Maternal dietary taboos

There are only three categories that really need to be avoided 100% - any food containing alcohol, meat, eggs and seafood that are not fully cooked, and foods that you are clearly allergic to or that have been proven to cause discomfort to your baby. The rest of the widely circulated taboos of "milk-returning foods", "cold foods" and "heavy foods" do not need to be one-size-fits-all and can be adjusted according to your own body constitution and eating habits.

Let’s first talk about these three types of red lines that should not be touched. This is really not an alarmist statement. In many places, it is customary to drink fermented glutinous rice with eggs and rice wine to feed breast milk. In my hometown, there is even a saying that rice wine and water are consumed instead of boiled water throughout the confinement period. However, in fact, even if the fermented glutinous rice is boiled, there will still be about 0.5%-3% alcohol residue. This alcohol will enter the breast milk without any obstacles. The metabolism of the liver of babies is only a few tenths of that of adults. Even a small amount of intake may affect neurological development. The dietary guidelines for lactation from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Chinese Nutrition Society clearly require that alcohol be completely banned during lactation. Whether drinking directly or eating alcoholic foods, you must avoid this. This is not controversial. To be honest, I once met a mother who drank a bowl of fermented eggs during confinement. As a result, her baby slept all day and couldn't wake up. She went to the hospital for a check-up because it was due to slight alcohol intake. Don't bet on your child's health with old customs.

As for foods that are not fully cooked, it is easier to understand. Many people like to eat soft-boiled eggs, raw pickled seafood, medium-rare steaks, and even raw vegetables that are not washed and mixed directly. They may carry Listeria and Salmonella. Ordinary people may only have diarrhea for two days after being infected, but the mother's postpartum immunity is at a low level. Once infected, it can easily lead to serious complications and may be transmitted to the baby through milk. This is also a taboo recognized by any school and is not negotiable.

There are also allergy-related taboos that are completely individualized. For example, if you are allergic to mangoes, you cannot eat them regardless of whether you are pregnant or not. If you find that the eczema on the face of your breast-fed baby has worsened significantly after eating crabs, or you have bloody stools, you should avoid it for the time being.

As for the controversial taboos that everyone has heard about most, such as cooling foods and milk-replenishing foods, in fact, the differences between different concepts are quite large, and there is no need to argue about right or wrong. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that postpartum Qi and blood deficiency, spleen and stomach weakness, raw and cold food will damage Yang Qi and lead to postpartum syndrome. In fact, the raw and cold mentioned here refers more to excessive ice drinks, ice products, and special medicinal materials with cold nature. It does not mean that all fruits at room temperature are considered "cold". My best friend gave birth to a baby last summer, and the elders wouldn't even let her touch the watermelon. She secretly nibbled half of a room-temperature unicorn melon while no one was around. Not only did she not have diarrhea, but her constipation was relieved for several days. Later, I asked a Chinese medicine doctor, and the doctor said that as long as it is not iced and there are no gastrointestinal discomforts, it is perfectly fine to eat it. The view of modern nutrition is more direct: as long as the food is clean and you feel no discomfort when eating it, no matter what the temperature is, it will not cause harm to the body. If you usually like to drink iced milk tea and you don’t feel stomach pain after giving birth to it, you can take a few sips to satisfy your cravings, which is much better than holding in a bad mood.

There are also foods such as leeks, malt, hawthorn, and beans that are included in the blacklist of breast milk. I have seen too many mothers who dare not touch a bite during confinement. In fact, it is really unnecessary. The stir-fried malt used in clinical practice to restore milk to postpartum women requires 60-120 grams of boiled water per day, and it takes 3-5 consecutive drinks to have an effect. If you eat one or two boxes of leeks, the dose of leeks will not even be enough to restore milk. On the contrary, many mothers are worried about eating the wrong thing every day to restore milk, and are so anxious that they cannot sleep well, which really causes a decrease in milk production. In lactation, emotions and sleep have a much greater impact than food.

I went to a postpartum nutrition clinic with a friend before, and I particularly agree with what the doctor said: The most taboo thing about postpartum diet is to fit yourself into other people's standards. Some places say that during the confinement period, you can only drink millet porridge and eat eggs. People who eat it will almost vomit, and their nutrition cannot keep up, and their recovery will be slow. ； There are also people who drink large amounts of oily soup every day to release milk, which results in blockage of milk and fever, causing both adults and children to suffer.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there are so many black and white taboos in maternal diet. Except for the three red lines that cannot be touched, the rest can be whatever is comfortable for you. If you believe in traditional customs, eat more warm and soft foods, and if you don’t like cold foods, don’t eat them. If you believe in modern nutrition, it’s not a big deal to eat two bites of ice and something slightly spicy. After all, a good mood is the first priority for postpartum recovery, right?