Download Healthy Eating While Breastfeeding

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Healthy Eating While Breastfeeding
Health Canada recommends
exclusively breastfeeding your
baby for six months. Any
amount of breastmilk is
beneficial. You may wonder
if you have to follow a
special diet or avoid
certain foods while
breastfeeding.
The good news is no. There is no special diet
to follow while you are breastfeeding. Choosing
foods from Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide
and eating the recommended number of Food Guide
servings for each food group daily will allow you
to meet your nutrition needs.
Follow your appetite to determine how much food
to eat. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you
feel full.
Eating patterns that require
special attention
The following eating patterns require special
attention. This includes women who:
• Are vegetarian
• Have food allergies or intolerances
• Are younger than 18 years of age
• Have trouble affording enough food
• Are breastfeeding more than one baby
• Are pregnant while breastfeeding
• Have an eating disorder
Talk to a dietitian or other health care professional
as you may have additional nutrient needs.
Attention: Breastfeeding moms should not start
Essential fats
Your need for essential fats, especially omega-3
fats, is higher. They help in your baby’s growth
and development. Eating foods high in omega-3s
will help your baby to get the recommended levels
of these fats. See the following list for some of the
food and beverage sources of omega-3 fats.
Sources of Omega-3 fats
Fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, herring and sardines
Flaxseed and canola oil
Food products and beverages with added Omega-3
such as milk, fortified soy beverages, yogurt, margarine
and bread
Omega-3 eggs
Soybeans
Walnuts and flaxseed
What about vitamin supplements?
Health Canada recommends that all women in their
childbearing years take a multivitamin containing
0.4 mg of folic acid every day. It is important to
start taking folic acid at least three months before
you get pregnant to reduce the risk of your baby
being born with a neural tube defect. It is wise
to continue taking a multivitamin with 0.4 mg of
folic acid daily throughout pregnancy and while
breastfeeding, since it is possible to get pregnant
while breastfeeding.
It is also recommended that a vitamin D supplement
be provided to babies who are breastfed.
weight loss diets. A diet containing less than 1,800
calories can decrease your milk supply.
Halton Region • 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 • Dial 311 or 905-825-6000 • Toll free: 1-866-442-5866 • TTY: 905-827-9833 • www.halton.ca
Feeling thirsty?
Sugar Substitutes
Drink at least six to eight cups of fluid
each day, or more if you are thirstier.
Water, milk, juice, fortified soy
beverage and soups are all good choices.
Vegetables and fruit also have a high
water content so be sure to include seven
to eight Food Guide Servings of these each day.
Moderate use of the following sugar substitutes
is safe:
Tip: While breastfeeding, it is important to stay
hydrated. Drink to thirst. It may be helpful to
sit down with a glass of water each time you
breastfeed.
Fish and shellfish have many health benefits but
some fish have high levels of mercury, which can
harm a baby’s developing nervous system. Women
who are breastfeeding should avoid high mercury
containing fish as outlined in the table below.
*Limit white canned tuna
to no more than once per
month
Safer Choices
Canned sardines
and anchovies
Crab
Halibut
Light canned tuna
Perch
Pollock
Salmon
Shrimp
Sole
Squid
Tilapia
Trout
• Sucralose (Splenda™)
Health Canada recommends avoiding the following
sugar substitutes:
• Saccharin (Hermesetas™)
Although some foods, such as soft cheese
(feta, brie), refrigerated pâté, smoked/raw foods
(including sushi) and uncooked luncheon meats/
hot dogs are not recommended during pregnancy,
these foods do not need to be avoided when
breastfeeding. If you become pregnant again while
breastfeeding, you should avoid these foods because
of the risk of a food-borne illness called Listeriosis.
Fresh and frozen tuna
King mackerel
Marlin
Muskellunge
Shark
Swordfish
Tilefish
Walleye
• Aspartame (NutraSweet™ and Equal™)
• Cyclamates (Sugar Twin™)
Food safety
Avoid
• Acesuflame potassium (Sunett™)
Products made with sugar substitutes usually offer
little nutrition. Instead, choose more nutrient-dense
foods and beverages, such as low-fat milk and 100
per cent fruit juices.
Common Questions
If my appetite is low, will my breastmilk still be
nutritious for my baby?
Your breastmilk will still be nutritious for your baby.
If your energy level is low, try eating smaller snacks
throughout the day instead of larger meals.
Will eating gassy foods such as beans, broccoli or
cabbage cause my baby to have extra gas?
Even when you eat foods that cause gas, this will
not cause your baby to become gassy. Gas and fibre
do not pass into breastmilk.
Can my baby taste the foods that I have eaten?
Spices and strong flavours, such as garlic, can
change the smell and taste of breastmilk. However,
it is unlikely that this will cause problems in your
baby. In fact, it may be good for your baby to
experience these flavours as it prepares babies
for solid foods. This may be one reason breastfed
babies have fewer feeding problems as they get
older
Adapted from materials produces by York Region Health Services.
For more information, contact:
Halton Region
Dial 311 or 905-825-6000
Toll free 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866)
TTY 905-827-9833
www.halton.ca
February, 2009