Breastfeeding - Diet How Does It Affect Baby?

by LisaC

The old saying “you are what you eat” is doubly true for the breastfeeding mother because what she eats so does her baby. Now, that being said, most foods are safe to eat for a breastfeeding mother and she should get around 2500 calories a day and eat a healthy and well balanced diet.
That’s actually relatively easily done as most moms have been eating a balanced healthy diet all the way through the pregnancy. Foods that mom enjoys are not out of the question in moderation and baby is likely to benefit as long as mother gets an adequate diet from each of the four food groups.

However, there are some foods that can be irritation to very young infants. Infants have poorly developed digestive systems at first, and things that mom can easily handle and love might irritate the infant.
For instance, highly spiced foods might cause some intestinal upsets in baby, such as salsa or pizza. Gassy foods such as onions, bell peppers or broccoli or beans might irritate the infant as well. This could cause fussiness that usually goes away after a day or so. Gas builds up in the baby’s intestines and this can be very uncomfortable. Generally as the infant matures the offending foods can be added back to the breastfeeding mother’s diet and they can usually begin to tolerate them when their digestive tract is more developed.
Caffeine and chocolate can be problematic to the infant breastfeeding and should be taken in moderation as caffeine is passed through the breast milk and can make some babies restless or irritable.

On the other side of the coin there are true allergies that some infants might have and these do not go away in a day or so and can even cause skin problems, rashes, irritability, vomiting and a host of other symptoms.
The very first thing to do if a mother suspects a baby has food allergies is to consult a pediatrician. Many times the allergy can be ruled out or pinpointed with a few simple tests and the offending food item removed from the mother’s diet, then all is well with the infant.

Other times though it requires more testing and a lot of determination on the part of the mother to track down the problem food.
With the help of a professional, an infant with food allergies can continue to be breastfed and mom will have a much happier healthier baby.
It’s rare in this day and age for a physician to recommend discontinuing breastfeeding due to an infant’s food allergy, even with infants allergic to milk. Instead, diet modification on the mother’s part is usually recommended and succeeds.

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