Contents:
- Medical Video: Women's Nutrition : How to Eat Healthy While Breastfeeding
- Is breastfeeding during fasting safe?
- Can breastfeeding during fasting have a negative impact on the baby?
- Can breastfeeding during fasting have a negative impact on the mother?
Medical Video: Women's Nutrition : How to Eat Healthy While Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is not an obstacle for you to keep fasting. For some people, breastfeeding during fasting may not be a problem. However, others may assume that fasting while still breastfeeding is not an easy thing. So, will breastfeeding affect the body of the mother during fasting?
If you are considering the benefits and risks of fasting during breastfeeding, see this article for more information.
Is breastfeeding during fasting safe?
Fasting will not interfere with milk production. Your body can still produce breast milk with the same amount and quality as when you were not fasting. In fact, the lack of calories that enter your body in other normal days when you are not fasting actually does not affect breast milk production much.
Fortunately, your body really understands your condition, which requires you to continue to produce breast milk as baby food no matter the situation. Your body is smarter than you think. The body is able to adjust the way to change calories to produce milk so that the quantity and quality of breast milk will be maintained even if you are hungry. However, sometimes allowing yourself to lack nutrition while fasting is certainly not good.
Can breastfeeding during fasting have a negative impact on the baby?
The quantity and quality of breast milk is not affected by how much food you consume. Therefore, breastfeeding during fasting certainly will not affect your baby's health. Your baby can still get all the nutrients he needs for growth and development. Baby's weight is also not affected by the condition of the mother who fasts during breastfeeding. this result was reported by a 2006 study in a group of nursing mothers with infants aged 2-5 months who fasted during the month of Ramadan.
Most importantly, your baby continues to suckle well. The more often your baby suckles, the more he can fulfill his needs, and the more smooth your milk production will be. This is a mutually beneficial cycle between mother and baby.
However, your milk may change slightly depending on what you eat and how much. You need to know that the food sources of fat you consume during fasting can affect the type of fat contained in breast milk, although it does not affect the amount of fat in breast milk.
Your body will take fat reserves from the body if the amount of fat from food is not enough to produce milk. So, keep watching how much and what foods you consume when fasting. Do not let you experience weight loss during fasting because this can affect the type of fat contained in breast milk.
Can breastfeeding during fasting have a negative impact on the mother?
This depends on how you consume your food and drink while fasting. Although fasting limits your eating and drinking time, if you manage it properly you can provide for the nutritional needs needed for breastmilk production.
Keep in mind how much and what foods you eat when breaking fast and sahur. If you are unable to meet your nutritional needs during breastfeeding during fasting, then the loss is yourself. Why? Because the body will take the nutrients needed to produce milk from the nutritional reserves that are in your own body, if the nutrients from food are less able to fulfill it.
For example, if your calcium intake is less than food to be able to meet the quality of breast milk, the body will take reserves of calcium stored in your bones. And, if you can't replace calcium in the missing bone, you will be at risk of developing bone problems later on.
In addition to food, what you should also consider when undergoing fasting is fluid intake. This is important because nursing mothers release more fluid, so they will feel thirsty faster when fasting. Lack of fluid during fasting can cause nursing mothers to become dehydrated and this can adversely affect milk production.
You need to drink at least 8 glasses per day or more during fasting to prevent dehydration. In a study published in the 2009 Journal of Human Lactation, it was recommended that breastfeeding mothers increase fluid intake for 2 days before fasting, so that breastfeeding mothers had enough hydration before fasting. Researchers also recommend that nursing mothers reduce activity and exposure to heat during fasting.
