Caring for you as we would for ourselves
11.02.20

World Breastfeeding Week: Tip 3 – Food and breastfeeding

Maternity

Food restrictions during pregnancy disappear when your baby is born and you can go back to eating everything you ate before. However, you should try to avoid some plants, such as sage, parsley and peppermint.

Energy requirements increase while breastfeeding, even more so than during pregnancy, because milk production uses up a great deal of energy. Some of this energy is provided by your body's fat stores accumulated during pregnancy while the rest is provided by food. This is why it is so important to have regular and balanced meals.

You can eat everything in moderation as long as it is part of a varied diet. For example, you should try to limit foods that can cause gas, such as cabbage, but you do not need to avoid these foods completely.

By watching and spending time with your baby, you will soon start to realise which foods make them uncomfortable. This can vary from one baby to another. During pregnancy, your baby will have become used to your diet as the amniotic fluid in the womb takes on the flavour of foods that you eat. As a result, they should be able to adapt to your food and already be learning how to vary their diet, a stage that will happen in a few months’ time.

 

The maternity team at Hôpital de La Tour