Breastfeeding involves transferring nourishment from the mother to the child. But who is nourishing the mother?
Diet is crucial for the mother while she carries the child and during breastfeeding.
As much as we encourage breastfeeding as a society, we know a lot of factors can get in the way of a smooth breastfeeding experience.
One issue that doesn’t get a lot of notice is the amount of milk mothers produce. Fortunately there are specific foods geared toward the breastfeeding mother.
Lactation cookies are designed with ingredients, such as oats, that can increase milk supply to the mother.
Galactogogues are substances that help increase lactation. Some of those include fennel, fenugreek, brewers yeast, iron-rich foods (spinach, liver, beans, chickpeas), oats, nuts, green papaya, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, and carrots. Water is also a good choice for a breastfeeding mom.
Podcast: Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and the politics of breastfeeding
Breast milk is the ultimate natural food
What's Tempting: Breastfeeding in church
Hospitals are better in showing women how to breastfeed. Nursing mothers need to know how what they eat can impact the child they are feeding.
Breastfeeding foods can be easier on a nursing mother’s lifestyle. Using those ingredients to make homemade versions works just as well.
We talk about milk and meat for humans as eating what the animals eat. The young baby is eating what the mother is eating.
”Feed the mother, feed the baby” — worthy of being stitched on a pillow for a mother with a newborn.
photos credit: me
Comments