Why are breastfeeding mamas left so nutritionally depleted?
Photo by Evie Grace Photography, Motherhood & Family Photographer
The breastfeeding journey
It’s National Breastfeeding (BF) Week. I have so many mixed emotions with BF. It did not come naturally to me, I put a shit ton of pressure on myself to exclusively BF Hera. I ended up nursing her until she naturally dropped it at 14/15 months; but it was not always easy and I’ll be honest, if I’m lucky enough to have more children it is the intensity and struggles of BF that can leave me feeling quite anxious. I wholeheartedly support the choice any mama makes when it comes to feeding her baby, but I do wish there was a lot more support available for those wanting to BF. Not just in supporting the ‘latch’ and mechanics, but also how to look after and nourish yourself when BF.
What I learnt, (yes, also amongst some really loving and close moments), it can be really f*cking hard. You can feel completely touched out, exhausted and it is very nutritionally demanding on the mama. Yet, this is often not talked about, or supported. This is reflected in a lot of research. One European cohort study found lactating women had inadequate intakes of energy, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc, iodine, potassium, fibre and linoleic acid (1).
Why are BF women ending up nutritionally depleted?
Inadequate nutrient intake is frequent in women during lactation because women often do not change their dietary habits from pre-conception to postpartum periods. But why would they, when there really isn't any education around this? I think the main advice we get, if any, is to ensure we are hydrating and eating more (but not what 'more' should be composed of).
Worryingly, often the focus and pressure for women in this period of BF is about losing 'baby weight'. We can find ourselves restricting foods, or using weight-loss diets in attempts to return to ‘pre-pregnancy’ weight. This makes me so sad that there this pressure exists, I felt it myself. Yet, it is during one of the most crucial time periods to be re-nourishing and replenishing our bodies.
We may also experience suboptimal intakes of selected nutrients because of health conditions following birth, or poor food choices as we simply do not have time to eat properly.
Why does this matter?
This matters to both mama and baby. As the evidence shows, inadequate nutrient intake during lactation increases the risk of deficiency for selected nutrients. These deficiencies have an impact on milk volume and levels of nutrients in the milk for bub.
But, what I'm really passionate about and feel should also be focused upon, is the impact it also has on mamas. Nutrition can impact our resilience, energy, hormones and mood. This is crucial when navigating the often physically and emotionally draining journey of motherhood, where we all too often put ourselves at the bottom of the pile. Mamas can often put up with symptoms of fatigue, stress, low mood, and hormonal imbalances, being told these are just an inevitable side-effect of 'motherhood'.
Due to this, nutrient depletion can often go undetected for years. I often see this with clients struggling with secondary infertility, where we run blood panels which show clear nutrient deficiencies which have gone on to impact their fertility when looking to expand their family.
Photo by Evie Grace Photography, Motherhood & Family Photographer
Quickstarter tips to support ourselves when BF?
QUICKSTARTER 1
Against advice I usually give in clinic, you can forget about breakfast, lunch and dinner if needed. Don't worry if mealtimes have gone out of the window. Eat to feed your need. Consider what balanced snacks you can have to hand when feeding your baby, even if this is at 3am. But always try to get some adequate protein in at the start of the day. Think eggs, porridge or smoothies made with seeds and nuts, and Greek yoghurt or nut butter on toast with fresh berries - & ideally have someone deliver this to you whilst you stay in bed with the baby during those early days.
QUICKSTARTER 2
Don't be fat shy. Focus on including oily fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines), nuts, seeds, coconut, unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil and avocado into your postpartum foods.
QUICKSTARTER 3
Include heat and healing foods. Include slow-cooked on the bone meats and bone broths. Not only are they hugely nourishing, high in conditionally essential glycine and they tick the warm box; but, the process also makes them easily digestible for the postpartum period.
QUICKSTARTER 4
Shake it off your to-do list. Although food can have a hugely positive impact to your healing and health postpartum, you don’t want it to be another thing to add to your endless newborn-life to-do list. Prioritise batch cooking and freezing meals, snacks, and portioned smoothie bags before the baby arrives. Even better, if you have a partner give this job to them. Definitely pass this job on when you're in the midst of those early days at home with your newborn. Think about giving your friends + family meal ideas to bring, instead of the flowers, new muslins or baby-grows. There are also some useful meal box options to consider with some nutritious balanced options, including Mindful Chef and Potage.
QUICKSTARTER 5
Test, don’t guess - know your levels. As a mother, we can often put ourselves at the bottom of the pile and be left feeling exhausted, stressed, low, and depleted – this struggle can go on for years, leaving us feeling truly overwhelmed and struggling to be the mama we really want to be. If you’re experiencing symptoms or just want to ensure you’re optimising your intakes, book in with me for a free nutrition review here and we can discuss this together. Testing is so important with my clients to see their nutrient status, allowing us to improve on these markers with targeted diet, lifestyle advice, and supplements where needed.
Book in for a free discovery call if you want to chat about your symptoms or replenishing nutrient stores.
1. Wang D, Thielecke F, Fleith M, Afeiche MC, Castro CAD, Martínez-Costa C, et al. Analysis of dietary patterns and nutritional adequacy in lactating women: a multicentre European cohort (ATLAS study). J Nutr Sci [Internet]. 2021 ed [cited 2022 Aug 3];10.
These images are all from Evie Grace Photography. The talented lady behind the camera Emily, ran her Breastfeeding and Motherhood passion project to capture images to celebrate and empower mothers. I love them and wish I’d had some myself whilst nursing Hera. If you’re a BF Mama - do it, I regret only having the chin-up, blurry selfies, with an angle that only exaggerated my udder!