What are the do and donts in terms of food,chemicals etc for a woman who chooses to breast feed?

Answer 1

You should turn to the experts for this question and not trust personal opinions you might get by asking your question here. The international experts are La Leche League.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/

Here's a list of frequently asked questions and some of them are about chemicals and foods.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/FAQSubject.html?m=0,0,3

Answer 2

Food: You can eat basically everything. Perhaps being concerned about foods contaminated with heavy metals. Watch the baby for a reaction. Some babies can not handle caffeine under 4 months, so that may need to be eliminated. As far as "gassy" or other such foods there is no list, every baby is different.

Alcohol: within moderation, but it is best to abstain until 4-6 months as the baby's liver is still developing before 4 months, and alcohol is a sedative which is a potention SIDS risk.

If you work in an environment with a lot of chemicals you would need to research them carefully to see if they would get into your milk. Some info: http://www.kellymom.com/health/chemical/index.html

Medications: Almost ALL medications are safe for the nursing mother to take in reasonable amounts for a reasonable amount of time. Most doctors however say almost nothing is safe. They do not know the answer so they figure it is easier to say no then to look it up. (I guess because it isn't that hard to look it up)

For more on breastfeeding:
http://www.kellymom.com/health/index.html

Answer 3

Stay away from sweeteners, and use natural sugars. That is about the only one that I can definitely tell you about. Otherwise, it is trial and error. I loved indian food, thai food and anything spicy when I was nursing, and my first didnt mind it either. Or a glass or two of wine. The second one hated it. But, it is trial and error. Try something that you want to eat, and if they dont like it about 8hrs later, then dont do it again! Dont do the diet soda, or the sweetener packets of sugar. They contain chemicals in them which can cause brain disorders. In adults as well as kids. You body will take care of the baby. So just enjoy your life. That will be more successful (because you will be happier) and your baby will know that mama is happy, baby will be happy!

Answer 4

Ok, I am a nursing mom and I have a book that gives you updates on your baby and their accomplishments in a week by week format. And according to this book, some safe medications to take are
-Pseudoephedrine found in like Sudafed or Actifed
-Dextromethorphan found in like Benylin or Robitussin DM
-Acteaminophen found in Tylenol
-Ibuprofen found in Advil
-Attapulgite found in Kaopectate
-Topical Hydrocortisone found in Cortaid
-Calamine lotion
-Certirizine found in Zyrtec
-Loratadine found in Claritin
-Intranasal steroid spray found in Flonase
-Calcium carbonate found in Tums and Maalox
-Codeine
-Tetracycline
-Amoxcillin
-Insulin
-Thyroid medication
-Prednisone
-most antihistamines

Some herbs to avoid are -Comfrey, fennel, sage, ginseng and fenugreek. You can use fennel and sage in cooking as long as in small quantities.
Some foods to avoid are -Spicy foods, cabbage, borccoli, chocolate, and caffeine
Do NOT pump your own gas, avoid nailpolish,do not expose yourself to paint fumes, wait until baby is weaned to get new carpeting and use cleaning products that are safe for the environment.
Some of the foods that they have in the book to avoid, I dont and my daughter doesnt have a problem. My first daughter didnt either. I eat chocolate literally everyday and have atleast one caffeine drink a day. But you have to remember that all babies vary.
Hope this helps some...And keep on being a great mom!!!

Also as a note, my breastfeeding consultant says not to drink alcohol at all while nursing, not even in moderation. I think that the La Leche League even recommends not to drink alcoholic drinks. I honestly dont think that they have enough information on how it effects the baby to determine if it safe enough or not, so the best bet is to not drink alcohol at all.

Answer 5

There is no special diet that you need to follow while breastfeeding. You can even have a couple of alcoholic drinks if you are responsible about how you time them. The link below will be very helpful to you.