What I wish I had known about breastfeeding before giving birth...

My son is 8 months now, and I am still exclusively pumping.  Baby have always been supplemented with formula since 3 weeks as I experience latching issues.  I always try to give baby at least 60% of my breastmilk in a day and am still doing so today.

(Note that some of the tips apply only to those who experience low milk supply or have lactating issues)

What I wish I had known about breastfeeding before giving birth:

1. You should start to condition your nipple during pregnancy before you deliver.  When your baby starts bf, your nipple may feel sore especially for first time mums but this soreness is not to be confused with incorrect latch soreness (sorry I can't explain the difference).

- Get any nipple cream (can get from any pharmacy) to keep it moist.  

- Gently massage the nipple to toughen it (but take NOTE to avoid doing so when nearing delivery as it will trigger contractions)

2. No matter how tired you are, try to clean baby's saliva off your nipple after every feed as leaving it there will dry your nipple and may cause any sore to become worse.

3. LATCHING correctly is no 1 thing you must get right.  No matter what anyone says, if breastfeeding hurts, the latch is not correct. Do not feel sad (easier said than done) if your baby cannot latch.  Both of you need time to learn so do not give up.  

4. If you know your baby is not latching correct, it is very important that you get help to get it right within the first week (if possible).  My personal experience is everyone told me the latch is correct despite me saying that it really hurts.  By time I realize it was already 3 weeks and baby have already developed habit of shallow latch so he couldn't get the amount of milk that he needs from latching - as a result I had to use bottle and supplement with formula.  It was unfortunate I was not able to get baby to latch right until he was four months but by that time, he prefers the bottle (faster flow) than my breast.

5.  Where to get breastfeeding help and support?  There are many breastfeeding support groups, forums around.  Even your friends or colleagues who has successful breastfeeding experience is a source of help.  Many successful breastfeeding mothers are able to help you with your lactation issues.  Professional help is also available (but of course at cost).  Just bear in mind that both yourself and baby are first timers and it takes time to learn.  So do not be shy to ask for help. You can always start from here.

6. If your baby experience signs of jaundice, you should bf your baby more often (every two hours) to ensure she gets hydrated.  You should not stop bf and of course, you must consult your paed and closely monitor your baby's condition.  If by this time your milk supply has not been established (note that this should not happen if your latch is correct), then it is alright to supplement with formula. 

7. If you have to supplement with formula, just remember to use cup or syringe to feed.  I never thought of using cup, and had been using the spoon.  Feeding with spoon is very slow and baby was frustrated and seeing baby's frustration and pressure from family members resulted in me giving in to use the bottle.

8. You should invest in good pump if you are a working mum.  Dual pump will save you a lot of time.  I cannot emphasize this more as I started off using a single pump passed on to me by my SIL.  As I experienced latching issues, I had to rely on pumping from very early on and have been using the single pump for several months.  My milk supply could not establish and using a single pump did not help.  I was very stressed out as I was persistent on giving my baby breastmilk, so I spent a lot of time was spent on the pump trying keep my supply going.  It wasn't until I decided to get myself a dual pump that I realize I could have saved so much more time to spend more time with my baby during confinement than on the pump.

9. I should direct latch him at least once everyday, (even if baby could not get enough milk from breast) then use bottle to top-up.  Even if baby prefers the bottle, as long baby is willing to take your breast even for short period of time, let him take it at least once in a day.  The less time spent on breast, the sooner baby will completely reject it...sooner than you expect.  Because I was so concerned that baby will be hungry, a lot of time I resorted to give my milk in the bottle.  By 6 months, my baby totally refuse to latch.  It was too soon for me and I really really miss the bond and the feeling of cuddling him close for breastfeeding.

10.  Will nipple shield help with sore nipples?  Yes.  Will it help if you have latching issues?  I don't believe so.  Based on the research gathered from the Internet, I found that if you have sore nipples caused by latching issues, nipple shield will not help.  It makes it more difficult for the baby to suckle the milk and will further discourage latching.  Alternately, if you have good milk supply, nipple shield may help protect your sore nipples.

11.  Lastly, it is very important to get full breastfeeding support from a family members or a friend (anyone one will do and it may not necessarily be your partner).  This person must be someone who is always there for you to talk to, cry to, let out bf frustration, etc. You will feel stronger and will likely have a successful bf journey with good support.  Of course if possible, your partner should support you and not let family members pressure you into giving up bf.

