CoachE'Nation

There’s so much information out there that sometimes you wonder which is true and which is false. This blogpost was first published in April 2021 and it debunks some myths that moms and moms-to- be have been sold about breastfeeding.

Let’s see what is myth and what is truth in this blog.

I need to eat for two to produce enough milk

You cannot lose weight and still produce breast milk

Pap, Yam and plenty milk is needed in my nursing diet

Attempting to lose weight while nursing is dangerous to the baby

You need special foods and cookies and teas to lactate better

And more…

If you will keep reading, I attempt to bring clarity, both from my personal experience, and over 3 years of coaching nursing moms. It’s a juicy one, pun intended hehe, and you may push back on some of my points, but I am not merely providing anecdotal results, I am also providing scientific submissions from credible and objective Breastfeeding organizations I believe. Enjoy…


My first son, KingDaveed, just turned 6 in March 2020.

When I was pregnant for him, I gained a whooping 40kg, even more.

When I was 6months post-partum, I was still carrying a beautiful and extra 30kg around, while exclusively breastfeeding.

If you can think of anything wrong, I probably did it.

For my second son’s pregnancy, who is now 3.5years, I gained just under 12kg.

By less than 3 months post-partum, you would not know I had a baby.

I recall going to the market to sort my dress for child dedication and the people were asking if I was the one dedicating a child.

It was pleasantly surprising because, I had truly made up my mind to have a different experience, this time, worked real hard, and God blessed my effort.

One thing I was determined to do was eat right and healthy while breastfeeding, especially in the early months.

Here are a few 

1. You need to drink milk to produce breast milk…

Lol

This is really funny, because, most of us are drinking COW’S MILK and yet expect it to help us produce HUMAN MILK haha.

It doesn’t work like that.

If you want to drink milk, my sister, drink milk. But it’s not because it can directly make you a fountain of breast milk that never runs dry.

Oh, the mistake I made with my first.

I was staying temporarily with my mom then, so she would buy small tetra packs of milk, and I would drown 2 or 3 big bowls of pap daily, with plenty milk. I recall my aunt, a Nurse, told me when she came visiting that this my pap and milk doesn’t do much for the breast milk, besides weight gain, but I disagreed. What did she know?

Lol.

With my second, I knew better and had milk in regular portions.

2. You need special kinds of food/cookies/teas to produce breast milk.

Lol.

This, I agree is controvertible, but my sister, manufacturers and marketing gimmicks have gotten more creative in getting you to open your wallets and swipe your cards.

Our problem is how to spend the too much money we have, and also a propensity for always wanting an easy way out.

I want us to think of rural women. Did they have lactation cookies? Or breastfeeding teas?

Yet they nursed and nursed super well.

While some foods are believed to be galactagogues, which promote or increase flow of breast milk, they are not as fancy as we think, if only you do a little research.

Oats is a great one. Yam too. Unripe pawpaw, and more. 

A good number are herbs and spices.

What you really need to produce milk is ENERGY, that is calories.

Human milk production is hard work by the mom’s body. It is like someone doing hard labor and cannot sustain it on tea and bread. Same way a mom needs GOOD QUALITY energy giving foods, and certainly not up to double what she would normally eat. 

If exclusively nursing, and the keyword is EXCLUSIVE, you would need an additional 300 to 500 calories, and that can easily come from an extra cup of Jollof rice, or 1 extra bowl of pap.

Once you consume enough calories, and are hydrated enough, keeping stress levels down, and MOST importantly, placing a regular demand on your breast milk supply (by pumping or nursing every 3 to 4 hours or thereabouts), your milk will flow.

The issue with all these ‘breastfeeding cookies and teas’ are that, aside being pricey, they are highly caloric, because they have added all kinds of extras to appeal to your taste buds.

Then because you BELIEVE that it has the power to make you lactate more, you now attribute the extra calories it has given you, which you could have gotten from food, to it.

Now, granted, some people have flow issues, but let a professional handle this for you, and recommend what to do. Don’t just charter cookies and be consuming 3 packs a day. You will lactate, most likely yes, but you will also gain weight if not careful

3. Losing weight is dangerous to the baby

This is simply not true. You can lose weight, on a breastfeeding diet, because like I mentioned, you expend enough energy just producing milk, but not have your milk production compromised. You only need to be well guided by a professional, lose the pressure to lose 15kg before your dedication, and instead let the weight drop off steadily.

If you lose weight too fast, you truly will compromise your supply. So, go slow and enjoy a steady supply still

Which is why we have our REJOICING MOMS squads, which provide the right plan and support to help you ‘nurse&lose’ hehe

Funny when I was transitioning from exclusive to non-exclusive, I lost 5.2kg in 2weeks and it became about 10kg in less than 6weeks. My supply really dipped. So if you are looking to produce less BM, then you can go a little harder with weight loss, but still guided by a professional.

I am happy to do a follow up to this post, as questions arise, so feel free to drop them.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, and most important is that this is not substitute for your Doctor’s recommendation.

Before taking anything online, be sure to check with your Doctor, who has your medical history and is in a much better place to provide solution.

And don’t forget to join our REJOICING MOMS squad if pregnant, or nursing, let’s help you rock it out with discipline, from BUMP to BABY

You can check this link below for all our fitness solutions and see if we can help find a solution to any concerns relating to food and fitness you may have

Cheers to the right information always,

Eziaha

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