It is extremely essential that a mother should produce adequate breast milk for her baby’s growth and development.
Here’s a simple guide to understanding the nutritional needs of a breastfeeding mother.
Consume extra calories for breastfeeding
A mother has to consume additional 500 calories per day for the first 6 months, followed by 400 extra calories per day in the next six months. Now with twins and triplets, the demand is even more. And a well-balanced diet helps in avoiding the negative impact on both the mother and the baby during the lactation phase.
Note that almost all babies are fussy and gassy initially. This is not related to what the mother eats. Also only 1% of the babies develop some allergies in the form of a rash or diarrhoea from the food that a mother eats.
Nutrition you’ll need
- Insufficient proteins can reduce the casein in milk, hence consuming adequate amounts of protein is essential.
- Calcium requirement is 1200 to 1500 mg per day as calcium passes into the baby through the mother’s milk. A calcium deficiency in the mother will also cause a calcium deficiency in the baby.
- Other nutrients like vitamin A, C, B12 & B6, thiamine, iodine, selenium, riboflavin etc. go from the mother into the baby.
What you should eat
Incorporate all fresh food in your diet. Breast milk carries the flavour of food consumed by the mother. Exposing the baby to varied tastes will make the child like a variety of food.
Following should be incorporated in a mother’s diet for maintaining a good supply of breast milk:
- Plenty of fluids including 2 to 3 glasses of milk, tender coconut water, butter milk, lassi
- Soups on a daily basis
- Extra tadka of cumin seeds in dal and vegetables
- Add fenugreek sprouts in salads and consume soaked fenugreek with water once or twice a day
- Post meals, have paan-betel leaf stuffed with fennel seeds, shredded coconut , ajwain and little jaggery
- Mung, mung dal, khichri on a regular basis
- Panjiri (Made with whole wheat flour, sugar, ghee, and dry fruits)
- Dink laddoos (Made from dink/edible gum, dry coconut, jaggery, raisins, cashew nuts, almonds, poppy seeds, dried dates and ghee)
- Methi laddoos
- Jowar, bajra and ragi rotis
- Two tablespoon of Sattavrex in milk twice a day
In addition to this, consuming porridge in the morning helps with the slow release of energy from oats and soluble fibre, as breastfeeding will also happen during the night.
Things to avoid
Make sure that alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine are NOT a part of your diet. Don’t let negativity and stress be a part of your life, avoid dieting and don’t spend too much time on your smartphone.
Stay positive
By and large, a mother is able to breastfeed exclusively when:
- She stays positive
- Has a strong determination to breastfeed
- Continues to breastfeed despite the initial hurdles
- Takes good care of her nipples during pregnancy
A happy, positive, well-fed mother will breastfeed her baby successfully.
Blog by Dr. Rita Shah
Dr. Rita Shah is a Lactation Expert and a Qualified Lamaze Consultant, trained from the United States. She is also the Director of ‘Dr. Rita Shah – Nine Months: Lamaze’, a fitness program for expectant mothers.
