Eating Well for Lactating Mothers
By choosing breastfeeding, you are already providing your baby the natural nourishment for the growth and health. Your dietary intake of iodine, folate, omega-3 fatty acids is closely related to the levels of these nutrients in your milk. Here are some nutrition tips to help you meeting the demand for nutrients during breastfeeding:
Nutrition tips for lactating mothers:
- Have a balanced diet with variety of foods. Include meat, fish, eggs and dairy every day.
- Ensure adequate iodine intake. This helps your baby to get adequate iodine from your milk. Take a prenatal multivitamin/multimineral supplement that contains at least 150 µg iodine every day. Use iodised salt in place of table salt for cooking (total salt intake below 5g ( 1 teaspoon) per day). Consume foods with iodine, including seafood, marine fish, eggs, milk and milk products. Choose seaweed snacks with lower sodium and fat content. If you consume kelp, limit to no more than once a week to prevent excessive iodine intake.
- Fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Consume fish in moderation. Choose from a variety. Avoid eating large predatory fish and those with high levels of methylmercury.
- Choose more whole-grain foods, e.g. brown rice, oats, whole-meal bread, etc.
- Eat more vegetables and fruits.
- Limit eating foods of high fat, trans fat and sugar foods. Trim off skin and fat from foods in cooking and remove the oils in soup.
- Avoid alcohol and alcoholic drinks. Alcohol interferes the breastmilk flow. It also passes through breastmilk and impairs your child's development.
- Consult a registered Chinese medicine practitioner before taking traditional herbal medicine or health tonics.
- Have at least 30 minutes of physical exercise every day. Go outdoors often, expose your skin to sunlight to boost the level of vitamin D in your body as diet alone is usually not sufficient to meet your needs for vitamin D. For more information about vitamin D for you and your baby, please refer to “Parent information: Vitamin D”.
How much should a lactating mother eat in a day?
| Food group | Servings per day | Examples of a serving* |
|---|---|---|
| Grains | 4 to 5 | 1 bowl of rice or rice noodles; 1½ bowls of macaroni/ spaghetti; 1¼ bowls of noodles |
| Vegetables | 4 to 5 | ½ bowl of cooked vegetables; 1 bowl of uncooked vegetables |
| Fruits | 3 | An apple or orange of size a lady's fist; 2 kiwi fruits; ½ cup of diced fruit |
| Meat and alternatives | 6 to 7 | 40 g raw meat/fish/chicken ; 1 egg; 1/4 block of firm tofu; 6 to 8 tablespoons of cooked beans |
| Milk and alternatives | 2 | 1 cup of low fat or skimmed milk or calcium-fortified soy milk; 2 slices of processed cheese; 1 carton (150g) of yoghurt |
| Oil, fat, sugar, salt | in moderation | |
| Fluid | 10 | 1 cup of water or 1 bowl of thin soup |
*1 bowl = 250-300ml; 1 cup = 240ml
Should I avoid certain foods to reduce my baby's risk of developing allergy?
There is no need to avoid specific food during breastfeeding unless you or your baby is allergic to a particular food. If you are in doubt your baby is allergic to the foods you ingested, consult your doctor for advice.
Can I drink coffee?
Too much caffeine can affect babies'central nervous system and may keep them awake. Lactating mothers should limit caffeine containing drinks. Try the decaffeinated coffee or tea as alternatives.
Must I avoid alcohol?
You should avoid alcohol because of its adverse effect to health e.g. affect judgment. Alcohol decreases milk production. It passes through breastmilk and may impair your baby's development.