Supporting healthy breastmilk supply nutritionally.

Supporting healthy breastmilk supply nutritionally.

For women that breastfeed, breastmilk supply and composition is influenced by many factors including:

  • Age
  • Body composition (either underweight or overweight)
  • Natural daily variations
  • Stage of lactation
  • Daily energy intake (specifically if undereating)
  • Dietary macronutrients (how much protein, fat and carbohydrates are being consumed daily)
  • Hydration levels (influenced by daily amount of water and diuretic substances consumed, temperature and activity level)

This means there are things we can do to help with maintaining a healthy breastmilk supply. 

  • Eat three meals a day.
  • Add in one to two snacks based on hunger levels between meals.
  • Have quality protein, low GI carbohydrates and beneficial fats with each meal.
  • Drink plenty of water (have a 500mL water bottle in the kitchen and aim to have one to three bottles each day)

Here are some extra tips:

  • Before birth, stock up on nutrient-dense, easy to prepare freezer meals. 
  • After birth, take up any offers from your support network to provide meals for the freezer. 
  • Double the recipe when cooking dinner to put in the freezer for another night.
  • Make a big batch of easy to grab meals or snacks to keep in the fridge (muesli, bliss balls as a slice, poached mixed berries). 
  • Make meals as easy as possible (one-pot stews or soups, smoothies, salads, tray-bake meals, whole fruit, nuts, yoghurt snacks)

If you’d like an individualised postpartum meal plan to support healthy breastmilk supply and recovery, you can book an appointment here.

For more information on Postpartum Nutrition, you might like to read this blog post. 
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