It is essential that a lactating mother’s diet is a well constituted balanced and nutritious diet, said an expert
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. After you give birth, good nutrition is even more important than during your pregnancy. It can make a difference in the quality of your breast milk and affect how quickly your body rebounds from childbirth.
“Mothers who are breastfeeding — lactating mothers — don’t need to eat special foods. But it is essential that a lactating mother’s diet is a well constituted balanced and nutritious diet. In this period apart from calories and proteins, there is increased need of calcium and iron. Therefore, keep certain points in mind,” said Swati Kapoor, a nutritionist who consults on Practo.
*Include all food groups in daily diet. These groups are cereals, pulses, ghee-oil, sugar, jaggery, vegetables, fruits, milk and its products, condiments.
*Consume more foods containing iron like green leafy vegetables, black sesame seeds (til), raisins, jaggery, poha, pomegranate etc.
*Consume more foods containing calcium like milk & its products, white sesame seeds (til), ragi, guava, bajra etc. Daily consumption of one liter of milk in any form e.g., as curd, yogurt, paneer, etc provides all calcium and good quality protein needed.
*Do not restrict diet. Include 3-4 sufficient meals. Discard beliefs of ‘hot’ foods; ‘cold’ foods.
“If you’re nursing, talk with your doctor or nutritionist about your diet. Typically, you should be getting 200 to 500 more calories than you would if you weren’t nursing.
