How to Protect Your Breast Milk From Contamination

Many new mothers often worry if what they eating or drinking can cause harm to their baby through their breast milk. In my experience I have found that it is very important to monitor what you eat. The basic fat protein carbohydrate composition of human milk isn’t dependent on what a mother eats.

According to my doctor if a mother does not consume enough calories and protein to produce milk, your body will use its own supply for milk production until the stores are depleted. However certain vitamin deficiencies in a mothers diet can lower the vitamin content of her breast milk. There are a lot of things that can show up in your breast milk that can actually harm your baby.

First your would want to stick with the diet that your doctor has given you. Next you want to avoid foods to which your baby has shown some sensitivity too. Some of those foods are garlic, onions, cabbage, and chocolate. You will be able to tell if your baby is bothered by these foods if they get gas or if they begin to reject the breast. Although you should not assume that just because your baby has gas, means that they are allergic to the food you have just eaten. Also make sure that you take a vitamin supplement that is specially formulated for pregnant or nursing mothers.

Your doctor will usually recommend or prescribe a vitamin after you have your baby. Another thing that you would want to keep in mind is to only take medication that has been approved by your doctor. Some medications have no effect on a nursing baby. But you will want to ask your doctor to be onto he safe side. You will want to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages and restrict your caffeine intake.

Alcohol actually dehydrates you and causes you to lose some of the fluids that are needed for milk production. If too much alcohol is drank it can cause your baby to become sluggish and sleepy. Coffee or soda once a day should not have to big of an effect on your baby, but too much can make your baby very jittery, and in some cases they may be unable to sleep. I would also avoid a few more things such as taking a laxative, aspirin, and herbal teas. Also something new that I found out your should avoid is eating freshwater fish, such as trout, whitefish, and salmon.

The concern is that they might have been contaminated by industrial waste in lakes and rivers. However according to the EPA it is safer to eat farm raised fish. I would not say you should totally avoid fish altogether, but be cautious about what type of fish you eat. Following the suggestions I have listed in this article will help your children grow up healthy and happy. It worked for my children, and many others. I would still suggest first talking to your doctor.