In summary,  you will lose a lot of precious time to spend with your baby if you could not establish a good supply of milk.  But there is nothing wrong with exclusively pumping.  Some mothers choose to exclusively pump.  In any case, any amount of breast milk for baby is better than none.

Hope this will help all future mummies.  Good luck and stay strong mummies!

Baby Food Recipe - Cereal [from Little Inbox Recipe]

Kiwifruit Brown Rice Cereal

Ingredients: 

5 tbsp of brown rice cereal
hot water (add accordingly)
half of kiwifruit flesh, mashed

Steps:
1. Mixed up brown rice cereal with hot water.
2. Leave it cool for a while.
3. Top up the cereal with kiwifruit.
4. Serve warm.


Baby Food - Blueberry Cereal

Ingredients:
4 tbsp of cereal
2 tbsp of infant formula
2 oz of hot water
12 blueberries, rinsed

Steps:
1. Mixed up cereal and infant formula with hot water.
2. Pour the cereal in a blender to blend with the blueberries.
3. Serve warm.

Baby Food Recipes - Porridge (Fish & Meat) [from Little Inbox Recipe]

Baby Food: Recipe from Little Inbox Recipe

Fish and Vegetable Porridge 



Serves 2 

Ingredients: 
fish fillet, skinned
4 tbsp of rice, rinsed
carrot, cut into thin strips
choy sum, chopped
hot boiling water

Seasonings (optional): 
half tsp of fried garlic oil

Steps:
1. Add rice and hot water to a small slow cooker. Cook it for 2 hours.
2. Add fish fillet. Once the fish is cooked, dish it out.
3. Add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Mash the fish fillet in a bowl. Pour the porridge over the mashed fish fillet. Mix it up with fried garlic oil.
5. Leave it cool for a while and serve warm.

Spinach and Meat Porridge 

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp of white rice, rinsed
1 tbsp of millet, rinsed
5 pieces of soft lean pork (you can substitute it with another type of red meat or white meat)
spinach, chopped
200ml hot boiling water

Steps: 

1. Put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker, except the spinach and meat.
2. Add the meat when the porridge starts boiling.
3. 15 minutes before the porridge is ready, add spinach. Stir to mix up all the ingredients. Continue the cooking.
4. Off the power and leave it cool for a while.
5. You can either remove the meat from the porridge before feeding, or retain 1 or 2 pieces of the meat and puree the porridge before feeding.

Baby Food Recipes - Porridge (Fruits & Vegetables) [from Little Inbox Recipe]

Apple and Carrot Porridge



Serving: 2

Ingredients:
half of a corn, chopped into 2 pieces
5 red dates, rinsed and pitted
2 red apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 pieces each
3 ½ tbsp of rice, rinsed half of a carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized
500ml of hot water

Steps:
1. Add rice, red dates, corn and hot water into slow cooker. Cook for 1 hour.
2. Add carrot and apple. Cook until you get the desired porridge texture.
3. Discard the corn and red dates.
4. Leave the porridge cool down a bit.
5. Mash the apple and carrot and serve together with the porridge.

Baby Food – Purple Sweet Potato Millet Porridge

Ingredients:
1 ½ tbsp millet, rinsed
50gm purple sweet potato, peeled and cut into pieces
260ml of boiling water (add more if needed)

Steps:
1. Add millet and boiling water to the slow cooker. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Add sweet potato. Cook until you get the thickness you want. Add more water if needed.
3. Mash the sweet potato. Leave it cool for a while and serve warm.

Spinach and Meat Porridge 

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp of white rice, rinsed
1 tbsp of millet, rinsed
5 pieces of soft lean pork (you can substitute it with another type of red meat or white meat)
spinach, chopped
200ml hot boiling water

Steps: 

1. Put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker, except the spinach and meat.
2. Add the meat when the porridge starts boiling.
3. 15 minutes before the porridge is ready, add spinach. Stir to mix up all the ingredients. Continue the cooking.
4. Off the power and leave it cool for a while.
5. You can either remove the meat from the porridge before feeding, or retain 1 or 2 pieces of the meat and puree the porridge before feeding.

Organic Pumpkin Millet Porridge

Ingredients:
2tbsp of organic hulled millet
20gm organic pumpkin flesh
2 cups of water or more (I top up additional water when the water reduce throughout the cooking)

Steps: 
1. Bring water to boil in a saucepan.
2. Add pumpkin and millet. Bring to a boil.
3. Leave it simmers under medium flame. Top up additional water if needed.
4. The porridge will be ready after cooking for about 40 minutes.
5. Leave it cool a bit before feeding baby.

