In order to continue to feed the baby, and have the strength to care for them, you need to eat right. Drowsiness, fatigue, irritability, to complain that many young mothers are associated not only with the fact that the child does not sleep at night and constantly calls attention to itself; The reason for this may be a poor diet during breastfeeding Breastfeeding: notes .

One wonders breast milk is that it contains all the necessary nutrients child, even if the mother eats not ideal. If a woman regularly received too few calories, or completely exclude any food group, sooner or later, of course, affect the quality of milk, but if it is from time to time just to forget about the rules of a healthy diet, breast milk will not lose its beneficial properties. However, if some deficiencies in the mother's diet does not harm the baby, it does not mean that she does not suffer from them. When the body lacks nutrients, it begins to use its reserves, and during lactation they go to the production of milk.

Do not count calories

It is believed that a breastfeeding woman, on average, it takes 500 calories a day more than women who do not breastfeed. However, instead of this already difficult period of his life engaged in counting calories, be guided by their own sense of hunger Psychology and physiology of hunger - the two sides of the same coin Eat when you want, but in small portions, and exactly to the moment when you feel saturated. Do not overeat, but do not get up from the table with a feeling of easy hunger - for that you will have enough time when you stop breastfeeding. The exact amount required calories lactation depends on many factors, such as physical activity, metabolic rate, and so on. If you're worried that you can gain weight, consult your doctor so that he has developed a meal plan for you. If not, just listen to your body.

Make a bet on a variety of

A healthy diet in general should be as varied as possible, and during breast-feeding is especially important. Include in the diet of a variety of legumes and cereals, fruits and vegetables of different colors, different kinds of fish and meat. Try to eat so that every dish had food from all the food groups. The more varied your diet is, the greater the likelihood that you will be every day to get all the necessary nutrients.

Choose healthy fats

So-called healthy fats, they - monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - found in vegetable oils, oily fish, avocados, olives, nuts and seeds.

Avoid saturated and trans fats, which are the source of butter, margarine, fatty dairy products, meat products. Quite a lot of unhealthy fats in coconut oil, although it also contains a lot of nutrients. Saturated fats and trans fats not only promote weight gain mother, but also get into breast milk and may adversely affect the cardiovascular system of the child by raising the level of cholesterol Cholesterin . The consequences of this could come back to haunt many years later.

Avoid harmful substances

During the period of breastfeeding it is especially important to limit your intake of fruits and vegetables containing pesticides and other harmful substances. The greatest number of pesticides, usually found in apples (those that are imported in winter from distant lands), celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, nectarines, grapes, bell peppers. The most environmentally friendly are usually local fruits and vegetables, although today some agricultural workers misused pesticides and herbicides, even when it is not absolutely necessary.

Before you cook meat, cut off his skin and fat. Most of the harmful substances contained in the animal feed stored in adipose tissue.

Brew tea or coffee, and cook, using filtered water. This rule is always better to stick to, not only during the period of breastfeeding.

Drink plenty of water and limit your intake of caffeine

During lactation woman's body it requires a total of sixteen glasses of fluid per day (score is any liquid, including that contained in fruits and vegetables).

Do not abuse caffeine. A cup of coffee in the morning will not bring harm, but if you drink more than two cups of coffee a day, caffeine begins to accumulate in the body of the child, because he can not yet fast enough to break down and remove the substance.

Continue to take vitamins

At least for the first month after birth need to continue taking prenatal vitamins. A month later, you can go to regular multivitamin.

Vitamin supplements are no substitute for a healthy, balanced diet, but they are a useful supplement to the diet, especially in these times when the body needs to care about food two people. Particularly important substances for lactating women are calcium and vitamin D. The daily allowance of calcium is 1,000 mg, Vitamin D - 600 IU (international units). Be careful - a significant excess of the recommended dose of vitamin D (vitamin intake of more than 10,000 per day) can lead to kidney damage.

It is also necessary to take fish oil capsules - it contains omega-3, which play a crucial role in the development of the child's body.

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