Charcuterie, raw meat, raw fish, raw milk cheese, shellfish and raw crustaceans… During pregnancy, many foods are prohibited or strongly discouraged. In question, the risks of contamination with toxoplasmosis and listeriosis in particular, potentially harmful diseases for the fetus. We know a little less what are foods to avoid while breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding: stay vigilant about certain foods
“In absolute, a nursing mother can eat anything“, reacts immediately Véronique Darmangeat, lactation consultant, contacted by Medisite. stay vigilant about certain foods, there is no prohibition. According to her, it is necessary to debunk certain received ideas still conveyed on what the mother can or cannot eat during breastfeeding. Thus, mothers are sometimes advised not to eat foods that change the taste of milk, for fear that babies will refuse their mother’s breast. “This is false. The taste is not a problem. The children are already used to the mother’s diet during pregnancy because the tastes pass into the amniotic fluid. Above all, several studies show that at the time of diversification babies accept many more different tastes when they have been accustomed to them thanks to milk“, explains Véronique Darmangeat.
Another received idea, it should not eat foods that can be responsible for allergies. If it is true that e babies can develop an allergy to certain proteins in milk maternal, the preventive eviction of a food is absolutely not recommended. “A child who has never been in contact with an allergenic food will be more likely to develop an allergy at the time of diversification. Therefore, a food is only eliminated if the child reacts to this food. Today, the most allergenic foods in young children are most often cow’s milk, but also eggs, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts. The mother will be recommended to remove the offending food from her diet only if the baby shows signs of allergies,” notes the lactation consultant.
Breastfeeding: do foods give babies colic?
Finally, we should not eatfoods that could give babies colic such as cabbage, onions or leeks. “What causes gas with cabbage is the fibers that irritate the mother’s intestines and ferment. But milk is not made from what is in the intestines, so cabbage does not give gas to babies“, explains Véronique Darmangeat.
If the consultant recalls that there is no food ban when giving the breast to her child, the nursing mother having much less prohibited foods than during pregnancy, the fact remains that however, it must limit the consumption of certain foods. Medisite details you 8 foods that should not be abused and explains to you why they can be a danger to your baby. “The milk has a constant composition whatever the mother eats. The mother’s diet does not change the acidity level of the milk, nor the level of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates. However, the quality of the fatty acids that we find in milk is that of the fatty acids that the mother consumes”, underlines for example the specialist.