5 Nutrients Vital For Your Breastfeeding Wife And What Foods To Prepare

Breastfeeding offers the best nutrition for babies. Despite the fact that breastfeeding is a challenging experience – due to lack of sleep, sore nipples, and low milk supply – babies will surely benefit from the countless health benefits of breast milk.

So as a husband to your breastfeeding wife, you play a pivotal role in making sure she’ll have pleasant breastfeeding experience and also, prepare nutritious foods to aid in breastfeeding. The rates of breastfeeding have continued to decrease over the past years. For instance, the rates of breastfeeding in the United States is significantly lower than most parts of the world.

The best thing to do is enlighten new mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding since there is no adequate substitute for breast milk. It’s complete with fat, sugar, water, and protein needed by infants to grow and develop normally.

For the hubbies out there, here are the foods you can prepare for your breastfeeding wife.

Iron

Foods that are rich in iron can help infants especially during the first 6 months of life. Mothers may need iron, just as they needed it during pregnancy. Babies can easily absorb iron from breast milk than from any other source. The common foods that contain iron are eggs, spinach, lentils, beef, white beans, and fortified grains. You can cook recipes that contain these ingredients, such as an omelet, steak, and lentil soup, to boost the iron levels in your wife’s breast milk.

Choline

Choline plays many roles in the body. It’s important for brain cell development, as well as liver and nerve function. Women may have depleted choline stores during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Also, it’s vital for the baby’s development. Breastfeeding mothers need good sources of choline so you can prepare meals containing salmon, beef, and eggs, to name a few.

Vitamin B12

Infants, during the first days and weeks of life, may have little amounts of B12 stored. Since they lack this vitamin, they rely on the nutrients provided by the breast milk. Eating foods rich in vitamin B12 is important to promote normal brain function and red blood cell production. You can prepare foods rich in this vitamin such as dairy products, eggs, tuna, sockeye salmon, and breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin B12.

Vitamin A

Just like vitamin B12, newborns may only have little vitamin A stores. They rely on the breastmilk to get adequate amounts of this vitamin, which is vital for the health of the eyes, skin, and tissues. Dads can prepare foods rich in vitamin A, such as those containing dark leafy vegetables and vegetables that are orange or yellow. These include carrots, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe.

Folate

Folate plays an essential role in DNA synthesis and repair. The common sources of this nutrient are spinach, asparagus, lettuce, legumes, beans, peaas, grains like rice and whole grains, seafood, beef, chicken, beef liver, and fruits like orange, banana, cantaloupe, and papaya.

The other nutrients and vitamins needed by breastfeeding moms include vitamin B6, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and iodine, among others. To increase breast milk supply, it’s important to increase fluid intake, breastfeed per demand, and eat a well-balanced diet.