Protecting Your Body While Breastfeeding
The Impact of Maternal Nutritional Status
When we think about breastfeeding (heck, when we think about most things) a mother’s wellbeing is not the primary focus. Is baby getting enough milk? Are they positioned properly? Is their latch good? All important questions to be asking!
But —
Did you know that breast milk is shaped by the nutrition choices a mother has made, even before conception? While some key nutrients must be present in her diet when actively breastfeeding, her body will also mobilize its own nutrition stores to enrich her milk.
To put it into perspective, protein requirements increase when breastfeeding, but if a breastfeeding mother consumed the same RDA as a non-pregnant/non-lactating woman, she would need to mobilize about 19% of her own lean tissue to support six months of milk production.
This is nature’s way of making sure your baby has exactly what they need, when they need it, which is amazing. However, without mindful nutrition, mothers can be left having to deal with the resulting challenges that come from being nutritionally depleted.
Nutrients to Focus On
Calcium
If a breastfeeding mother’s diet is low in calcium, her body will pull it from her bones to enrich her breast milk for baby. Again, nature prioritizing baby’s wellbeing over the mother’s seems to follow evolutionary logic. That’s why focusing on calcium-rich foods when breastfeeding is important for a mother’s bone health. Keep in mind that food sources are much better absorbed than supplements.
Consider gruyere, Swiss, goat, or mozzarella cheese, sardines, sesame seeds, and plain yogurt.
Zinc
It is estimated that about 20% of the zinc in breast milk is pulled from maternal bone stores. A depletion of a mother’s zinc stores could lead to potential health issues. While we certainly need more research in this area, we do know that zinc helps strengthen immune function and it is required for many metabolic processes.
Food sources include: oysters, Alaskan crab, oats, beef, and pumpkin seeds.
DHA
In a study of ~12,000 women, it was shown that 95% of those of childbearing age, and 100% of pregnant women, failed to meet the daily requirements for DHA. Meaning, the vast majority of women enter pregnancy with insufficient stores of DHA. Breastfeeding can further deplete a mother’s stores; this is particularly concerning, as the body’s largest source of DHA is the brain. For this reason, DHA-rich foods and supplementation are crucial in the postpartum period, throughout breastfeeding, and beyond.
Food sources include sardines, cooked herring, salmon (and salmon oil), and fish or algae oil.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in pregnancy throughout the world, and the maternal status directly affects the status of her baby. Studies have also shown that the current RDA of 600 IU for lactating women is substantially lower than adequate for the large majority.
Food sources include fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and trout.
Become a Certified Nutrition Consultant and help guide new mothers with knowledge and care during one of life’s most transformative seasons.
Let’s shift the postpartum focus to include more support for new moms.
Together, we can create a necessary shift in the culture and change the conversation around postpartum.