Optional:
Blend the porridge into smooth puree.

Easy to Follow Confinement and Lactating Recipes

Wonderful easy-to-follow recipes from WendyinKK's Table for 2... or More blog.

These are all very useful confinement recipes from Wendy's site @ http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/search/label/Confinement

Traditional Chinese Confinement Food Recipes

A variety of Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, FuZhuo (FooChow), Nyonya Postpartum Recipes from the 101 Healthy Easy Food Recipes website:

Postpartum Care and Post-Natal Diets

Chinese is particularly concerns about postpartum care as they believe post-natal diets, if well-taken care of, can speed up womb recovery, replenish blood lost during delivery, strengthen the body and prevent post-natal health problem that may arise. The foods or ingredients are carefully selected and meticulously coupled to make a well-rounded and nutritious confinement dish to treat their post-natal period. These confinement dishes are mainly for nourishing the blood, promoting blood circulation, dispelling postpartum 'wind' from the abdomen area ('wind' is left behind when placenta is exerted out), replenishing 'qi', getting rid of blood stasis in the womb, warding off colds, stimulating lactation and also strengthening body resistance towards various ailments. Some common ingredients typically used in Chinese confinement recipes which are favored for their healing properties are, ginger, turmeric, galangal, sesame oil, Chinese herbs (such as Chinese Angelica Root, Chinese wolfberries, dates), pork and fish.

There are many confinement or post-natal rituals practiced by Chinese older folks which are rather elaborate and complicated. Albeit there are many do's and don'ts, one should not just believe and abide without some common sense. Some traditional practices may pose some risks to the mother's health and hygiene problems when handling infant. Always approach doctors or certified professionals for consultation on the food intake if you are not sure.

Healthy Easy Traditional Chinese Confinement Food Recipes

Healthy postpartum diet feature well-balanced foods which give the crucial inputs required during confinement. Chinese of different regional dialects observe their confinement practice and consume their postpartum diet differently, each with their own beliefs and uniqueness.

Cantonese Postpartum Diet Recipes

Cantonese confinement dish mainly centers around wine, ginger and vinegar. Black vinegar shank features an assemblage of these ingredients is much sought after to replenish calcium and iron loss during child birth. There're multiple ways of preparing Cantonese confinement dish, with most of them featuring copious amount of glutinous rice wine or less alcoholic wine. Cantonese post-natal woman shun taking overnight, raw and cold food. Cantonese Basil Meat With Ginger & Wine Recipe Cantonese Black Vinegar Shank Recipe Cantonese Carp Soup With Papaya Recipe Cantonese Chicken With Ginger & Wine Recipe Cantonese Fried Ginger Rice Recipe Cantonese Lemongrass Chicken Soup Recipe Cantonese Mesentery Soup With Dang Gui & Pepper Recipe Cantonese Pearl Chicken Recipe Cantonese Scallop Porridge Recipe Cantonese Soup Of Mee Suah (Fine Rice Noodle) Recipe Cantonese Steam Cod Fish With Ginger & Wine Recipe Cantonese Stewed Black Silky Chicken Soup Recipe

Hakka Postpartum Diet Recipes

The most renowned Hakka confinement dish is chicken with ginger and wine. Wine selection ranges from homemade rice wine or grape wine, to ready-made and commercially available glutinous rice wine or D.O.M. Shallot pork maw soup dispels postpartum 'wind' effectively whilst stewed Dang Guiin coconut soup is a potent treat of migraine. Hakka post-natal woman tends to shy away from drinking plain water and taking too much salt. Hakka Dang Gui Soup In Coconut Recipe Hakka Mei Cai (Dried Salted Mustard-Cabbage) Braised Meat Recipe Hakka Fried Rice Soup Recipe Hakka Shallot Pork Maw Soup Recipe Hakka Stewed Chicken With Dom & Ginger Recipe

Teochew Postpartum Diet Recipes

Teochew confinement dish predominantly features rice wine or ginger wine, as both wines typically can be tolerated by most population without triggering any alcohol intolerance symptoms, such as hives (swelling or urticaria), itching et cetera. Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui) and Codonopsitis Pilosulae (Dang Shen) are the common Chinese herbs consumed by Teochew to tonify blood and invigorate 'qi' (lack of appetite, fatigue, thirst, diarrhea, vomiting, prolapse of uterus). Lean meat vinegar soup is their potent traditional post-natal recipe to help uterus to contract to its normal size. Teochew's traditional post-natal beliefs include staying away from raw and uncooked food and refrain from consuming too much of green vegetables. Teochew Steamed Fish With Chinese Wolfberries (Qi Zi) Recipe Teochew Chicken Soup With Herbs Recipe Teochew Chicken Wine With Egg Recipe Teochew Shank With Vinegar And Ginger Recipe Teochew Stir-Fried Kidney With Dom & Sesame Oil Recipe

