I have heard many conflicting reports and opinions about what passes into the babies milk. Are there any studies have shown what the actual facts are? I can believe the taste of baby mik may be tainted by garlic, but can flatulence really be caused by what the mother eats? The parts of the food which cause flatulance and the gas itself dont get into the breastmilk do they?
Thanks for all your answers so far, I understand when people say everything I know what they mean, "You are what you eat" and a baby of course is what the mother eats – on a molecular level. But I was looking for a more scientific explanation. Cleary, dietry fibre doesnt get into the breast milk, I am guessing it is only things that can enter the mothers blood stream?
Everything that a mom eats can get passed onto her baby. I’m sure the molecular makeup or composition of the food isn’t the exact same once it gets to the baby, but breastmilk is made from the mother’s body and what she consumes is part of that.
It is good for a mother to eat a wide range of healthy foods so that the baby does get exposed to a large selection of different tastes, etc. When my son was very constipated, I ate appricots and it helped him. And he did not like it when I ate chocolate…
Maybe the reason it is hard to prove one way or the other is because some babies are affected by "broccoli" for instance where as another baby might not mind it. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t getting passed onto the baby, its just that one baby doesn’t have a problem with it.
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Yes, what a mother eats can give her baby gas. My wife had to stop eating broccoli while nursing. Pretty much everything can pass into the milk which is why you have to be so careful about consuming alcohol and medications.
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i’m not sure about flatulance but if u eat chillie food the baby will have a tummy ache i was told tht by a midwife so throughout my breastfeeding i avoided chillie foods and medication
ask a doctor to be sure xx
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yes they do. some babies are bothered by this and some are not. my daughter wasn’t bothered by much… i ate all sorts of fun stuff, even though my mother swore that broccoli was going to make her squall. generally, start out eating bland and introduce one food at a time (ie. you start eating it) and if you notice the baby gets flatulence or a tummy ache, stop eating that particular food. if anything gives you heartburn, it could give the baby heartburn too.
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It is amazing what passes through into breastmilk, which is why the mother should eat healthily, not smoke or drink alcohol, and of course drink plenty of water. Well done to anyone out there breastfeeding at the moment-it isn’t easy, but breast is best.
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I know from experience for a fact that everything that the mum consumes, the baby does too.
When I eat brocolli (ginger especially) she would pass alot of gas. When I eat chocolate, she gets quite hyper, from the sugar I think. When I eat too much seafood, she gets rashes..
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Garlic, cordial, gravy, alochol, are just some of the foods to avoid (well i did as i was told by the midwife) these foods etc can give your baby direah and gas.
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Everything the mother eats is passed into the breast milk in one form or another.
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Everything that a mom eats can get passed onto her baby. I’m sure the molecular makeup or composition of the food isn’t the exact same once it gets to the baby, but breastmilk is made from the mother’s body and what she consumes is part of that.
It is good for a mother to eat a wide range of healthy foods so that the baby does get exposed to a large selection of different tastes, etc. When my son was very constipated, I ate appricots and it helped him. And he did not like it when I ate chocolate…
Maybe the reason it is hard to prove one way or the other is because some babies are affected by "broccoli" for instance where as another baby might not mind it. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t getting passed onto the baby, its just that one baby doesn’t have a problem with it.
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everything
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