Breast is best
Breast milk is the best milk for babies. Breast milk provides the ideal balanced nutrition and protection for your baby. Maternal nutritional requirements increase during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Therefore mothers’ diets should include a wide variety of nutritious food and healthy snacks.
If you are considering bottle feeding, always seek professional advice as once bottle feeding has commenced it can be difficult to revert to breast feeding. Partial bottle feeding may also adversely affect breastfeeding by reducing the supply of breast milk. Always use and prepare infant formula as directed by the manufacturer; unnecessary or improper use of infant formula can be hazardous to the health of your baby.
Before using infant formula, always consider the social and financial implications, such as issues of convenience and cost to the household of using infant formula for at least 12 months. If you are considering using infant formula, it is important to discuss this with a health professional.
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I'm all blocked up in the bathroom department
Constipation is something you might be pretty familiar with - spending a lot of downtime in the bathroom is common during pregnancy. There are several reasons why, one is the amount of the hormone progesterone you have in your body as this can relax your digestive tract making food pass through it more slowly. Another factor is the pressure from your growing uterus, or even a side effect from taking iron supplements.
How do I get things moving?
While there isn’t a quick fix for constipation, keeping plenty of fibre and fluids in your diet should see you right. It’s a good idea to keep active and go for a walk, a swim or even try some yoga - regular exercise can help get your bowels moving.
Try some of these fibre friendly foods:
- Cereal – opt for high fibre varieties like natural muesli or bran based cereals. Porridge is always a good choice too. Check out the nutritional value listed on the packets, at least six grams of fibre per 100 grams is a good amount.
- Wholegrain breads – aim for around the same amount of fibre as your cereal, at least six grams or more per 100 grams is ideal.
- Fruit and veges – they’re packed with nutrients, and they’re a handy source of fibre. Remember lots of the goodness is in the skin, so eat those when you can, just make sure they’re washed thoroughly. Kiwifruit are a good addition to your diet, as are frozen peas.
- Wholemeal – opting for wholemeal types of pasta or switching to brown rice instead of white can make a difference.
- Nuts – a handful of nuts or seeds is a handy source of fibre.
- Legumes – dried peas, beans and lentils. You can use these in soups, casseroles or even salads, be creative!
Don’t force the matter
If you find you’re still having problems it’s a good idea to chat to your health professional.