World Breastfeeding Week 2024: Foods To Avoid When Breastfeeding

World Breastfeeding Week attempts to raise awareness of the enormous benefits that nursing can have on both the health and welfare of infants in addition to making a larger push for maternal health, with an emphasis on healthy eating, poverty alleviation, and food security. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a global network that seeks to safeguard, support, and promote breastfeeding worldwide, organises the event each year. To bring its aid to the appropriate individuals in the right places along the route, it collaborates with the World Health Organisation and Unicef.

Every year, the first week of August is observed as World Breastfeeding Week. We can utilise this week by bringing attention to breastfeeding and things to keep in mind as mothers. While nursing women are encouraged to eat a wide variety of foods, there are several things to stay away from when nursing.

It's crucial to understand what to eat and what to avoid during breastfeeding. To help us better understand what foods are not healthy for breastfeeding mothers, nutritionist Lovneet Batra shares a list of foods lactating mothers should avoid.

Foods breastfeeding women should avoid, according to the nutritionist

1. Raw vegetables

Consumption of raw vegetables such as such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli can cause gas in the mother's bowel; there is also the potential for the mother to suffer from food poisoning

2. Coffee

Coffee is a common source of caffeine and babies have a hard time breaking down and getting rid of caffeine. As a result, large amounts of caffeine over time could accumulate in your baby's system, causing irritability and trouble sleeping

3. High mercury fish

Bigeye tuna, King mackerel, and Marlin fish are high in mercury, a metal that can be toxic — especially in infants and kids, who are more sensitive to mercury poisoning. Acute exposure to high levels of mercury can permanently affect your infant's central nervous system. As a result, they may have delays or impairments.

4. Peppermint/sage/parsley

The herbs parsley, sage, and peppermint are in a class called anti-galactagogues, because they are known to decrease breast milk production.

5. Alcohol

Abstaining from alcohol is the safest option during breastfeeding. Alcohol inhibits your milk ejection (let down) reflex. This makes it harder for the baby to get your milk. Moreover, alcohol consumption can decrease the infant's milk intake by 20 to 23% and cause infant agitation and poor sleep patterns.

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