Diet for a nursing mother

Diet for a nursing mother is the compilation of an individual, personal diet based on common dietary recommendations. Specificity of the diet depends on the characteristics of the state of the digestive tract, the immune system of the mother, and also on the characteristics of the microflora of the newborn baby. There is no single, universal menu, because each organism is individual. The parameters of the selection of products are quite simple: you need to carefully monitor the condition of the baby's skin every day, monitor the consistency of the stool and the process of gassing. The skin of the baby reacts first to the allergenic product, then flatulence, colic and either diarrhea or constipation can occur.

The diet of a nursing mother should be based on the following principles:

• New products should be introduced into the diet consistently, gradually, monitoring the condition of the skin and intestines of the baby. The reaction may occur within two days.
• Drug treatment of a nursing mother is undesirable, if it is prescribed, it is necessary to consult a treating pediatrician about the way the baby is fed.
• It is unacceptable to drink alcohol in any form, including in the form of medicinal tinctures.
• It is necessary to exclude provoking products: smoked and canned products, products provoking flatulence - cabbage, legumes, carbonated drinks, vegetables and fruits of bright red color, strong rich broths, citrus fruits, honey.

Diet for a nursing mother. The option of the weekly menu, taking into account the process of formation of the enzyme system of the digestive tract of the newborn.

The first two days of breastfeeding:

• 250-300 g of buckwheat porridge (boil on water with the addition of vegetable oil);
• Crackers or bread. Fresh bread should be excluded from the menu;
• 100 g of cheese of hard or soft varieties.
• 200 g of low-fat pork or beef (boil);
• 100 g raisins or dried apricots;
• Abundant drink (up to 2 liters) - a decoction of chamomile or nettle, still mineral water.

Starting from the third to the sixth day:

• The volume of liquid should be gradually reduced, since usually during this period milk begins to arrive. A day should drink no more than one liter of liquid.
• One baked apple;
• 350-400 g of boiled cauliflower or stewed zucchini;
• 250 grams of ryazhenka, yoghurt without fruit additives or 150 g of boiled milk;
• 250-300 ml of dried fruit decoction;
• 250-300 grams of oatmeal or buckwheat porridge (cooked on water), you can add 30-40 grams of bran to prevent constipation;
• Vegetable soup. 

From the second to the fourth week of the baby's life, when the child's enzymatic function becomes more active, you can include the following products in the menu:

• 250-300 g of boiled fish;
• 250 ml of beef broth (broth from bones should be excluded from the menu);
• 250-300 grams of millet, oatmeal, rice or buckwheat porridge welded on water;
• 200-250 whole cheese subject to its heat treatment (casserole, cheese cakes);
• One fresh apple a day;
• Decoction of parsley or chamomile for the normalization of digestion - 250-300 ml;
• The intake of liquid is not limited in volume.

Beginning with the fourth week in the child the state of the intestinal microflora is normalized, therefore the following types of products can be gradually added to the diet:

• 250-300 g of chicken boiled (stew) meat, alternate with beef meat;
• 1 egg a day or every other day, boiled or soft-boiled;
• 2-3 potatoes, boiled or baked;
• 150 g of boiled and grated beets;
• An apple can be alternated with a pear or banana;
• 100 g of dry biscuit biscuits;
• 250 g of juice with pulp - cherry, apple, pear. Citrus juices should be excluded.

Diet for a nursing mother does not imply the use of fatty, high-calorie foods. In children's dietology, the opinion about the nutritional properties of fatty mother's milk is considered an error. The higher the fat content of the mother's milk, the more difficult is the process of digesting it in the digestive tract of the child. Vegetable oils are able to provide normal fat content of milk, not saturating it excessively.

Regarding the volume of daily drunk fluid, neither dieticians nor doctors have yet come to a consensus. The lactating mother's diet includes as much water, broths and compote as needed for the normal volume of breast milk. If milk is not enough, in the evening before the next night feeding, you should drink at least 300 milliliters of liquid. It is better if the broth or compote is cooked in advance and stored in a thermos bottle.

Recommended drinks for enhancing lactation and milk volume:

• Melissa broth. One teaspoon of grass to pour a glass of boiling water, insist for at least an hour. Drink half a glass twice a day.
• In the early days to strengthen lactation it is recommended to take a decoction of nettle. Three tablespoons of dry herbs pour half a liter of boiling water, insist for at least an hour, I drink 20-30 minutes before eating a third cup.
• Decoction of parsley. Dessert spoon of parsley seeds grind in a coffee grinder, pour a glass of boiling water, you can boil on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Take before meals from 3 to 5 times a day for two tablespoons. Parsley has a diuretic effect, so it can be included in the menu with interruptions in two to three days.
• Decoction of chamomile. In addition to enhancing lactation, chamomile promotes normal digestion and has a mild sedative effect. The broth should not be strong, a teaspoon of a dry plant is poured a glass of boiling water and insist no more than 20 minutes. Drink the broth on an empty stomach in the amount that allows you to use the body, that is, if desired. You can take chamomile without restrictions.
• A green tea that can be mixed in equal proportions with whole milk.
• Decoction of dried fruits, which should not be done excessively concentrated.

Diet for a nursing mother should not be vegetarian, and the mother and child need an animal protein. However, if the food beliefs about eating meat do not allow the nursing mother to take such food, the meat should be replaced with fish, but in no case by soy products that can trigger an allergic reaction in the child. In addition to the rules of nutrition and the selection of dishes to ensure that the diet of a nursing mother is not monotonous, it is important to observe the rest and sleep. Sometimes it is full sleep helps a breastfeeding woman to restore lactation and give the child the opportunity to receive a rich and high-calorie diet.

[1], [2], [3]