Common culprits include beans, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Bloating, burping, and passing gas are normal. But if your baby is gassy or has colic, avoid these foods for a few weeks to see whether they relieve the symptoms.
In addition, it is common for mothers to be warned to avoid “gassy foods” such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. Eating such foods can cause gas in the mother's bowel; however, gas and fiber do not pass into breast milk.
Dark leafy green vegetables such as alfalfa, lettuce, kale, spinach, and broccoli are full of nutrients, especially calcium. They also contain phytoestrogens that may have a positive effect on breast milk production.
Not only are avocados an ideal food for babies and toddlers, they're also a great choice for expecting and breastfeeding mothers. Adequate maternal nutrition is critical for fetal development during pregnancy.
Include protein foods 2-3 times per day such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and seeds. Eat three servings of vegetables, including dark green and yellow vegetables per day. Eat two servings of fruit per day. Include whole grains such as whole wheat breads, pasta, cereal and oatmeal in your daily diet.
Apricots and dates
Eating apricots and dates can increase prolactin, which is the hormone that tells your body to produce milk. Apricots contain essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium. Fresh is better than canned.
There is no reason for women who are breastfeeding their babies to avoid eggs or other allergenic foods unless they themselves are allergic to them. See also: the NHS page about breastfeeding and diet.
Carrot intake can improve maternal and breastmilk beta-carotene and vitamin A status,[4,5] but excessive maternal intake of carrots can lead to a harmless, reversible discoloration of the breastfed infant's skin. Exposure to carrot flavor in breastmilk can improve the future acceptance of carrots by the infant.
To get the nutrients you need while breastfeeding, follow a healthy eating routine [PDF - 1.9 MB]. Choose a mix of healthy foods you enjoy from each food group, including: Whole fruits — like apples, berries, oranges, mango, and bananas.
Although dark chocolate has higher levels of theobromine, most health professionals consider it to be the healthiest option because it contains lower levels of both sugar and fat. Most people can enjoy chocolate as they normally would while breastfeeding without any negative impact on their babies.
While breastfeeding, calcium requirements increase significantly, so aim for five to six servings a day to meet the extra demands (1 serving = a glass of milk or pot of yogurt or 25g/1oz of cheese).
To help you in losing weight while breastfeeding, try to work yourself up to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, which is about 20 to 30 minutes a day of walking. You can also resume things like yoga or tai chi, especially if you were practicing before baby.
To prevent adverse reactions in the baby while breastfeeding, it's recommended to avoid consuming citrus fruits, cherries, and prunes. Citrus fruits have been associated with digestive problems, fussy behavior, vomiting, and diaper rash in breastfed babies.
Strawberries are a nutritious way to add essential vitamins and minerals to your breast-feeding diet. If your baby doesn't have a reaction to them, you can eat them as often as you like.
Eating foods rich in vitamin C is therefore particularly important when you are breastfeeding. Zespri Green kiwifruit is one of the most highly concentrated sources of vitamin C, containing 85 mg per 100 g – that's even more vitamin C than oranges and strawberries!
But they say this crankiness in babies is normal and just their natural way of communicating their needs to their mother and is no cause for alarm. For example, some cries will be down to tiredness not hunger.
For breastfed babies, gas might be caused by eating too fast, swallowing too much air or digesting certain foods. Babies have immature GI systems and can frequently experience gas because of this. Pains from gas can make your baby fussy, but intestinal gas is not harmful.
Good news: This can be remedied with the proper breastfeeding positions, including upright or semi-upright positions, like the laid-back position. “Because milk isn't flowing downward with gravity into baby's mouth, they can control the milk flow better in this position, which helps avoid gas,” Nguyen says.