Top 5 Foods Postpartum Mothers Should Avoid

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After childbirth, a mother’s body needs time to rest and recover both physically and mentally. What to eat postpartum is a crucial nutritional factor in helping mothers recover their health quickly. So, what should postpartum women avoid eating, and what should they eat during confinement? Let’s find out with AVAKids!

The postpartum period is when a woman’s body is very sensitive and prone to many health risks if mothers don’t practice scientific confinement. How can mothers quickly regain their health while having plenty of milk for their baby? AVAKids reveals some useful information through the article below.

What are postpartum illnesses in women?

Postpartum dietary restrictions can reduce the risk of postpartum illnesses. Postpartum illness is an illness that occurs in women after childbirth due to improper care.

Usually, mothers need 2-6 months of rest for their bodies to fully recover. If postpartum dietary restrictions are not followed correctly, mothers may experience some postpartum illnesses such as:

  • Postpartum depression due to prolonged stress and anxiety
  • Infections (vaginal, cervical, surgical wound, etc.)
  • Postpartum hemorrhoids
  • Constipation
  • Postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia, late postpartum hemorrhage, etc.
  • Uterine pain, perineal pain, etc.

Postpartum illnesses need to be detected and treated promptly to limit the negative effects on the mother’s physical and mental health, and even threaten the lives of both mother and baby.

Scientific postpartum dietary restrictions and providing sufficient nutrients during this period are essential. This helps mothers recover postpartum while ensuring their health and producing plenty of milk to meet the baby’s needs.

Viên uống Vitabiotics Pregnacare Breast-Feeding

Vitabiotics Pregnacare Breast-Feeding supplements vitamins and minerals for postpartum mothers

What should postpartum women avoid eating to prevent postpartum illnesses?

What to avoid eating postpartum to prevent postpartum illnesses? The following foods are recommended to be limited for mothers in the postpartum period because they can affect both the quality of the mother’s milk and the baby’s digestive system:

Postpartum women should avoid spicy foods

Avoiding spicy food postpartum is good for the mother’s recovery. Because spicy food can cause constipation and hemorrhoids. In addition, when mothers consume spicy food, the quality of breast milk will also be affected, causing the baby to refuse to breastfeed and harming their digestive system.

Thức ăn cay hoàn toàn không có lợi cho đường tiêu hóa của mẹ

Spicy food is not good for the mother’s digestive system

Mothers should avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages

Postpartum women should avoid food or drinks containing alcohol and caffeine. Caffeinated drinks include: coffee, tea, alcohol, beer, and chocolate. When mothers consume these drinks, caffeine will be passed to the baby through breast milk and cause the baby to have difficulty sleeping.

Alcoholic beverages are proven to reduce a mother’s milk production. At the same time, it seriously affects the development of the fetus. Therefore, mothers should absolutely not consume alcoholic beverages throughout the breastfeeding period.

Thức uống có cồn làm giảm khả năng sản xuất sữa của mẹ (Ảnh: Canva)

Alcoholic beverages reduce milk production in mothers

Confinement diet should avoid foods with high mercury content

Mercury is one of the toxic substances harmful to the development of children. Mercury is found in foods such as swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and shark. Therefore, postpartum mothers should avoid these types of fish because they have a negative impact.

See more: 20 confinement meals for mothers, nutritious confinement menu for mothers after normal delivery suggested by experts

Postpartum women should avoid raw food

Postpartum mothers need to avoid raw food. Foods that are not cooked thoroughly pose many risks to the mother’s digestive system because the mother’s immunity has not fully recovered after childbirth.

Bacteria in raw food can cause digestive upset in mothers. Therefore, during confinement, mothers should ensure they eat cooked food and drink boiled water.

Các loại vi khuẩn trong đồ ăn sống có thể gây ra hiện tượng rối loạn tiêu hóa ở mẹ (Ảnh: Canva)

Bacteria in raw food can cause digestive upset in mothers

Postpartum mothers should avoid frozen foods

Cold food and drinks directly harm the mother’s teeth and digestive system. Mothers may experience toothache, tooth sensitivity, and digestive disorders if they consume cold food and drinks. Therefore, postpartum mothers need to avoid frozen food.

Confinement should avoid overly acidic food and drinks

Acidic foods or fermented foods can harm the mother’s digestive system, causing reflux and diarrhea in the baby. Therefore, postpartum women should avoid overly acidic food or drinks.

Postpartum women should avoid carbonated drinks

Carbonated drinks are also one of the causes of bloating and gas in mothers. Therefore, postpartum mothers should avoid carbonated drinks.

Mothers should avoid high-fat foods

Foods prepared using frying or stir-frying methods often contain a lot of fat. This food is not good for the digestive system and slows down the mother’s health recovery process. Therefore, mothers should avoid high-fat foods postpartum for better recovery.

Postpartum women should avoid weight-loss supplements

After giving birth, mothers often eagerly want to regain their pre-pregnancy figure and weight. Therefore, many mothers have turned to weight-loss teas, weight-loss pills, etc. However, these supplements are not recommended for breastfeeding women.

Therefore, to ensure the safety of both mother and baby, mothers should use appropriate exercise methods to gradually regain their desired physique.

Breastfeeding mothers should avoid garlic

Breastfeeding mothers who eat garlic may cause their babies to refuse to breastfeed because garlic is a very pungent spice that makes breast milk smell like garlic.

What should postpartum women eat to increase milk production and benefit recovery?

What should postpartum mothers eat is a common question for many families? A suitable postpartum confinement diet will help mothers accelerate their body’s recovery process and increase milk production for their babies. According to nutrition experts, postpartum mothers should follow these dietary principles:

The foods in a mother’s diet should ensure that they contain sufficient and balanced nutrient groups, including: protein group, fat group, starch and sugar group, vitamin and mineral group.

  • Protein group: Mothers should combine animal protein from livestock and poultry, and plant protein from beans. In addition, red meats (pork, beef, etc.) contain a lot of iron, helping to prevent anemia. Nutrition experts also encourage postpartum mothers to eat protein-rich foods such as fish, tofu, etc.
  • Fat group: Balance the ratio of animal fats and vegetable fats in the diet. Do not replace all animal fats with vegetable oils.
  • Starch and sugar group: Rice and grains are the main sources of this food group. The bran layer on the outside of rice and grains contains a lot of vitamin B1, so mothers should keep this bran layer to supplement vitamin B1 for the body.
  • Vitamin and mineral group: Green vegetables and fresh fruits are abundant sources of vitamins and minerals. Mothers should eat plenty of vegetables and fruits in their diet.
  • Drink plenty of water: In addition to eating enough nutritious foods, providing enough water for the body is also an important factor that mothers need to pay attention to. Water can be obtained from daily drinking water, fruit juice, or broth.
Rau xanh và trái cây tươi là nguồn cung cấp vitamin và khoáng chất dồi dào (Ảnh: Canva)

Green vegetables and fresh fruits provide abundant vitamins and minerals

Through this article, mothers must have found the answer to “what postpartum women should avoid eating“. Besides a proper diet and rest, mothers should pay attention to their mental health. Mothers need to limit anxiety, limit negative thoughts, and frequently share with family members to relieve postpartum pressure.