Congratulations on the arrival of your bundle of joy! As a new mother, it is important to watch what you eat after the delivery and as long as you are nursing your baby. It is also important to get the right nutrition after pregnancy to nourish your body, help it heal from delivery, and return to your original pre-pregnancy body weight. Here are some foods that should be avoided in any post pregnancy diet.
Junk Food/Fast Food/Processed Food
If you’re worried about losing weight after pregnancy, steer clear of junk food and fast food. Your aim after pregnancy should be to focus on foods that are nutritious and healthy. Junk food can cause weight gain and make it even harder to lose the extra weight you gained during pregnancy.
Junk food and processed foods are rich in calories, fat, sugar, and salt and often low on nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Try and eat fresh nutritious homemade food as far as possible and avoid things out of a can or packet. Skip the cookies or chips and choose a low-calorie healthy snack rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Fruit, nuts, roasted seeds, or even a bowl of yogurt are a good choice.
Sugary Drinks/Soft Drinks
Soft drinks or canned colas are empty calories laden with sugar. They offer no nutrition to you or your baby, beyond the burst of energy you get shortly after consuming one. Remember though, this energy spurt is short-lived and you may wind up feeling more worn out after your body burns through the sugar. It will also add extra calories that don’t have any value in terms of nutrients and may contribute to weight gain or make weight loss harder.
Fish With High Mercury Content
Seafood itself is a great source of lean protein, healthy fats, and other nutrients. Unfortunately, some kinds of fish may contain high levels of mercury which can pass through the milk to your baby and adversely affect their health. Avoid Swordfish, Shark, Tilefish, King Mackerel as they tend to be higher in mercury content.
Tea And Coffee
First, the good news. You don’t need to completely eliminate coffee or tea from your diet after the delivery. While some amount of caffeine could pass from mother to baby as long as the baby is being breastfed, this is significant only for very high intake of caffeine. So a cup or two a day should be fine. If higher quantities are consumed, the caffeine may accumulate in the baby’s body and expose them to caffeine stimulation which can make them fussy, irritable, and unable to sleep well.
Alcohol
Alcohol intake isn’t safe for a baby, so any amount of alcohol in breast milk is not okay. Alcohol consumed by a mother passes freely into her breast milk. Exposure to alcohol above moderate levels through breast milk could be damaging to an infant’s development, growth, and sleep patterns. It may also impair a mother’s judgment and ability to safely care for her child. Not drinking alcohol is the safest option for breastfeeding mothers.
Colic-Inducing/Gas-Causing Foods
Infant gas or colic is a common problem. If you see your baby feels bloated, burps a lot, passes gas, has a hard belly, cries a lot, or fusses, it may be due to colic. Certain foods you consume could induce this problem including dairy and caffeine. Beans, cabbage, broccoli, daal(lentils), are common offenders when it comes to producing more intestinal gas. Some women avoid spicy food if they notice this triggers colic in their babies. Remember, it is about what your baby reacts to. For instance, spicy food is not a trigger for all babies.
Allergy-Causing Foods
If there is a family history of food allergies, you could consult your pediatrician to check if those foods are better avoided. Common foods that cause allergies include peanuts, eggs, milk, shellfish, fish, wheat, and soy.
If you’re a new mother, be sure to look after your health and nutrition so that you can be at your best level of fitness and enjoy this phase of your life. Mamaxpert has a range of products designed to help you with problems like stretch marks, sore nipples, or even restless leg syndrome. Find out more.