The importance of nutrients

To achieve these, pregnant or breastfeeding moms should eat a healthy diet as this affects her health, energy and sense of well-being. A mother who is diabetic, hypertensive (has high blood pressure) or is reeling from severe cough, colds and fever, for instance, may find it too taxing to care for her new baby. This is why, it is especially important for women at these stages of life to consume nutrient-dense meals to strengthen their immune system so that they will be able to perform their nurturing roles.

A breastfeeding mother uses up to about 700 calories to breastfeed. She needs about 500 extra calories from a variety of nutritious foods, which will also provide her with the extra protein, vitamins and minerals. The other 200 calories should come from the fat stores she has accumulated during pregnancy.

If a mother eats unhealthy foods, her body will use up her own nutritional stores to be able to produce the right quality and quantity of breast milk. If her poor eating habits continue, she will be malnourished and be prone to illnesses. This is the reason why some mothers lose their teeth or suffer from falling hair while breastfeeding.

Among severely malnourished mothers, breastmilk production is still possible if her child suckles frequently but her breastmilk may contain less fats and vitamins. In cases like these, the correct intervention is not to give formula milk to the child but to use available resources to nourish the mother.

Eating the right kinds of foods will help you achieve your ideal pre-pregnancy weight thereby avoiding the harmful effects of obesity. One of my patients and now our breastfeeding counselor, former beauty queen Nuriza Abeja-Bungubung, gained 73 pounds during her first pregnancy. Upon my dietary advice, she lost 75 pounds while breastfeeding her son Joaquin. During her second pregnancy, she ate sensibly and continued to follow my dietary recommendations and gained only 35 pounds.

Our daily food affects the growth of our children inside and outside the womb and well into their adulthood. For instance, there are now studies linking the development of heart disease among children of diabetics while still inside their mother’s womb. Let us remember that our preference for healthy foods will influence our children’s future favorite meals. If you want your child to be fond of fruits and vegetables, you need to eat these on a regular basis so that your child will be able to savor their subtle flavors in your breastmilk. In our breastfeeding clinic, many mothers are surprised to find out that their children love soups with ginger and we explain to them that this is because we have encouraged them to take these soups while they were pregnant and breastfeeding.

Recommended foods

Combining leafy and fruit vegetables, beans, root crops in one dish provide excellent nutrition that mothers need to recover from the rigors of pregnancy, birthing and sustain breastfeeding. Indigenous foods are also known to help mothers produce more breastmilk.

These dishes may be called different names but the process of cooking them is similar. Root crops and beans are boiled and mashed to thicken the soup and at boiling point a variety of leafy and fruit vegetables are added to the broth. The indigenous way of cooking these vegetables can be found throughout the country. Many times these vegetables are also cooked with fresh coconut milk and ginger that are also good sources of calcium.

Northern Luzon: pinakbet, dinengdeng, buridibud (As a vegetarian group we recommend the use of soy sauce. To avoid allergies for you and your breastfeeding baby, omit bagoong)

Tagalog Region: Sinigang, Bulanglang

Visayan and Mindanao Regions: Laswa, Law-uy, Nilapwa-an, Utan

Unpolished Rice

The consumption of indigenous foods is combined with the intake of unpolished rice and other whole grains like corn. Aside from preventing constipation that is especially important for a mother who are pregnant or who just gave birth, unpolished rice and whole grains provide more nutrients like complex carbohydrates for the extra calories needed during nursing. To emphasize the importance of combining breastfeeding and providing children with indigenous foods and brown rice, we have coined the term Breastfed Brown Rice Babies.

Mothers who abide by these nutritional advices noticed that their Breastfed Brown Rice Babies grow a lot healthier, are hardly sick (some reported not even a single bout of fever for one year!) or recover from illnesses much faster using indigenous food as medicine (some reported not going to their pediatricians for three straight years!)

An added advantage to this eating habit is that you will not have a problem with picky eaters. If your child observes that you enjoy eating healthy meals, they will also imbibe the habit of choosing what is appropriate for their growing mind and body. If you keep only healthy foods inside your refrigerator,

How to Cook Unpolished Rice

Boil 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water for twenty minutes. Turn off the stove or rice cooker. Allow the rice to be soaked in the hot water for 15-20 minutes. Turn on the stove or rice cooker to slow fire or low heat until done. You can add pandan, gata, kasuba (saffron flower), sesame seeds, beans for different flavors. Both rice and beans can be soaked overnight to shorten cooking time.

An important reminder for parents in preparing babyfoods: salt should not be added to a baby’s diet until he or she turns one year old. However, oils like coconut, sesame or olive oil should be added to complementary foods or solids.

Nona D. Andaya-Castillo, IBCLC is a teacher of natural family planning, natural childbirth, indigenous vegetarianism, natural healing that uses massage and food as medicine and is one of only five International Board Certified Lactation Consultants in the Philippines. She has rehabilitated severely malnourished children, helped breastfeeding mothers and many others heal from their illnesses through the use of indigenous foods. She founded Nurturers of the Earth, a support group for vegetarians and vegetarians in progress.

The Breastfeeding Clinic is a joint project of Nurturers of the Earth and Children for Breastfeeding to provide support to parents. Managed by two International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs), it holds pre-natal classes and massage for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. For details, please call 889-1105 or text your name and landline to 0919-839-5555 or email to thebreastfeedingclinic@yahoo.com.ph