Fuzhou (Foochow) Postpartum Diet Recipes

Fuzhou (foochow) confinement dish features Fuzhou red wine, a renowned reddish-colored wine fermented from glutinous rice, red rice bran (or red yeast) and wine biscuit (or 'jiu bing'), which is distinctly rich, concentrated, sweet with a tinge of sourish end and with wonderful aroma. Fuzhoured wine is entrenched in Fuzhou community and often used generously in confinement cooking.Fuzhou red wine and fermented wine rice is used predominantly in Fuzhou confinement diet, omitting the water in order to achieve optimal result of nourishing 'qi' and blood. Braised Shank with Fuzhou Red Wine Recipe Fried Eggs With Fuzhou Red Wine Recipe Fish With Fuzhou Red Wine Recipe Fuzhou Fermented Wine Rice Chicken Recipe Fuzhou Stir-Fried Kale (Kai Lan) With Ginger Juice Recipe

Nyonya Postpartum Diet Recipes

Nyonya confinement dish always encapsulates subtle and refined combination of herbs and spicesto bring out its intense and pungent flavor. Besides delicious and nutritious, Nyonya confinement dish emphasizes dispelling postpartum 'wind' through post-natal diet and also regulating 'qi'. For Nyonyas, the actual confinement period lasts for 100 days, and they look after their confinement diet especially well for the first 40 days as it's crucial for speedy postpartum recovery. Nyonya Egg Omelette In Sesame Oil Recipe Nyonya Herbed Rice (Nasi Ulam) Recipe Nyonya Chicken In Soy Sauce Recipe Nyonya Sautéed Curry ('Gulai Tumis') Recipe Nyonya Ulam-ulam Recipe

Veronique Maternity Support Garments

VERONIQUE MATERNITY SUPPORT GARMENTS

This was first posted in April 2011 but Zoe appears to be still active on facebook

TO CALL: 016 6399172 (ZOE/ SITI). EMAIL: globalfindings.my@gmail.com. FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/webmommykl

Some images of the garments from Zoe's website:

Wireless* Contouring Support Bra with Self-Adjusting Cups
Style #MB410

Description: Patent Pending. FDA approved Class 1 Medical Device. Designed for continued custom fit during pregnancy and nursing.

Features:

• Self-Adjusting Cup Size for Custom Fit
• Wireless Support
• Patent Pending Self-Adjusting Wireless Stretch Casing
• Seamless Soft Cotton Knit Cups
• Bias Cut Cups to Contour and Lift Breasts
• Bilateral Breast Support
• Adjustable Shoulder Straps
• 4-Row Adjustable Hook & Eye Back Closure
• 1 1/4'' Under Bust Stabilizing Band

Material:

• Nylon/Spandex
• Soft Cotton Knit
• Lightweight, Breathable & Antimicrobial Fabric
• Latex Free Fabric

Active Bra with Seamless Comfort Cups
Style #MB430

Description: FDA approved Class 1 Medical Device. Designed for continued custom fit during pregnancy and nursing.

Features:

• Self-Adjusting Cup Size for Custom Fit
• Wireless Internal Support Cradle
• Seamless Soft Cotton Knit Cups
• Bilateral Breast Support
• Adjustable Shoulder Straps
• 4-Row Adjustable Hook & Eye Back Closure
• 1 1/4'' Under Bust Stabilizing Band

Material:

• Nylon/Spandex
• Soft Cotton Knit
• Lightweight, Breathable & Antimicrobial Fabric
• Latex Free Fabric

Wireless* Contouring Support Bra with Self-Adjusting Quick-Release Drop Cups
Style #MB400

Description: FDA approved Class 1 Medical Device. Ideal for nursing. Designed for continued custom fit during pregnancy and nursing.

