Foods To Avoid While Breastfeeding To Prevent Baby Colic
Breastfeeding is the most important process while taking care of your baby. Your child is consuming food that you have consumed. Hence, make sure that you are feeding your child properly. The best way would be to follow a balanced diet so that there would not be chances of shortage. This will indirectly help you and your baby to get the right nutrients and vitamins which is ideally necessary.
Babies do react in unfavorable ways if you have not consumed the right food. You need to make a note of this behavior and avoid consuming those products. It is very important to ensure that you consume the right food at the right intervals. Babies need to be breastfed for at least six months, and breast milk is the only food that they can thrive on in the initial periods.
Breast milk has proteins, minerals, vitamins and is most essential for babies. Babies who do not consume breast milk fall immune to various diseases. Mothers need to avoid oily, spicy foods which might change the taste of the milk and will not suit the baby.
They need to consume food that will help them to recognize the flavor and give them the necessary constituents. Vegetables like onion, garlic, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, cucumber, and peppers need to be consumed regularly. In the case of fruits opt for lemon, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, lime and mangoes. In addition to these, you can also consume meat, corn, soy, chocolate fish, peanuts and wheat.
Colic: When Does It Start–and End?
Colic usually affects babies a few weeks after birth, and in most cases, they disappear when they grow (around 3-3.5 months). Crying usually occurs late in the afternoon or evening. Symptoms may include loud shouts, clenched fists, contracted body, knees in the stomach, etc.
If your baby has colic, this may be also due to your food choice. Women generally eat what they want after pregnancy, but if your baby has colic and does not improve his condition, you should evaluate your food choices. Excluding certain foods from your diet can improve the condition of your baby.
Why would a nursing mother avoid foods that cause colic?
The only food source of your baby up to six months is almost always breast milk. What you eat indirectly affects your baby’s health. Sometimes your baby may be intolerant of certain foods you eat, and in such circumstances, your baby may suffer from colic. Therefore, you may need to identify foods that cause colic in babies and do not include them in your diet.
If you are trying new foods, keeping a food diary can help you narrow down the foods that affect your baby. You can look back at what you ate the day before, and if it was something new you know that you should stop eating it while you are still breastfeeding. Below is a list of common foods to avoid while breastfeeding and how those foods can and do react in the baby’s system.
Common Foods to Avoid While Breastfeeding To Prevent Baby Colic
As a nursing mother, you must pay attention to your diet and avoid the following foods in your diet. Indeed, traces of these foods and drinks can enter your baby’s system through the breast milk it uses. This can cause gas problems and bloating, making him feel uncomfortable and suffer from colic.
Caffeinated Beverages
Drinks containing caffeine such as coffee or soda should be consumed in moderation only. The caffeine is transferred to the baby through breast milk. Caffeinated beverages can cause the baby to have trouble sleeping. If you can avoid these drinks all together that would be the best thing for your infant.
Alcoholic Beverages
The golden rule about drinking alcoholic beverages does not drink and then nurse your baby. If there is alcohol present in your body, it will be passed on through breast milk. The best thing to do before you take any alcoholic drink is to use the breast pump to fill a few bottles. You will be safe for about 24 hours, and then you may start nursing again.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are great for nursing mothers and their newborn babies. However, there are some that need to be avoided. Citrus fruit such as grapefruit, lemons, and oranges have been known to give babies a rash due to the acidity is high. Along the same lines, some vegetables that make adults gassy will have the same effects on the baby.
Spicy Type Foods
Spicy foods like onions, peppers, and chili may disrupt the baby system. The baby has a delicate system that may get a stomach ache or suffer from diarrhea. Breastfeeding moms can use the breast pump to express milk before eating spicy foods and wait a day before breastfeeding.
In conclusion
Now that you know the foods to avoid while breastfeeding your baby keep in mind that other things like smoking or taking prescription drugs also have an adverse effect on the baby. Although smoking is hard to give up because of the nicotine, you should make every effort to quit while breastfeeding. Always check with your pediatrician and medical doctor when taking prescription drugs and breastfeeding.
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