By Sarah Dallins,
Project Weight Loss staff writer
July 06, 2007A healthy diet for a breastfeeding mother means a healthy diet for her newborn. Here is some advice for women who breastfeed and need to look after their newborns` health:
1. Eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and diary food.
2. Increase your daily calorie intake by 500 calories and drink a lot of water.
3. Avoid alcohol because it may reach to your newborn through milk. However, if you really must consume alcohol, do it after breastfeeding. Try to avoid caffeine or at least reduce the amounts of caffeine in your diet. For instance, one cup of coffee per day is not very dangerous for the baby but large amounts can make your newborn more nervous or cause sleep apnea.
4. Don`t smoke while you breastfeed, or around children.
5. Babies sometimes react different when the mothers eat beans, cauliflower, or broccoli and then breastfeed them. If the newborn shows negative reactions to certain foods, try to avoid those foods.
6. Newborns may also be allergic to the milk in the mother`s diet. Symptoms may show up in a few hours in the form of diarrhea, gases, eruptions, or agitation.
7. Certain medication is not allowed for women who breastfeed. You should inform your doctor if you breastfeed before he or she prescribes any medicine to you.
8. Some contraceptives may affect the milk production, but the effects depend on each person and the type of the contraceptive. You should always look for medical advice before taking any type of medication while breastfeeding.
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Project Weight Loss. All rights reserved.
