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What can a nursing mother eat?

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A nursing mother has to take a responsible attitude to her diet, because everything good and bad together with milk enters the baby's body. Caring mothers are interested in eating healthy, healthy, complete and varied. The most common foods can sometimes cause colic, digestive upset, and allergic reactions in a child. To help women, special tables have been compiled, in which an approximate menu is given , which indicates at what age the child can eat what mom can eat. [1]

What can a nursing mother eat in the first months of her baby?

It makes no sense to bind a woman only to certain products, but it is the task of pediatricians to outline the basis, to focus on safety and quality of nutrition.

The first month of breastfeeding is an important period in a child's life and the mother will help him adapt by consuming:

  • porridge in water or low-fat milk (buckwheat, oatmeal, rarely wheat);
  • one chicken or 2-3 boiled quail eggs every three days;
  • dietary meats (rabbit, poultry, veal);
  • low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, yoghurt prepared by ourselves;
  • boiled and steamed vegetables in the first week, then carefully raw, in small portions, taking into account the child's reaction;
  • from vegetable oils, olive, sunflower, corn are suitable (15 ml per day);
  • up to 35g cream;
  • occasionally hard pasta;
  • fish in the third week, cooked by a dietary method;
  • first lean dishes;
  • baked apples, bananas from fruits;
  • drink water, dried fruit compote, apple juice;
  • homemade fruit marshmallow dessert and the same marshmallow.

The second and third months are supplemented by:

  • sour cream;
  • borscht in weak broth, seasoned with tomato juice;
  • raw fruits and vegetables ;
  • corn grits, rice;
  • nuts in small quantities, except for pistachios and peanuts;
  • fruit drinks from cherries, blueberries, currants, lingonberries.

The frequency of meals should be 5-6 times a day, so the question arises, what can a nursing mother eat in the evening and at night to satisfy her hunger, but not get better? You can dine with boiled vegetables, soups , salads from them, steamed fish  [2] and low-fat meats , washed down with weakly brewed green tea with crackers or breads. It is best to drink a glass of kefir at night.

Irregular bowel movements are a common scourge in the postpartum period. To avoid constipation, a woman needs to give preference to cereals, raw vegetables, plenty of drink, including juices, fruit drinks, compotes, but not from dried fruits.

What can a nursing mother of a premature baby eat?

According to world standards, premature birth is considered a child born at a term of up to 37 weeks, and viable - from 22 weeks. They are nursed in incubators - special incubators, where a microclimate close to the mother's womb is maintained. They feed first with a probe, then, when a sucking and swallowing reflex appears, feeding from a spoon, a cup, and then from a breast is added. If the child does not take it, then the woman expresses the milk that the baby receives from the bottle through the nipple. In any case, mom's food should be rich in vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, folic acid, trace elements: iron, iodine, zinc. Developed special juices enriched with them, from where they enter the body in an easily digestible form. Infusions from herbs such as fennel, lemon balm, anise, cumin will also help. [3]

Dish recipes

Despite the limitation of cooking methods, you can prepare an appetizing and varied menu from the list of permitted products above. Here are some recipes.

First meal:

  • add chopped carrots, potatoes, zucchini to a weak chicken broth, put a piece of butter, bring to readiness, chop dill, parsley;
  • boil cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, grind everything in a blender, season with melted butter before serving;
  • cut the potato into the vegetable broth, throw the vermicelli shortly before removing from the heat, pour in a broken egg, stirring, a breast of butter.

Second courses:

  • make minced meat from dietary meat, add boiled rice, chopped onions, a couple of tablespoons of sour cream. After mixing, form meatballs, steam;
  • zucchini cut lengthwise into 2 halves, scrape them out. Lightly simmer strips of chicken fillet with the addition of vegetable pulp in a frying pan. Fill zucchini with them, grind with grated low-fat cheese, bake in the oven;
  • put sea fish in several layers in a pan, shifting them with half rings of onions, slices of carrots, beets, tomatoes, your favorite mild seasonings. Pour in a little water, keep after boiling over low heat until the ingredients are fully cooked.

Desserts :

  • combine cottage cheese, a little sugar, a chicken egg, 2 tablespoons of semolina previously filled with sour cream, mix well, place in a slow cooker and bake:
  • cut off the tops of apples and make indentations in them, fill with pre-prepared curd mass, bake;
  • fruits (pears, apples, pitted apricots) individually or together place in a saucepan, pour water (a glass of liquid per kilogram) and cook over low heat until thickened, then put the mass in a thin layer on oiled parchment paper on a baking sheet, stand in the oven 50-60 minutes. After cooling the resulting marshmallow, cut the layer into strips, roll it up with a snail for aesthetics.

What shouldn't a nursing mother eat?

Sometimes nursing mothers break away from a healthy and well-thought-out diet, but still it is categorically impossible to eat:

  • products containing preservatives and dyes;
  • mayonnaise and other hot sauces;
  • fast food, semi-finished products, sausages;
  • conservation, pickles, smoked meats;
  • carbonated drinks. [4]

Restrictions on food are not a whim during the period of breastfeeding, but the prerequisites for the good health of the child, strong immunity, and good mental abilities.

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