Features:

• Quick Release Nursing Drop Cups
• Self-Adjusting Cup Size for Custom Fit
• Wireless Support
• Patent Pending Self-Adjusting Wireless Stretch Casing
• Seamless Soft Cotton Knit Cups
• Bias Cut Cups to Contour and Lift Breasts
• Bilateral Breast Support
• Adjustable Shoulder Straps
• 4-Row Adjustable Hook & Eye Back Closure
• 1 1/4'' Under Bust Stabilizing Band

Material:

• Nylon/Spandex
• Soft Cotton Knit
• Lightweight, Breathable & Antimicrobial Fabric
• Latex Free Fabric

Cesarean Support
Style #MG81CS

Description: FDA approved Class 1 Medical Device. Ideal for recovery after Cesarean birth. For use beginning at 4 days postpartum and throughout a woman's entire recovery, to provide support, body stabilization, and comfort.

Features:

• Targeted PowerNet Panel Support System
• Seamless Internal Front Panel
• 1'' Wide High-Waist Stabilizing Band
• Adjustable and Detachable Shoulder Straps
• Cotton Lined Crotch
• Discreetly Located Side Zipper for Easy Application

Material:

• Nylon/Spandex
• Lightweight, Breathable & Antimicrobial Fabric
• Latex Free Fabric

Mid Body Support with Adjustable Corset
Style #MG161C

Description: FDA approved Class 1 Medical Device. Ideal for Stage 2 recovery. For use at 3 weeks postpartum and extended wear. Made from lightweight PowerNet fabric, this garment provides abdominal wall support and hourglass shaping, postpartum.

Features:

• Triple Adjustment Corset
• Seamless Internal Front Panel
• 1'' Wide High-Waist Stabilizing Band
• Adjustable and Detachable Shoulder Straps
• Cotton Lined Crotch

Material:

• Nylon/Spandex
• Lightweight, Breathable & Antimicrobial Fabric
• Latex Free Fabric

Confinement Do's and Don'ts

An interesting read, posted by mummally @ 06 September 2007 10:59PM on Malaysia Brides Forum

Confinement taboos 
These traditional approaches stem from the belief that newborn babies are more easily infected by illnesses, and in the olden days of high infant mortality, it became a practice to keep both baby and mother indoors during a period of confinement. Today, many of these old beliefs are still practised in varying degrees. If you are inclined to follow suit, bear in mind that everything should be in moderation.Chinese 
The Chinese have a confinement period of 1 month. But they are also advised to restrain from sexual activities for 100 days. During this 1 month confinement period, a confinement lady is normally employed for a month to live with the family and take care of the new mother and baby.

There are 5 definite taboos during the Chinese confinement period. The new mother is not allowed to wash her hair during the entire period. The reason generally given for this is that washing your hair after delivery is believed to affect the discharge of "unclean matter" from the womb, and to cause various physical irregularities like slackened internal organs, waist pains, poor blood circulation and dark pigmentation. For this reason, many Chinese women prefer to cut their hair short before delivery. Dry shampoos are a common alternative. These are available at all leading pharmacies. Bathing is only done with Chinese herb infused hot water only. These special herbs are available at all Chinese Medical Halls.

Another big no-no is excessive sweating and coming into contact with wind. The thinking behind this is that sweating further expands the pores allowing wind to enter the weakened body. Therefore, new mothers are advised not to consume foods that are too hot, and to wipe away sweat immediately.

Reading books and watching TV are also not recommended for more than 15 minutes because the eyes are thought to age first. Similarly, crying is also not encouraged.

For up to 6 months after delivery, new Chinese mothers are advised not to carry heavy loads to avoid the further slackening of internal organs and to prevent backaches. The right way to carry your baby is to sit, carry, then stand.

Water and cold drinks are not consumed for 21 days after delivery because they are thought to have a bad effect on the metabolism, causing among other things, rheumatism. Chinese women generally drink rice wine with the alcohol evaporated and the red date water.Indian 
The Indians practice a 40 day confinement period, where they rest and recover in their mothers’ houses. Traditionally, all Indian mothers are only allowed to take herbal baths and receive a special massage with mustard oil daily. In some very traditional families, they consider the first week after delivery a period of pollution for the entire Indian family. Therefore, a ceremony may be held on the seventh day to remove the pollution.Malay 
The Malays observe the tempoh berpantang or taboo period for 44 days. Traditionally, a woman spends her confinement in her family home where she is attended by her mother and the bidan. The bidan will normally come to the house for three days to perform urut to release stress and help the body to recover quickly. During confinement, the bidan may warm the new mother’s abdomen by applying a smooth, heated stone (bertungku). This is specifically reputed to "cleanse the womb" (menaikkan rahim) to prevent illness, speed the shrinking of the uterus and therefore return a pre-pregnancy figure.Got this from the wonderful world of the internet! :)

