Staying Healthy While Breastfeeding

It can be difficult to eat a balanced diet while breastfeeding a new baby. Many moms want to work at cutting down on accumulated post-pregnancy weight by skimping on carbs and high-sugar fruits. However, it is important to eat from a diverse spectrum of nutrient sources to benefit a child’s development.

Though carbs may seem like the enemy, the energy it takes to regularly breastfeed is extreme. Complex carbohydrate sources like brown rice and sprouted grain pasta provide nutrients like folic acid and iron, which are important for a mom’s recovery from pregnancy as well as a baby’s first months out of the womb. Your muscles’ glucose-storages will also thank you at 2:00 A.M. when the baby monitor on the bedside table is screaming.

Diverse Nutrient Sources

Protein sources should never be neglected, and lean beef or eggs are the best options. Again, the iron in beef as well as B12 vitamins will help maintain healthy circulation. The variety and simplicity of preparing eggs are a big advantage: prepare them hardboiled for a salad or scramble them to go over tomatoes and toast.

As always, plant based food sources are known as a refreshing and nutrient-dense food family that should make up most of your diet. Including legumes, fruits, and vegetables, these foods provide protein and antioxidants that are crucial to boosting your immune system when a new mother’s body is still vulnerable from giving birth.

Eating a largely plant-based diet while still sourcing grains and meat or dairy if you consume animal products are the way to go for breastfeeding moms. The most diverse nutrient sources will give your body the ability to produce the richest milk to nourish your baby.

Aeroflow Is Here to Help

For more information about breastfeeding, consult your doctor. If you are interested in obtaining a breast pump at no cost to you through insurance, visit aeroflowbreastpumps.com or call 888-345-1780.