If you’re a breastfeeding mom particularly eating healthy foods, you’re likely to produce healthy breast milk. But poorly nourished moms may produce inferior breast milk, especially milk lower in nutritional contents like Vitamins A, D, B6. And also the cobalamin vitamin B12 that helps brain function, nervous system health, and blood formation.
So here are some things nursing moms should know about certain foods they eat:
Cow’s Milk
About 2 to 7.5 percent of healthy babies are really lactose intolerant. This was what Alan Greene, MD FAAP, American pediatrician, found out. On his website, DrGreene.Com, he released an essay describing how cow’s milk protein (and products derived from it) might severely influence breastfeeding babies. Two to four hours after their mothers have had dairy, there is a possibility of adverse consequences.
If babies suffer terribly from gas in the tummy after breastfeeding, moms should trace what foods they took in the last 2 to 4 hours. Cow’s milk or products derived from it may be the culprit.
Moms from families with a history of allergies, eczema, and asthma are advised not to eat certain foods when nursing their newborns. For non-dairy protein substitutes good for moms, soya milk, eggs, or beans, and lentils are good. Goat’s milk is also known to be favorable for lactose-intolerant people. But moms should consult their doctors on this.
Caffeine
If babies seem more irritable than normal and quite often at that, or if babies seem to have difficulty getting sleep, caffeine may be the culprit. According to Dr. Rebecca Ramirez-Agcaoili, an OB Gynecology practitioner at the Victor R. Potenciano Memorial Medical Center, a study has shown how caffeine may cause the above-mentioned problems in breastfeeding infants if their moms consume too much caffeine. Coffee is usually involved here and the limit should be 4 cups of coffee a day. Five cups are still tolerable but more than that is definitely problematic.
So, if you don’t want to lose more sleep than usual over an excessively crying or irritated baby, just refrain from taking anything with caffeine–coffee, soft drinks, and other food or beverage with caffeine content.
Alcohol
Motor skills development and weight gain are two areas negatively affected if nursing moms take anything with alcohol. Even if mothers take alcoholic drinks only sparingly, the negative effects will still be there–difficulty in motor skills coordination and slow weight gain. Moreover, nursing moms who take alcohol could have difficulty in releasing breast milk during feeding time.
It pays to be extra careful about your food intake if you’re nursing your baby. Not only will eating nutritious food benefit you. It will also benefit your baby’s health in the long run.