I can tell you this much ; I did not follow any of the taboo. I bathed and washed my hair on the second day after my delivery at the hospital. I couldnt stand the sweaty skin and oily hair.Plus my MIL did the confinement for me and she's kinda modern so she didnt follow much. Just cooked me food but not those authentic confinement food more like normal dishes but add kei chi and tons of ginger. I spent the first 15 mins of each mealtime picking out the ginger bits. I didnt eat much rice but I took lots of steamed cod fish which was good for breastfeeding moms as I found that my milk supply increased. And I think she got sick cooking the same type of food everyday that towards the end she asked if I wanted McD. Lol

But I took lots of those herbs in pill forms from Eu Yan Seng and I drank plenty of soups. Its very difficult not to touch water since I took care of Ashley single handedly during my confinement. Everyone is looking at me one kind each time I told them that I bathed Ashley myself. What's wrong with that?

Anyway you can choose to follow but remember to do things in moderation 

Post Natal Diet / Confinement Diet

During pregnancy, the baby is like a parasite and will take all the nutrients that he requires from you. If your diet is sufficient in nutrients for both, it does not cause any problems. If on the other hand your diet is insufficient for both, then your recovery after the birth will take longer and if you still do not replenish your body stores during the confinement period, you may remain weak for a long time. This is probably why our elders make such a lot of fuss about eating well during the confinement period.

Wherever you are in the world, everyone will try and tell you what to eat and if possible how to eat it. The most important thing to do is follow your own body's needs. Whatever you eat, do make sure that you have a good balance of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and water in every meal.

Just remember the following pointers:

1. If you are breast feeding whatever you eat will be transferred to your baby via your breast milk therefore it is important that you eat a balanced diet so that your baby will get the right nutrients for optimum growth and development.

2. Some food does cause the baby to become 'windy' or have loose stools. If you find that your baby is suddenly quite unsettled, try and think of what you ate during the last 12 hours. Avoid that food for a few days and then try again. If the same happens again, then you should avoid that particular food for a while and re-introduce it into your diet by taking a very small amount and see how baby reacts then slowly increase the amount so that baby gets used to the food.

3. You may find that your appetite is slightly low especially during the first week. This is normal as your body is readjusting to its non-pregnant state both physically and mentally therefore it is better to have small frequent meals instead of the normal 3 big meals a day.

4. You need to drink plenty of fluids in order to make sufficient breast milk and if you are forbidden to drink water, you can get the amount of fluid from other sources such as soup.

So what should you eat?

Most Eastern cultures believe that your body is cold after delivery therefore you should avoid cooling or cold food but eat a lot of yang or ‘heaty' food to warm the body up. However, if you are normally a yang person, eating too much ‘heaty' food may cause rashes and fever. In this case it would be better to reduce the amount of ‘heaty' food and eat more neutral food. If you are normally a Yin person, you should not have any problems eating ‘heaty' food (lucky devils). The following table gives you a quick review of the types of food to eat or avoid.

Types of food to avoid

‘Cooling food' for example: banana, cabbage, cucumber, coconut and Chinese cabbage
Contribute to mother's poor blood circulation and stomach ache in the baby if you are breastfeeding. Salt as a condiment and salty foods in general are to be rejected, too, in the belief that use reduces breast milk production

‘Acidic food' for example: pineapple, mango, lemon, lime
Contribute to excessive lochia in the mother and diarrhea in the baby.

Too much ‘Heaty food' for example: chilli, pepper, spices, tonics, spirits and medicines.
Contribute to diarrhea in the baby and maternal headaches

‘Windy food' for example: jackfruit, tapioca, pumpkin, onions.
Contribute to baby being colicky and may cause indigestion for mother and baby.

Poisonous food such as prawns, shellfish, crab, eel, ginger
Delay healing of the mother's wound and may cause allergies and eczema in the baby. These foods may cause stomach upsets and vomiting

Type of food recommended

To improve milk production

Chicken, squid, clams (small varieties), fish (especially carp), millet, mutton, pork, rice wine, sea slug, soybean milk mixed with powdered walnuts, wheat cakes, wheat noodles with egg, green papaya

To provide strength to the mother so she recovers quickly from the exertion of labor.
Chicken, frog, Panax ginseng, licorice extract and razor clam

What you eat also depends on what you believe in and who cooks for you. If it is your mother or MIL you may not have many choices. I have seen women quarrelling and not talking to each other because of this issue. Try and work out a compromise which is acceptable to both parties. Use a persuasive and logical approach instead of confrontation.