Table of contents:
- What is the importance of food intake after giving birth?
- How to choose food after childbirth
- 1. Choose foods after giving birth to complex carbohydrates
- 2. Eat foods high in protein
- 3. Eat small portions but often
- 4. Drink lots of fluids
- 5. Eat sources of omega-3 fatty acids
- 6. Eat green vegetables
- 7. Eat fruit rich in vitamin C
- Various dietary restrictions after childbirth
- 1. Caffeinated foods and drinks
- 2. Spicy food after childbirth
- 3. Oily food after childbirth
- 4. Foods that are gaseous and acidic
The delivery process consumes a lot of mother's energy. Not surprisingly, after giving birth, new mothers need high nutritious food intake to replace the calories they burn.
Not to mention, life as a mother in the first months after birth requires you to stay energized throughout the day.
To be more optimal, mothers need to know some important tips in choosing foods after giving birth.
What is the importance of food intake after giving birth?
After giving birth, the mother's weight usually increases than before pregnancy.
In order to restore excess body weight, the mother may have made up her mind to lose weight immediately after giving birth.
However, it's good to cancel this intention first because you still need a lot of nutritional intake from food and drink during the childbirth or postpartum period.
Yes, it is not only nutrition during pregnancy that must be considered by mothers, it turns out that nutrition after giving birth must also be considered.
Maternal nutritional needs after normal delivery and by caesarean section both need attention.
This is because after pregnancy and childbirth, the body needs good nutrition to support the recovery process.
Not only that, adequate intake of nutrients from food and beverages is also necessary so that breast milk production in the mother's body runs optimally.
It is important to understand that the quality of mother's milk is more or less influenced by food intake.
When the nutrition the mother needs from food is not sufficient, the body will take it from the stored nutritional reserves.
That is why eating foods that can increase energy provides the stamina needed by new mothers, especially during the puerperium and postpartum breastfeeding.
Regularly consuming energy-boosting foods for new moms will give you the stamina you need to be the best mom you can be.
In fact, the weight gain that mothers gain during pregnancy can help provide nutritional needs during the recovery and breastfeeding process.
Unfortunately, these nutrient reserves cannot provide nutrients for a long time.
So, after giving birth you still have to pay attention to the intake of food you eat.
Eating the right diet after childbirth including forms of care after normal delivery and post-cesarean section.
How to choose food after childbirth
It is better not to choose food carelessly after giving birth.
At this time, new mothers need proper food intake to meet energy and body stamina after childbirth.
Now, there's no need to be confused, here's the right way to choose foods that can be eaten after giving birth:
1. Choose foods after giving birth to complex carbohydrates
In fact, the more complex carbohydrates contained in a food, the better the food is to be consumed.
Complex carbohydrates require a longer digestion time than simple carbohydrates.
That is why, food sources with complex carbohydrate content for new mothers can keep blood sugar levels consistent.
This will provide the mother with longer energy levels which will help keep her full for longer.
In addition, complex carbohydrates such as whole wheat bread and cereals also contain more vitamins and minerals.
Meanwhile, the vitamin and mineral content in simple carbohydrates, such as white bread and foods that contain sugar, is not too much.
2. Eat foods high in protein
High protein sources should be the diet after giving birth.
Protein is needed to replace tissue that may be damaged after childbirth.
On the other hand, these nutrients are also abundant in breast milk and are used to support the baby's growth.
Protein-rich foods provide the mother with additional energy which is expended little by little and will last for 3 to 5 hours.
Foods with high-quality protein that can be eaten after childbirth include milk, eggs, and yogurt.
Other protein-rich food options that can also be eaten for mothers after childbirth and while breastfeeding include lean meats, dry peas, and nuts.
Combining these two nutrients at breakfast is a great option to start a day full of energy.
3. Eat small portions but often
If you are accustomed to eating large amounts of three meals a day, it is a good idea to change this pattern.
It's best to change the diet after giving birth to be less but more frequent.
In short, you can divide the portion of food that was from three times a day to five times a day with smaller portions after giving birth.
This pattern will keep the body getting energy from food so that you don't feel hungry in the middle of the day because of too long pauses in eating.
4. Drink lots of fluids
Mothers need to maintain hydration after giving birth by drinking enough water after childbirth.
The reason is, dehydration will make the mother feel tired and sleepy throughout the day. Drinking lots of fluids is the easiest way you can do to maintain energy and freshness of the mother.
Therefore, always keep water near you.
