Recovery for all bodies
Nutrition in the postpartum period is very important. You’ll want to ensure your postpartum body has nutritionally dense food that includes collagen (for tissue repair) like in chicken soup - the grandmas have always been right! - and that you’re eating adequate amounts of protein from foods like fish, beans, and eggs, lots of good iron to restore hemoglobin (due to blood loss from birth) and fiber to keep bowels moving freely. As it happens, these are also foods that are good for lactation!
It’s important to remember that food won’t have a very big impact on milk production - there may be a slight uptick but we don’t count on oatmeal alone to build a milk supply. On the other hand, most of the foods we refer to as ‘galactagogues’ are excellent for postpartum nutrition generally, so there is no harm to adding them into your diet. These include: oatmeal, dark, leafy greens, chickpeas, nuts (especially almonds), ginger and papaya.
For Breastfeeding
There are also a good number of spices and herbs that have been used in traditional medicine to support breastfeeding: anise seeds, caraway, coriander, cumin seeds, dill, fennel seeds, fenugreek, and turmeric. An easy way to try these is through Mother’s Milk Tea, which is widely available at grocery stores.
Lactation cookies are something you hear a lot about, and I like them (because I like cookies), but consider them, first and foremost, a delicious, nutrient-dense treat that you can eat with one hand while you feed the baby! Ingredients like oats and turmeric will support milk production, but like other galactagogues, they don’t move the needle much, so enjoy them mainly for snacking and good nutrition. This is a fun recipe. Cookie making is a great job to ask one of your visitors, or someone else who is asking how to help, to take on!
A good time to refuel and hydrate is while you are feeding the baby. You are going to be sitting often in those early days to feed - whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding - so use that time to take care of yourself as well. Often you find you are suddenly parched as soon as you sit down to nurse! This is also a great way for your partner to support you, by taking on the task of feeding you while you are feeding the baby. I always recommend nutrient-dense snacks you can eat with one hand for these times - anything you can dip in hummus, energy bars, smoothies, etc. Power up! Breastfeeding requires even more calories than pregnancy!
Should I avoid foods?
People often wonder if there are foods they should avoid - and unless your baby has been diagnosed with an allergy, the answer is no! Flavors do come through breastmilk, so there is actually a benefit to eating lots of different foods (or, continue eating your usual diet) so that your baby will be exposed to a wide variety of flavors. But the idea that garlic or broccoli cause gas, or spicy foods will upset babies, is a myth. If you think about the range of foods that babies across the world are exposed to in different cuisines, it can’t be possible that an entire culture of babies would have gas from spicy foods. Of course it’s possible that one baby might have a particular sensitivity to a food, or an allergy, but unless that’s been proven true, we continue to eat all the foods.
~ Naomi, Infant Feeding Expert*
*If you need help to schedule your bundled Infant Feeding session with Naomi…email Elizabeth Parish.
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