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Nutrition for Lactating Mothers

Recently, I read a beautiful story of a new born child whose mother died before his birth due to corona. The birth of the child was a medical feat as doctor performed an emergency special perimortem C-section on the mother. The new born premature child is allergic to formula milk and needs only mother milk for survival. His father wrote message in social media and they got donors of breastmilk.

This story of humanity in the face of suffering got me thinking about importance of breast milk in overall development of a child. The first nutrition we get is breast milk through which child establishes a connection with mother.

Today, I will share a few important tips for lactating mothers nursing a child.

The mother’s nutrition is a key to effective breastfeeding and therefore the baby’s health. The fact that the nutrients need increases during lactation requires nursing mothers to eat more nutritious food.

WHICH FOOD TO SELECT

In general, to provide an adequate well balanced meal during lactation, here are some basic options that you can add in your daily routine meals.

  1. A mixture of cereals (wheat, rice, bajra, millets, jowar, ragi or staple commonly used)
  2. Pulses and meat/fish/eggs if acceptable
  3. Milk and milk products like curd, cottage cheese, khoya etc.
  4. Green leafy vegetable (amaranth leaves, Colocasia leaves, mustard, fenugreek leaves)
  5. Other vegetable especially yellow and orange-colored vegetables like carrot and pumpkin etc.
  6. Seasonal fruits.
  7. Nuts and oilseeds like ground nuts, gingelly seeds, coconut etc.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE MEAL PATTERN

To meet the increased nutrient requirements, the lactating woman needs to increase the amount of food normally eaten in a day.

  • Chapati/rice/dal/curd/green leafy vegetables
  • Should be served at different times of the day.
  • 5-6 meals pattern could be followed such as breakfast, mid-morning meal, lunch, afternoon meal, and dinner.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

Dos

  1. Include generous serving of milk, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables and whole grains in the diet.
  2. Provide plenty of water and fluids (about 3 liters) to maintain adequate supply of breast milk.
  3. Continue iron supplements for a few months after child birth.
  4. Increase the meal frequency to 5-6 meals a day.
  5. Increase the quality of food eaten at one time.
  6. Provide nutritious food preparations/snacks in between meals.
  7. Provide sufficient rest to the mother and ensure that the women are not emotionally disturbed during lactation.
  8. Encourage frequent sucking to produce enough milk for the baby’s need.

Don’ts

  1. Lactating woman should refrain from smoking or consuming alcoholic beverages.
  2. Do not give drugs except when prescribed by the doctor.
  3. Restrict the use of foods with strong flavor and avoid serving highly seasoned or spicy foods.
  4. Discourage the lactating woman from breast feeding if she is suffering from chronic illness such as cardiac disease, tuberculosis, severe anemia, kidney disorder or mental disorder.

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