What to Eat When You Are Expecting and/or Breastfeeding
As a woman and childbirth educator I know that what you eat when you are pregnant and breastfeeding is important.
After all you are what you eat - and so is your baby who is literally being created by the nutrients you provide it! There seem to be a couple schools of mainstream thought related to diet in pregnancy: One is the “eat whatever you want” camp that’s basically a frat-boy’s guide to nourishing your child. Another is the “eating cleaner” view which could mean anything from not drinking/smoking/having coffee to suddenly becoming a vegan. Another group seems to feel that as long as you’re taking a pre-natal vitamin all will be well. The truth is that none of these views are what is best for you or your child!
The real truth is that proper nutrition for your baby is needed long before that child even exists in your womb. For more information on all the wonderful things you can do to build up your own body to best conceive and support a healthy pregnancy see our post “How to Make a Healthy Baby” Even if you are the healthiest person you know, working out regularly and making all your food from scratch, our wise ancestors have shown us for thousands of generations that there are still specific things to do to prepare for conception in the AT LEAST 6 months leading up to making a baby!
But for now, let’s focus on where we are - Feeding the baby inside our bellies so that it can go about the very complex and insanely precise work of growing into a person!
We may understand that eating is the way we fuel our bodies but when you think that every cell of your child is being built by the “fuel” we are providing it we see a whole new value and responsibility for making knowledgeable choices about what goes into our mouths. Also know that if your baby doesn’t get what it needs to thrive from your food then it will try to steal it directly from your body! When your child is delivered into your arms you want to be left a strong healthy nourished mama ready to love and provide for that precious child, not a depleted, sick, exhausted shell. So let’s talk about what to eat so you both can thrive!
Because the real reason is not to fill a belly full of any ole thing. All food is not equal. And nutrition is linked to pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, eclampsia/ pre-eclampsia, preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes (your water breaking too soon), anemia, and the list goes on. This may be incredibly surprising to you because you might have heard that some of these issues “just happen” or that you have no control over them. Well, that isn’t actually the case in most people after all! But so many people, professionals included, do not give credit to how important what we put into our body really is. Eating a well balanced diet is one of the keys to achieving optimal health. And if you are truly eating that way - THERE IS NO NEED FOR PRE NATAL VITAMINS! Is your mind blown or what? Here’s some more info on that from Holistic Squid if you’re interested.
My research over the past 11 years has firmly landed me on Dr. Weston A Price’s recommended diet, as published by the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), especially their recommended diet specifically for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Dr. Price’s research bears out time and again as a timeless guide for how to successfully and perfectly reproduce human beings without complications or degradations. The only exception I take to the WAPF diet recommendations is the fermented cod liver oil - I do not recommend that and I will be clear about why in a future post.
So without further ado - The diet for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers
1 quart (or 32 ounces) whole milk daily, preferably raw and from pasture-fed cows (learn more about raw milk on our website A Campaign for Real Milk)
4 tablespoons butter daily, from cows on pasture
2 or more eggs daily, from free-range chickens
Additional egg yolks daily, added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc.
3-4 ounces fresh liver, once or twice per week (If you have been told to avoid liver for fear of getting “too much Vitamin A,” be sure to read Vitamin A Saga)
Fresh seafood, 2-4 times per week, particularly wild salmon, shellfish and fish eggs
Fresh beef or lamb daily, always consumed with the fat
Oily fish or lard daily, for vitamin D
2 tablespoons coconut oil daily, used in cooking or smoothies, etc.
Lacto-fermented condiments and beverages
Bone broths and meat stocks used in soups, stews and sauces
Soaked whole grains
Fresh vegetables and fruits
AVOID:
Junk foods
Commercial fried foods
Sugar
White flour
Soft drinks
Caffeine
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Drugs (even prescription drugs)
Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils)
I remember the first time I saw this diet, and honestly, my head kind of spun. Yes, I already knew not to drink alcohol while pregnant but I was pretty sure that raw milk was also in the danger zone according to my OB. When I got pregnant with my eldest, who is almost 10 now, I started switching foods over to their organic versions. At this time you couldn’t find an organic equivalent for everything in a regular grocery store like you can now (in my town anyway), and I didn’t realize that natural grocers or farmers markets existed…Thank God my eyes opened to all of those amazing things! We all have to start somewhere right?! Anyway, I was eating what I could find organic at VONS and that was about it. Learning about raw milk, pastured meats and eggs, soaking grains, etc. threw me for a loop. But the more research I did and the more I branched out to find people who knew about these things, the more do-able it all seemed. So if that is how you’re feeling now - you are not alone! Take a breath. It will all be ok! You’re better off than I was when I first ventured out on this journey, now there are YouTube videos, blogs, Instagram, Pinterest boards and everything in-between to help you along the way! And never fear - we are here to help you too!
A wonderful thing about this diet is that you can kind of be in both camps - eat better for your baby - and eat as much as you want!
Did you know that ideally while pregnant you are eating 200 calories more than usual a day, and 500 more when you are breastfeeding! So it’s all about a well balanced, nutrient dense diet and not starving yourself. Pregnancy weight gain is all about what you are eating. If you gain 60 lbs and eat the above diet - that’s healthy. If you gain 60 lbs and ate fast food, sodas, and junk….that’s not healthy. So with this diet you can be confident in what you are eating while you watch the scale inch up throughout pregnancy. And if you are nursing, this will ensure your baby has happy, healthy milk to feast off of! What changes are you planning to make to what you are currently eating?
