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Remember when you first found out you were pregnant and you were bombarded with a whole list of (probably some of your favourite) foods you weren’t allowed to eat? Well, I am sorry to say that this will continue until you stop breastfeeding. The list of food to avoid while breastfeeding is definitely shorter than the one you get when you’re pregnant though. I found it more frustrating than anything because I really wanted that Indian takeaway and beer after 9 months of avoiding spicy food because of the heartburn and of course not drinking while pregnant.
On the positive side to this list of food to avoid while breastfeeding, they are only foods to AVOID not completely cut out of your diet if you don’t want to. Some of it will be trial and error and timing. For example, if you have one alcoholic drink you should wait a minimum of 3 hours before breastfeeding.
Why Should I Avoid Certain Foods While Breastfeeding?
There are a lot of different reasons as to why there are a bunch of different foods to avoid while breastfeeding. This largely depends on what type of food it is. Foods that naturally make you more *ahem* gassy, like baked beans or Brussell Sprouts, can also give your baby wind because everything we eat and drink ends up in our breastmilk. This goes for strong tastes like garlic as well, it can put baby off wanting to feed and become fussy at the boob because our milk tastes different.
There are also foods that can decrease your milk supply, which is every breastfeeding mothers nightmare! I know that I spent what felt like a month looking up ways and techniques to increase my milk supply. So knowing which food to avoid while breastfeeding to keep that milk supply up is always a winner.
My Top Picks of Food to Avoid.
Spicy Food
This will not only increase your risk of heartburn but can give your baby colic or reflux as spicy food has some pretty strong flavours.
Related: 20 Newborn Tips and Tricks
Gassy Food
Put down the baked beans and cabbage! Although it isn’t a given, these can give your baby wind and nobody wants a baby with trapped wind.
Peppermint
I LOVED peppermint tea, while I breastfeeding however, I found out that it can actually decrease your milk supply, and that is a nursing mothers nightmare.
Related: Breastfeeding Essentials you Actually Need.
Caffeine
Remember that everything you eat and drink passes from you to your baby, this goes for caffeine as well. 1 or 2 cups of coffee will probably be alright, but if you’re binging on coffee and chocolate *gasp* then your loading your breastmilk up with caffeine. You want your baby to sleep right?
Alcohol
Near enough the same rules apply to alcohol when breastfeeding as they do in pregnancy. Avoid it. If you do choose to have a drink while breastfeeding, make sure that you leave it a good 3 hours or more before you breastfeed again.
Garlic
Hard to avoid because it is used in near enough everything! I’m talking about an excessive amount of garlic. This is another strong flavour which can pass through to your breastmilk and this can make your baby fussy.
Related: 12 Breastfeeding Tips for Success.
Deep-Sea Fish
Remember when you were pregnant and were told you had to avoid fish like tuna and….shark? Well, it’s still food to avoid while breastfeeding. Why? the high levels of mercury present.
Mommy Matters has a great post on breastfeeding diets too! Read it here.
This is definitely not the entire list of food to avoid while breastfeeding. This is just the list that I avoided to make sure my little one was as happy as possible when breastfeeding because a happy baby is a happy mum.
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