Fresh Focus #11: Lactation Nutrition

Breastfeeding can be an awesome bonding experience with your baby.  Although it provides baby with great nutrition, it can be overwhelming, frustrating, and brings up many questions for mamas and their support systems. Eating healthy does not affect the quality of nutrients in your breast milk, but it is important for new moms to eat healthy to maintain energy levels (hello lack of sleep from midnight feedings).  In order to take the best care of your baby, you have to take care of yourself as well, which includes eating a well-balanced diet.  Check out our previous series on the Healthy Plate Method for balanced diet tips.Many moms find themselves worrying about producing adequate milk for their baby. So often, how to increase supply is a common question. Below are three tips to help with establishing and maintaining a good milk supply.  If you are concerned with your supply try these tips while looking for a lactation consultant in your area for a one on one appointment to discuss your specific situation.1. Initiate breastfeeding early.  The sooner the better after delivery getting baby to latch will help signal to your body that it needs to start milk production!  2. Frequent nursing sessions based on baby’s hunger cues.  Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand.  The more often and consistently you nurse or pump to empty your breasts signals your body to make milk in order to replace what has been used.3. Try to manage and reduce stress.  There is A LOT going on in those first few weeks of a baby’s life and lots of those things can increase stress!  Managing stress is so important because being over stressed can affect the letdown reflex and poor letdowns could affect your milk supply.  The old saying “the days are long but the years are short” is completely true for pregnancy and breastfeeding.  Even though you feel all 24 hours in the day, at some point your nursing journey will come to an end.  Listen in on this podcast episode as Dietitian Lauren Hocking interviews Caitlin, a nursing mom of two for her advice. Host Bio: Lauren Hocking, RDN, CD is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist serving veterans out of the Vincennes, Indiana CBOC within the Marion VA Healthcare System.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and went on to complete her Dietetic Internship at the Memphis VA Medical Center in Memphis, TN.  She has been at the VA  8 years where she covers PACT clinics at Vincennes in addition to Home Based Primary Care. She assists our nation’s heroes make strides toward living a healthier life by helping them make lifestyle changes by taking it one step at a time.