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UnitedHealthcare Ask the Expert Kathleen Zelman Nutrition Expert Three out of four moms start
feeding their newborns with breast milk exclusively, but after a few months, many stop. And partly
because of a concern about having enough milk production. One of our viewers wants to know
are there foods that she can eat that will help produce milk. Well, let's start with
the diet of the lactating mom. It needs to be every bit as healthy and as good for you
as the pregnancy diet. So think of it as a continuation. Calories are even more important,
because it take calories to make breast milk. So, you need to follow that same healthy diet,
a bare minimum of 2,000 calories. It's no time to go on a diet. If you wanna cut back,
cut back with the extras, but not with the good-for-you food, but don't cut calories
too much. Don't start exercising excessively. That will also impact or can impact your breast
milk supply. But, when it comes to establishing a supply, you wanna establish it early. And
you do that by, frequently nursing your newborn. Nursing off of both ***, and try to establish
a schedule so that you have time to generate that production between the baby's needs.
But often and frequent is what's going to help bring it in and establish a really good
and healthy breast milk supply. It's really supply and demand. What usually happens is
when moms have to go back to work and the stress in their life increases, it's when
production can be impacted. So, if you can, get enough sleep, and to a new mom I know
that's laughable. But sleep and relaxation, especially while you're nursing will help
that milk flow and help the production and that supply and demand. If you're at work,
you can pump, because the stimulation will continue to produce milk. When it comes to
your diet, in addition to eating that healthy pregnancy diet, now lactating diet, you need
to drink a lot of water, so 10 to 12 glasses a day are gonna help give you the volume that
you need. So, a healthy diet, lots of water, rest, relaxation, try to keep the stress to
a minimum. Don't exercise voraciously. Don't cut calories. Those are all the things that
you can do to help mother nature help you feed your baby naturally. UnitedHealthcare