So, if at any time you feel thirsty, you can just take it without any reason to be lazy to take a drink because it is far away.
Especially during this breastfeeding period, the mother needs more fluids so that she shouldn't drink less.
Based on Permenkes Number 28 of 2019, mothers aged 19-49 who have just breastfed for the first six months need around 3150 milliliters (ml) of fluids.
Meanwhile, breastfeeding mothers aged 19-49 years who have breastfed for six months and over need about 3000 ml of fluid intake.
Mothers can take herbal medicine after giving birth to help restore the body.
5. Eat sources of omega-3 fatty acids
The omega-3 fatty acids found in many oily fish (such as salmon and sardines) can help boost the brain's work.
Not only that, the content of omega-3 fatty acids can also improve the baby's sensory, cognitive and motor development.
These omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods such as salmon, tuna, and whole grains.
That is why, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are good to eat for mothers giving birth and breastfeeding.
6. Eat green vegetables
Launching from Stanford Children's Health, various vegetables, especially green ones, need to be consumed by mothers after childbirth.
Green leafy vegetables, for example spinach, broccoli, kale, beans, and other green vegetables, contain lots of vitamin A, vitamin C, antioxidants, and iron.
Green vegetables are also a food source of calcium that is not from milk after childbirth.
In addition to mothers, the nutrients contained in green vegetables are also needed by babies and prevent them from avoiding iron deficiency anemia (ADB).
7. Eat fruit rich in vitamin C
Vitamin C can increase the mother's immune system during the puerperium.
Fatigue due to taking care of your newborn baby will make your immune system a little decreased.
Well, that's why you need food intake that can increase the mother's endurance after giving birth.
Fruit rich in vitamin C is good for consumption for mothers after childbirth.
Fruits with high vitamin C content that are very easy to find for postpartum mothers include oranges, pineapples, grapes, and guava.
Various dietary restrictions after childbirth
After giving birth, the mother's task is not finished because she still has to breastfeed your little one.
Therefore, mothers still have to pay attention to the intake of every food that enters the body.
If previously discussed about how to choose food after childbirth, now mothers need to know postpartum dietary restrictions, both normal delivery and cesarean section.
Remember, food that you eat during breastfeeding can get to your baby through breast milk.
So, the option to avoid some types of food so that the milk that enters your baby's body does not cause problems may be necessary.
Choose foods for breastfeeding mothers that are safe for you and your baby.
Some dietary restrictions that need to be avoided or limit their consumption after normal delivery or cesarean section are:
1. Caffeinated foods and drinks
Are you a true caffeine enthusiast? If so, it seems that you have to endure this desire.
Coffee, chocolate, or tea are examples of foods and drinks that contain caffeine.
Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and tea can indeed stimulate your spirits and make you feel energized again.
Caffeine will not cause problems if only a small amount gets into the body.
However, caffeine that enters the body in large quantities may cause problems, such as difficulty sleeping and dehydration.
Not only that, caffeine can also mix with breast milk so that it has the potential to enter the baby's body.
If your baby seems very restless, restless, and has trouble sleeping, it may be a sign that you are consuming too much caffeine.
Try to limit the consumption of food and drink sources of caffeine per day and see the difference in the effect on your little one after normal delivery or cesarean section.
2. Spicy food after childbirth
Eating spicy food while breastfeeding may cause discomfort not only to you, but to the baby as well.
Spicy food can cause you to experience heartburn, stomach pain, and even diarrhea, either after a normal delivery or a cesarean section.
This certainly can interfere with breastfeeding the baby.
In addition, spicy foods can also cause colic in babies.
On this basis, spicy foods include foods that should be avoided or should not be eaten after (post) normal delivery and cesarean section.
3. Oily food after childbirth
Greasy or fatty foods are difficult to digest.
This is why oily food is included in the taboo that is prohibited from eating after a normal delivery or a cesarean section.
There are certain reasons why fatty and greasy foods are among those that should be avoided or prohibited after (post) vaginal delivery and cesarean section.
This is because oily and fatty foods can cause indigestion, a burning stomach, and gases.
In addition, eating too much oily and fatty foods can also cause you to gain weight.
This can make the mother feel less fit and uncomfortable with her own body.
4. Foods that are gaseous and acidic
Gaseous and acidic foods can make postpartum digestion, either by normal methods or by caesarean section, uncomfortable.
These foods may also cause a nursing baby to experience colic.
Some gaseous or acidic foods that you should avoid a few days after giving birth are beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and soft drinks.
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