MAX YOUR MILK

Healthy eating may be the last thing on your mind now that your baby is here, but its impact on breastfeeding shouldn’t be, says registered dietician Lila Bruk

THE FIRST FEW WEEKS after your baby is born is an exciting time, but can also leave you with little time to eat healthily or plan your meals – after all, you barely have time between nappy changes. However, eating correctly is essential to keep the quantity and quality of your milk production up, as well as to ensure that you don’t have dips in your blood sugar and energy levels. Plus, it can help you keep your eating in check and lose those post-baby kilos.

DO I NEED TO EAT A PERFECT DIET WHILE BREASTFEEDING?

No! You definitely don’t need to maintain a perfect diet while breastfeeding. But even though many of the strict rules you had to abide by during pregnancy have fallen away (hello sushi!), it’s important to get sufficient nutrients. You can do this by eating from all of the food groups – starches, lean proteins, dairy, fats and oils, and fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, you don’t want your kilojoule intake to be too high as then it will be harder to lose your pregnancy weight and you may even find you gain weight.

HOW CAN I MAINTAIN AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF MILK?

Ideally you need an additional 2 100 kilojoules per day if you’re breastfeeding. This will cover the demand placed on the body to produce breastmilk as well as maintain the quality of the breastmilk itself.

During lactation, you also have an increased need for the following nutrients: Calcium (found in dairy products, tofu and fish with edible bones, such as pilchards and anchovies). Vitamin C (found in guavas, tomatoes and citrus fruits). Iron (found in red meat and egg yolks). Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fatty fish, walnuts and flaxseed). These are vital as they contribute to your baby’s brain development. Vitamin B12 (found in meat, chicken, fish and egg yolks). Protein (found in meat, chicken, fish, eggs, pulses and dairy products). Your body is able to use your own stores to maintain the quality of your breastmilk. Yet this can also often be to the detriment of your own health. For example, if you don’t consume enough calcium, your body will end up leaching the calcium from your bones to obtain sufficient calcium for your breastmilk. And this can often affect your bone health. As a result you need to make sure you’re eating the correct balance of nutrients to ensure your own body’s health, as well as that of your baby.

ARE THERE FOODS I SHOULD AVOID?

Some pregnancy no-nos are now back on the menu. Sushi, raw eggs and cold meat are all fine to eat during breastfeeding. However, there are still some foods you should avoid or limit during breastfeeding. Caffeine can pass through into your breastmilk and can cause problems with irritability and sleeplessness in your baby. Therefore, try avoiding tea, coffee, soft drinks and limiting chocolate. You can also limit yourself to one cup of caffeine-containing drink per day or a few blocks of chocolate. If you must have these, rather have them straight after a breastfeeding session. Remember that often what you eat flavours your breastmilk and can affect your baby’s taste preferences later. For example, if you eat a lot of spinach and other green veggies, this can give your baby more of a taste for these vegetables later, so use this as a motivation to eat healthy, fresh foods.

WILL BREASTFEEDING REALLY HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

Yes and no. It’s true that breastfeeding moms burn around 2 000 extra kilojoules a day. But your body requires energy (read: kilojoules) to create breastmilk. Therefore breastfeeding doesn’t necessarily burn fat, but rather uses the extra kilojoules to cover the extra energy needed to produce breastmilk as well as to maintain the nutritional balance and kilojoule content of the breastmilk. The general recommendation is that you need an additional 2 100 kilojoules when breastfeeding. But the way in which breastfeeding can use up kilojoules is the reason that some lucky women find they lose weight easily and quickly after giving birth. Unfortunately, not all women find breastfeeding helps their weight loss and in fact many find they only really start losing weight after they stop breastfeeding. Also, bear in mind that your kilojoule needs during breastfeeding will also depend on your baby’s age (older babies need less breastmilk) and whether you’re breastfeeding exclusively (if you are formula feeding as well as breastfeeding, then the amount of actual breastmilk your body needs to produce are decreased and thus your kilojoule demands are less). Therefore breastfeeding shouldn’t be used as an excuse to overeat. The focus should still be on eating healthily and making the best choices for both your and your baby’s nutrition.