins are vital.
Sixty to 70 grams daily of lean proteins (the food sources of proteins with lower amounts of fat) help your body recover from childbirth. Lean proteins include foods such as lean meat, fish, lentils and egg whites. Because lean proteins remain in the stomach for a longer period, they will also keep you feeling full.
3. Check your vitamins and minerals.
Calcium is vital for skeletal growth and an important constituent of breast milk. Calcium will be extracted from a nursing mom’s bones if she does not consume adequate calcium to meet the needs of milk production and growth of baby’s skeleton, putting her at risk of osteoporosis. Include low fat dairy and green leafy veggies freely and moderate amounts of almonds, walnuts, dry figs and sesame seeds.
Iron, another important mineral, is needed to replenish iron stores that were depleted in the last trimester when you were building up your baby’s stores and through blood loss during delivery.
Folic acid, an important vitamin, keeps you protected from neural-tube birth defects in future pregnancies, so you will need to make sure you are getting enough.
Make sure your diet also meets your body’s requirements of zinc, magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin E!
How can I meet my increased nutritional demands?
1. Include wonder foods in your diet.
Nutrition-dense foods need to be emphasized more than calorie-dense foods. These foods will not only meet your calorie needs, but will also fulfill other nutrient needs. Here’s a list of wonder foods with their nutritive value, which can serve as a quick guide for you:

2. Create a nutritional balance.
You can choose from a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins and dairy. By including all the foods from the basic five food groups you will not only meet your increased nutritional needs but will also help in stabilizing your mood.
3. Make sure to include healthy carbs.
Your brain needs a continuous supply of carbohydrates to function properly. Just make sure you meet your calorie needs primarily from healthy fiber-rich carbohydrates such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat bread or pasta. Excessive indulgence in refined starches, sweets and sodas will provide you with a large amount of empty calories devoid of many essential nutrients. Also these types of carbs are unsteady and bring about fluctuation in blood sugar levels. Examples of nutritious combinations are:
- Breakfast cereals with low fat dairy/fruits.
- Whole wheat bread with beans and yogurt.
- Veggie salad with tofu/grilled lean chicken.
- Multigrain breads/ pasta with vegetables and hummus dip.
- Low-fat milk shakes with nuts.
4. Depend more on natural foods.
‘Natural’ includes fresh foods with no additives or preservatives. It also includes foods that have undergone minimal processing. These foods have the highest nutritive value.
5. Ensure adequate liquid intake by way of water, juices or milk.
It is vital to drink at least six to eight glasses of liquid a day, which will help in milk production and will also prevent dehydration, constipation and clogged milk ducts. Each time you feed, remember to drink a glass of water.
Which foods should I avoid or restrict?
Cut down on coffee, tea and soft drinks. Caffeine or tannins found in coffee/tea can pass through the breast milk, making the child irritable or fussy. Minimize intake to two cups or less daily. Try decaffeinated coffee/tea as well. Soft drinks are rich in simple sugars as well as containing phosphoric acid, which affects calcium absorption.
Be careful with gas forming foods such as broccoli, cabbage, onion and garlic as they may cause colic. Also, hot and spicy foods may be irritating to the baby’s tummy. Trial and error may be your best guide as food related allergies may differ from baby to baby.
Do not take any medication or over the counter prescription without consulting your doctor. Do not start with any vitamin/mineral supplements without the consent of your dietician/physician.
Do not smoke while you are nursing because nicotine flows through breast milk.
What are galactogogues?
Galactogogues are foods used during lactation to increase the quantity of breast milk. The most commonly used are anise, fennel (shamar), fenugreek seeds (helba) and sesame seeds. These galactogogues have been traditionally used by women to increase milk supply during lactation with varying results. Most importantly, focus on your diet and allow your baby to nurse frequently to stimulate milk production, then consult your physician or dietician if necessary on which of these herbs to use and when.
A perfect diet for breastfeeding women is varied, natural and well balanced. Every woman chooses a diet that is best adapted to her, depending on personal and lifestyle preferences.