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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMany people are familiar with the saying that a woman is \u201ceating for two\u201d during pregnancy. Although this is an exaggeration, nutritional needs do certainly increase during pregnancy to support the growing baby.<\/p>\n
But what\u2019s perhaps less known is that energy needs are actually even slightly higher during breastfeeding than during pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Human breastmilk is a dynamic liquid and its composition (including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals) varies over the entire breastfeeding period, and even between feeds.<\/p>\n
It can change depending on what mum is eating, environmental factors, and what the baby needs, through a biofeedback system (sometimes called \u201cbaby backwash\u201d). <\/p>\n
For example, if a baby is starting to get sick, breastmilk will adjust to include more leukocytes, immune cells that fight infection.<\/p>\n
So what should breastfeeding women be eating? And how does a mother\u2019s diet influence the nutritional makeup of her milk?<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Some nutrients are particularly important during breastfeeding (Getty\/iStock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Nutritional needs increase during breastfeeding<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n Fully breastfeeding mums can produce around 800 millilitres of milk a day in the first six months after birth, which has an energy content of roughly 3 kilojoules per gram.<\/p>\n
Even factoring in using up excess fat stored during pregnancy, mums still need, on average, an extra 2,000 kilojoules to support milk production. This is roughly equivalent to adding a cheese sandwich, a handful of nuts and a banana on top of normal dietary intake.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, requirements don\u2019t drop off after the baby starts solids. In the second six months, milk production is thought to drop to an average of 600ml per day, as babies start to eat solid foods. But because maternal fat stores deplete by this stage, additional energy requirements remain similar.<\/p>\n
Some nutrients are particularly important during breastfeeding, including protein, calcium, iron, iodine and vitamins.<\/p>\n
For example, compared with a non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding woman, protein requirements increase by almost half when breastfeeding (from 0.75 grams to 1.1 grams per kg of body weight per day).<\/p>\n\nAbout the author<\/h2>\nTherese O’Sullivan is an Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at Edith Cowan University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Meanwhile, iodine requirements almost double (from 150 micrograms per day to 270 micrograms per day). Iodine is important for thyroid function, and can impact baby\u2019s growth and brain development.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important that women who are breastfeeding eat a variety of foods, including:<\/p>\n
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\nhigh-protein foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, soy-based protein such as tofu and tempeh, legumes such as chickpeas, baked beans and lentils) <\/li>\n dairy foods or alternatives (for dairy alternatives, check that calcium is included) <\/li>\n whole grains <\/li>\n fruits and vegetables. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nWhile making all that milk, drinking more water also becomes extremely important. <\/p>\n
Thirst is a good guide, but around 2.5 litres per day is generally recommended, or more if it\u2019s hot or with exercise.<\/p>\n
Is there anything I shouldn\u2019t be eating?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n What a mum consumes can pass into her breastmilk. For example, in one study, babies whose mothers drank small amounts of carrot juice while breastfeeding were more accepting of cereal flavoured with carrot juice compared with a control group of babies whose mothers drank water.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s therefore important to limit alcohol and caffeine, which can also pass through to the baby. No alcohol is the safest choice, but if you\u2019re planning to have a drink, tools such as the Feed Safe app can be used to estimate when your breastmilk should be free of alcohol.<\/p>\n
Up to 200mg of caffeine per day (equivalent to roughly a cup of brewed coffee, an energy or cola drink, or four cups of tea) is considered safe for breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Up to 200mg of caffeine per day is considered safe for breastfeeding (Getty\/iStock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBreastfeeding mums don\u2019t need to take any particular foods out of their diet to prevent allergies in their baby. In fact, experts believe babies exposed to common allergens via breast milk could be less<\/em> likely to develop allergies to these foods, however, we need more research into this question.<\/p>\nAlthough relatively uncommon, babies can be allergic or intolerant to certain aspects of their mothers\u2019 diet when breastfeeding. They may react in the form of colic or wind, reflux, mucus or blood in their poo, eczema or rash, or appear to be in pain.<\/p>\n
In these cases, mum\u2019s diet may need adjustment. The most common culprits include cow\u2019s milk (the protein, not the lactose component), soy and egg.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s recommended to remove suspected foods from the diet for a minimum of three weeks. This should ideally be done with supervision from an Accredited Practising Dietitian who specialises in allergy, to ensure the mother\u2019s nutritional needs continue to be met.<\/p>\n
Four tips for breastfeeding mums<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
\nIt\u2019s a good idea to get a blood test to check your vitamin D and iron levels \u2013 these can be depleted over pregnancy and are important for breastfeeding. If your levels are low, you can discuss options with your doctor <\/li>\n Iodine requirements are so much higher in breastfeeding that an iodine supplement of 150 micrograms a day is recommended to support infant growth and neurodevelopment <\/li>\n Have a variety of nutritious snacks that can be eaten with one hand for those late-night feeds, such as peeled boiled eggs, a peanut butter sandwich on wholegrain bread, or avocado and cheese on a rice cake. My personal favourite is homemade rocky road with dark chocolate, nuts, seeds and dried fruit <\/li>\n Keep a drink bottle with water nearby when breastfeeding. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\nIf you\u2019re considering a gift for a family with a new baby, remember new parents\u2019 personal needs often take a back seat when bub arrives, including eating well. Consider a hearty frozen meal, muffins with oats and nuts, a nice stainless steel water bottle, gourmet trail mix or even some homemade rocky road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Many people are familiar with the saying that a woman is \u201ceating for two\u201d during pregnancy. Although this is an exaggeration, nutritional needs do certainly increase during pregnancy to support the growing baby. But what\u2019s perhaps less known is that energy needs are actually even slightly higher during breastfeeding than during pregnancy. Human breastmilk is a dynamic liquid and its composition (including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals) varies over the entire breastfeeding period, and even between feeds. It can change depending on what mum is eating, environmental factors, and what the baby needs, through a biofeedback system (sometimes called \u201cbaby backwash\u201d). For example, if a baby is starting to get sick, breastmilk will adjust to include more leukocytes, immune cells that fight infection. So what should breastfeeding women be eating? And how does a mother\u2019s diet influence the nutritional makeup of her milk? open image in gallery Some nutrients are particularly important during breastfeeding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}