Becoming a mom is one of the best experiences in a woman’s life. After the delivery of the baby, the next step is taking care and making sure the baby is healthy, fed, clean and comfortable, and the best and simplest way to make sure the baby gets all the necessary nutrition is to breastfeed the little one.
The first couple of tries in breastfeeding can be rather unpleasant and even painful, but once you get the hang of it, there are no issues and breastfeeding becomes very easy. But in order to avoid problems in the future, there are some things any mom can do to make the whole process easier.
Any change in the mother’s diet reflects the baby. The avoidance of a particular food group can negatively affect the baby’s development. That is why it is very important to eat everything and to take the prenatal vitamins that ensures any gap in the mom’s diet is covered. If a mom is planning to introduce or remove any types of food from the diet, this should be done carefully and over a longer period of time in order to avoid stresses to the fragile baby organism.
A simple manner that ensures that the mom’s body is producing enough milk for the growing baby is to make sure the mom eats at regular intervals and eats enough nutritious foods. The food the mother eats affects the quality of the milk, and with it, the health, behavior, and progress of the baby.
But as much as the mom needs to take care of the types of food they eat, there are some important types of food any breastfeeding mom needs to avoid. Keep reading and find out what kind of the foods any mom that is breastfeeding should avoid accompanied by a short explanation of why to do so.
Foods to Avoid during BreastFeeding
Caffeine
A single cup of coffee a day is completely fine, but too much can seep into the milk and cause discomfort to the baby. Most sodas, teas, and even some medicines contain some amount of caffeine and the moms need to be careful with these.
Alcohol
Anyone can enjoy a drink on occasion, but any expecting and breastfeeding mom should avoid regular imbibing if hard alcoholic beverages. A sip of wine is not going to hurt anyone, but alcohol stays in the blood for one to two hours, and during that time it can get into the milk. This milk should not be given to the baby, and it is good to pump this milk and wait a few hours before breastfeeding again.
Citrus fruits and citrus drinks
The citrus fruits contain some complex compounds and these can be somewhat irritating to the baby’s tender gut. In case the mom is craving a food with vitamin C, then they can have some pineapple or an apple.
Garlic (onions and other “sulphury” foods)
Garlic causes smelly breath, it can be smelled on the skin and also get in the milk. This can make the baby pull off from the breast while nursing or make a face while breastfeeding. While garlic is very good for improving the taste of “grown-up” food, the “baby” food should be devoid of it.
Fish and seafood
While fish by itself is not very harmful, it can contain a high amount of mercury. The mercury is particularly harmful to all living things, while grown-ups can tolerate some small amounts, the small baby’s body is not so resilient. So, while breastfeeding, try and avoid fish and seafood as much as possible.
Mint and parsley
While these are very delicious and useful herbs, these can affect the production of milk. A small amount of these will not harm the mom and mess with milk production, but a large amount of these can be potentially harmful. So any breastfeeding mom needs to stay away from dips containing a lot of these herbs.
If the mom notices any changes in the behavior of the nursing baby or notices some skin irritation or anything weird in the diaper, they need to consult a pediatrician and ask for advice and appropriate manners for ensuring the health and comfort of the growing baby.