Watch Your Diet While Breastfeeding Your Baby

It's amazing how the human body is tailor-made to fit the survival needs of the race. A mother'ss breast milk naturally has everything the baby needs to remain healthy. It provides the baby with antibodies to fight with various infections and other infancy illnesses. Breastfeeding serves the dual function of meeting the baby's dietary needs and forming a special bond between mother and baby. It is precisely this reason why a breastfeeding mother should maintain a special diet so that her baby can reap the maximum amount of benefits from breastfeeding.

A breast feeding mother's body makes about 23 to 27 ounces of milk a day, burning approximately 500 calories a day. Since at this time milk production is the body's first priority, a poorly nourished mother will suffer from ill health. A nursing mother should have at least three quarts of water per day, or up to 3 quarts as it is best not to over do the intake of liquid so as not to endanger milk production.

The breast feeding diet should include 2,500 calories a day. If a mother is planning to nurse her baby for more than three months, then it is best for her to increase calorie intake even more, making it 2,800 calories a day. The diet should include five small meals daily. Include water, low fat dairy products and fruit in each of these small meals. Keeping a schedule is a good idea because this needs to be a regular diet.

Many nursing mothers develop a sweet tooth and might crave sweets all the time. This impulse should be avoided as much as possible. Alcohol and nicotine should also be avoided, because it can retard the baby's growth. Mothers shouldn't take any medication while nursing their babies without consulting their doctors first. Also, mothers should stay away from pollutants such as cigarette smoke and pesticide residue.

For dinner, the nursing mother should eat a lot of low fat foods of different kinds. They should pick vegetables of various colors.

If you keep all these factors in mind while nursing your baby, it will give you and your baby a chance to be healthy. It is a time to be especially careful about how much and more importantly, what you eat. Drink a lot of water, but also keep a limit on that so as not to hamper the production of milk in your body.