Nursing nutrition that supports breastmilk production

POLOKWANE – The owner of Eat Healthy Diets and dietician Tebogo Nkadimeng, said the best way to increase and boost breast milk is by eating foods such as fruit, vegetables as well as food with a lot of proteins such as eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, salmon and lean beef.

“Bear in mind that some moms might be impatient and think their bodies are not producing enough milk, so before you try different diets or foods, try breastfeeding the baby frequently because the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body will produce. Don’t follow the typical strict schedule, just nurse your baby whenever they are hungry for as long as they want, especially in the first few weeks of establishing your supply. When the first breast is empty, offer the baby the other breast so that you balance it out,” she said.

Nkadimeng added that nursing a baby every two hours during the day and every three to four hours at night will help produce more milk.

“If your baby will not nurse, use a good quality double electric breast pump to increase milk production, as this will have the same effect as when a baby is nursing. Alternatively you can eat foods that are rich in protein and foods with whole grains.”

Another important factor is that breastfed babies have fewer infections and hospitalisations than formula-fed infants, she said.

“We usually advise moms to give formula only when it’s necessary for example, when they’ve tried every option and still can’t produce milk or when they have to go to work and have to alternate between breast milk and formula.”