New mothers need to recover from childbirth and then build and sustain their strength for the important months and years of motherhood ahead. A good, nutritious diet is very important to achieve this.
While most of the attention will be focused on this wonderful new little person in your life, it is very important that you develop a good routine with good habits and that your diet contains all the necessary nutrients. This applies whether you are breastfeeding or not.
When you’re breastfeeding, you need 300 more calories (2,000-2,300 calories total) per day than you did in the last trimester of your pregnancy, and this should be broken down into three balanced meals and some light snacks throughout the day.
Recovering from the actual birth of your baby and nights of interrupted sleep while you settle into a routine can take their toll, and one of the most effective ways to deal with it is through a nutritious diet. It doesn’t have to be complicated or involve meals that require a lot of prep.
Avoid dieting for at least the first few months (unless you are severely overweight), wait until you have stopped breastfeeding to reduce calorie intake.
Choose high-fiber, low-fat foods that are more filling, don’t skip meals and make sure your snack is healthy – cut out the sugary cookies and cakes and replace them with fruit and nuts.
Breastfeeding mothers need to eat a varied and balanced diet, including plenty of fruit, vegetables, starchy foods, fiber and protein.
Neglecting your diet while breastfeeding won’t affect your milk production immediately, but it can affect the nutritional value of your milk and cause longer-term problems for you.
Your diet should include vitamin E, which is found in oils (like sunflower, wheat germ, and olives), almonds and hazelnuts, spinach, beets, avocados, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, and kiwis. It is an important vitamin for healthy skin and blood.
If you had a cesarean, you would also benefit from an iron-rich diet, which includes dried fruit, beef, chickpeas and other dried legumes, jacket potatoes, squash, vegetables like black cabbage and spinach, and some whole grains and granola products that are iron-rich are enriched.
Vitamin C (from fruits and green leafy vegetables) helps your body absorb the iron from food, vitamin D is necessary for your baby to absorb calcium from your breast milk, and calcium (from dairy products) is important to ensure that your milk Calcium rich is for your baby’s tooth and bone development.
Other B-group vitamins (found in whole grains, potatoes, bananas, lentils, beans, nutritional yeast, brewer’s yeast, and molasses) help form healthy red blood cells and release energy from food.
Wholegrain bread, muesli, wholegrain rice, dried beans, peas and other legumes provide important dietary fiber as well as plenty of vitamins and minerals. They also give a longer lasting boost of energy compared to refined carbohydrates.
New moms should drink plenty of fluids—at least eight glasses a day. These can come from water, fruit and vegetable juices, clear soups or milk.
Vitamin supplements specifically designed for postpartum mothers can be a good support to a diet and ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.
Thanks to Debra A.
