05 Aug Registered Dietitian NYC Works with New Moms
Preparing for your baby’s arrival is overwhelming. On TV, it’s portrayed as a fairytale of picking out special blankets, too-cute clothes, baby showers, and big welcomes. On the other extreme, parents-to-be might be struggling with finances, job stress, and not knowing how a new person will fit into the picture.
Most of us fall somewhere in between. But we’re never quite prepared for “The Opiniometer” – the non-stop feed of everybody else telling a new mother what’s best, what’s right, and what she’s absolutely doing wrong. This holds especially true for the post-partum diet of a mother and baby – those first six weeks after the birth.
There are bits of wisdom in the practices of the generations before us. Quarentena, for example – the forty days of mother-child bonding in Latin cultures that include everything from eating soups and drinking herbal teas to eating chicken every day for forty days. Before we start to cluck, I want to emphasize there is no cookie-cutter formula for what’s best. As a registered dietitian who works with new mothers, I want to give you sound nutritional advice that will, hopefully, help boost your energy and quicken your post-partum recovery. Here are some tips for new mothers, those who are breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or both.
Weight loss should not be the focus of new moms. Think healthy. I know this is hard when your body doesn’t feel like it’s yours. It is. Just make sure you’re taking care of it. That means eating three meals a day with two to three high energy, nutritional snacks.
Up the fluids. During labor, a woman loses an incredible amount of fluids and blood. Make drinking (preferably water) a priority. (10 glasses a day). This will also help soften bowel movements and keep you hydrated for breast feeding. Keep a glass of water next to you for breast feeding.
Avoid or keep alcohol consumption to a minimum. If breastfeeding, wait 2-3 hours before feeding to make sure the alcohol has left your body. (12 ounces of 5% beer, 5 ounces of 11% wine, 1.5 ounces of 40% liquor). This depends on your body weight. Also, pumping and dumping doesn’t eliminate the alcohol from your body. You still need to wait the required amount of time to make sure the alcohol is out of your system before breast feeding. Finally, alcohol decreases the body’s production of anti-diuretic hormone. So your body loses more fluids. So if you drink alcohol, up the fluids even more.
Keep caffeine consumption to a minimum (2 – 3 cups per day). Caffeine is a stimulant and can make a baby irritable and jumpy. Moreover, it acts similar to alcohol in that an increase in caffeine can cause you to get dehydrated quicker.
Breastfeeding mothers need more calories. A woman breast feeding a single baby needs on average about 2700 calories a day and a woman breast feeding twins needs about 3200. About 500 calories more a day than normal for each baby. You do not want to try to lose weight while breast feeding. You want to focus on getting adequate calories to nourish your body and feed the baby/babies. If you eat appropriately and well, you might lose weight, but it should never be your goal.
20 – 25% of total calories should come from protein.
30% of total calories should come from fat
Carbs take the rest.
All new mothers need to consider this combo when preparing meals, focusing on eating foods that are rich in iron, protein, and calcium for energy and milk stimulation
Protein: lean meat, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils, and seafood low in mercury. Tuna, king mackeral, tile fish, sword fish and other fish listed to have high mercury content can be eaten, but I don’t recommend more than 6 oz per week.
Iron-rich foods include lentils, dark-leafy green vegetables, whole-grain products, and peas. The best way for a body to absorb iron is by combining foods high in iron with foods high in vitamin C (like citrus fruits).
Calcium is found in dairy products (milk, yogurt, and cheese), as well as leafy-green vegetables and calcium-fortified or enriched cereals, soy milk, soy yogurt and more.
Vegan mothers need sources of protein like beans, tofu/soy and fortified almond, rice or soy milk for calcium and vitamin D. They will probably need a B 12 supplement and possibly a Vitamin D supplement. For iron, combine vitamin C food sources with iron rich vegetables to increase absorption of this nutrient. Also, consider cooking in cast iron pots which leach their iron into the food being cooked. So cooking a bean chili with tomatoes in an iron pot gives a vegan mother a synergistic effect.
Sweet tooth? The best of the sweets is dark chocolate. Indulge in dark chocolate with sea salt, peppermint or caramel. Plus, dark chocolate is good for you. (Look for 70% cocoa content). If you’re not a dark chocolate fan, eat something you like! Treat yourself. You’ve earned it.
Get on an eating schedule. Put on a timer to remind you to eat. Have ready-made snacks in the fridge so you don’t have to prepare anything. Keep it simple and simply healthy. Have trail mix, delicious cheeses and whole-grain breads, cut-up fruit in bowls to mix with yogurt. Before the baby comes, make lasagna and chili and soups and freeze them in individual-sized containers so all you have to do is pop them in the microwave. Many new mothers, in the chaos, skip meals. Skipping meals will only add to your emotional and physical stress. If, however, you find you’re not hungry and have to force yourself to eat, this can be a sign of depression. Please contact your health care provider right away.
This beautiful, scary and chaotic time in life will settle. These first 40 days of baby boot camp are a time to learn how to be a mom, adjust to this radical change in life, and focus on getting healthy by eating well.
Recommended Reading:
