World Breastfeeding Week: Improve the Quality of Your Breast Milk

Your milk contains all the essential nutrition required by your baby. It is packed with vital compounds that are required for the development of the baby’s immature digestive tract. When it is such an important super food for your child, it’s only natural that you should take care of the quality of your breast milk. As part of the World Breastfeeding Week, Sadhbhavna Clinic, the top Gynae Clinic in Chandigarh, tells you how to improve the quality of your breast milk.

Increase the Intake of Omega-3s

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that is extremely important for the healthy development of your baby’s brain. It is generally found in our brains and eyes and is required for the growth of neural and vision cells during the first 2 years of a child’s life. The breast milk naturally has DHA but you can increase it by consuming wild-caught salmon which has the highest concentration of DHA or take supplements. Daily intake should be 200-300 milligrams.

What You Eat Matters

Your body is working not just for you but for your baby as well. So obviously it needs extra energy and nutrition. You can fulfill your body’s nutritional needs by eating smartly. There are certain foods known as galactagogues that are known to promote lactation or the production of milk. Oatmeal is a common galactagogue which you can easily incorporate into your diet. Other foods include brewer’s yeast, almonds, flaxseeds, barley, fennel and fenugreek.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Probiotics

Even though your milk contains various important compounds to help your new born thrive happily, research has shown that today’s babies lack a key bacteria, B.infantis, which is important for the proper digestion of breast milk and protects the baby from bad bacteria that could lead to colic, eczema or obesity in future. So add good quality probiotics to your expressed breast milk to feed your baby and boost his/her metabolism and immunity.

Increase the Frequency of Nursing or Pumping

Another effective way of increasing your breast milk supply is to start nursing your baby or pumping often. During the first few weeks of your baby, you should be nursing or pumping every 2-3 hours. You could also try power pumping in which you pump in short burst for an hour a day. This practice signals the body that more milk is needed so it will start producing more milk.

Drink More Water

During the first 6 months of your baby, you are the main source of water because babies younger than 6 months should not drink water. So this means you will have to drink enough water for the both of you. Moreover, the production of breast milk also requires more water intake. How much water your body needs depends on the weather, your diet and exercise regime. Always have a bottle of water handy to drink whenever you feel thirsty.

Being a new mom can be overwhelming with so much advice floating around. At the leading multispeciality Gynae Clinic in Chandigarh, we suggest that you follow these tips for your baby’s and your own well-being. For more medical advice, you can always get in touch with us.

Source: thebump.com