Diet taboos for postpartum women during confinement

There is no "one-size-fits-all" dietary taboo that applies to all mothers. There are only three types of clearly harmful foods that need to be avoided 100% - alcoholic drinks/foods, raw/half-cooked infectious ingredients, and foods that you are clearly allergic to. The rest of the so-called "cannot eat cold food, cannot eat salt, cannot touch milk-containing foods" and other statements must be flexibly adjusted based on your own body constitution, postpartum recovery stage, and eating habits. There is no need to stick to the old rules and torture yourself.

To be honest, I have seen too many mothers who stepped on the "absolute taboo" trap. Last year, when I accompanied my best friend who had just given birth to a baby, she was discharged from the hospital. Her mother-in-law was blocking the door of the ward with a thermos of salt-free crucian carp soup. She said, "Eating salt will make your breast milk grow back and make you unable to get rid of edema." She frowned every time she drank the soup. I drank it for three days. On the fourth day, I felt dizzy and unsteady when I got up. The blood test showed mild hyponatremia. The doctor told the family members: the mother sweats a lot, excretes lochia and lactates. She loses sodium every day. If she doesn't eat salt at all, it will cause serious problems. In fact, the fear of eating salt to aggravate edema was passed down from the past when material conditions were poor and mothers suffered from malnutrition and edema. Nowadays, everyone has kept up with nutrition. As long as the daily salt intake is controlled at 3-5g, which is slightly lower than ordinary people, and avoids high-salt foods such as bacon and pickles, it is completely fine. Adding less salt soup can still drink it, which is better than forcing yourself to vomit after drinking salt-free soup and not getting any nutrients.

Let’s talk about the most controversial issue: “Can I eat fruit?” I once met a mother in the maternal and child nutrition clinic. She didn’t dare to touch a piece of fruit for 12 days after giving birth. She was constipated to the point of anal fissure and cried and asked what to do. She said that her mother said that fruit is “cold” and after eating it, it would cause toothache and stomach cold, and it would also cause diarrhea in the baby. In fact, how could it be so mysterious? If you don't have heating in the northern winter, it would definitely be uncomfortable to eat frozen pears that you just brought back from the balcony at 20 degrees below zero. However, if you are worried about the coldness of apples, strawberries, and oranges at room temperature, soak them in warm water for two minutes, or steam a pear and boil an apple. You can eat them. Supplementing dietary fiber can also relieve constipation, as long as you don't eat iced fruits just taken out of the refrigerator. The constipated mother ate half a steamed dragon fruit every day, and she told me that her bowel movements were smooth within two days, and her baby didn't have diarrhea.

There are also many people holding a long list of "return milk" in their hands, including leeks, malt, pepper, hawthorn, celery... they say that the milk will be gone after just one bite. I specifically asked a lactation consultant I know well, and they said that there is currently no evidence-based medical evidence to prove that these common ingredients will directly inhibit lactation. Most people will eat it without any problems. Only a few mothers with particularly sensitive constitutions may experience a decrease in lactation after eating large doses of malt or leeks. There is no need to avoid them all at once. My neighbor's mother had a very abundant milk supply. She ate two meals of leek boxes half a month after giving birth. Her milk supply was not reduced at all. On the contrary, she was in a good mood every day and recovered faster than anyone else. If your own milk supply is just enough for your baby, then just avoid it for the time being. There is no need to worry about a bite of food for half a day.

As for the "must-have supplements for confinement" spread from various places, there is no need to be rigid. Guangdong's pig's trotters and ginger are indeed nourishing, but if you drink them all the time before the mammary glands are clear in the first three days after delivery, too much oil will easily block the milk. My sister's mother-in-law drank hoof flower soup on the second day after giving birth. As a result, she had a high fever of 39 degrees due to the blockage of the milk. It was so painful that she shed tears during the lactation. Later, she ate light porridge, noodles, and stir-fried vegetables for the previous week. After the mammary glands were clear, she slowly added soup and water, but the milk volume was very stable. There is also the brown sugar millet porridge that is often consumed in the north. You only need to drink brown sugar for two or three days. Drinking too much will cause lochia and make you gain weight easily. ； You should pay more attention to the fermented glutinous rice eggs that are popular in the Jiangnan area. Even if they are cooked for a long time, there will be alcohol residue, which will be passed on to the baby through milk and affect the neurological development. It is best not to touch it.

In fact, in the final analysis, there are really not so many restrictions on what to eat during confinement. There are many mothers around me who eat everything in moderation, feel good, recover quickly, and their babies grow strong. On the contrary, there are those who dare not eat this or touch that. They feel depressed every day, cannot increase their milk supply, and are prone to malnutrition. Of course, everyone's body is different. If you feel uncomfortable in your stomach after eating something, or if your baby develops eczema or diarrhea after drinking milk, just don't eat it next time. You don't have to listen to what others say you can't eat and don't dare to touch anything - after all, you are the one who is in confinement, and comfort is the first priority.