Breast milk is precious for baby nutrition.
It provides the baby necessary calories, fats, and nutrients required for growth, and also secure essential immunity to protect the baby from unwanted illness.
No alternative feeding substitute will compare to breast milk. But some concern mother claimed if breast milk is truly the “foundation of infant life,” then why is he/she get so fussy and gassy sometimes?
Is the baby allergic to my milk? But what am I doing wrong?
These are all the common queries and fears of breastfeeding mothers if her baby suddenly gets a gas problem.
Sometimes they even think of giving up breast milk because of the baby’s tummy problem. And this is such an awful. Isn’t it?
Do you know there’s no list of foods that a mother should avoid while breastfeeding?
Most babies are beautiful with any food that mother takes, thus there’s no particular reason to avoid food unless you notice a definite reaction in your baby whenever you eat a specific diet.
Always remember, gas could be a normal part of the gastrointestinal system, and we all also have the same from time to time.
But for breastfed babies, gas may be caused by feeding too quick, swallowing an excessive amount of air, or digesting certain bound foods.
In addition, if the babies have immature GI systems might often expertise gas problem for this. Whatever the reason, pains from gas create your baby extremely fussy and uncomfortable.
We all know if a mother can take more notorious food, the better work for both mother and baby health.
However, some specific types of food can cause some other discomfort for your kid.
Such as if you eat too much meat, it may cause gas in your baby. Because her gastrointestinal system is still small and the developing stage may create a painful gassy situation.
So it’s necessary to take proper steps as most babies tolerate the food consumed by mothers.
If you notice every time you eat one thing and your baby becomes fussy, just try to avoid the food and see what happens.
Because many mothers have reported some foods like kale, beans, spinach, onions, peppers, or spicy foods cause baby gas — whereas, some babies are just fine with the foods.
We have checked and found a couple of food items are responsible for creating gassiness in the infant’s body.
Here are 13 food resources that can cause gas problems for the breastfed baby:
1). Alcohol consumption
It’s safest for you and your baby if you don’t have any alcohol during the breastfed time. But if you decide to drink, try to drink as much little as you can.
Alcohol generally takes 2 hours to metabolize, and once it’s out of your blood, it’s not harming your breast milk.
If you’re going for a drink, have one drink right when you last nurse your child.
This may provide your body time to metabolize the alcohol in order that it doesn’t adversely have an effect on your baby after you nurse next.
“Pumping and dumping” isn’t necessary as long as you feel the consequences of the alcohol you drank.
2). Coffee and Tea
After many middle-of-the-night nursing sessions, the main thing you need in the morning is a warm cup of coffee.
Although it’s not strictly restricted, but take care of the limitations before you drink it.
Because the caffeine in coffee and tea end up your breast milk and may create napping difficult, which is harmful to both of you?
The baby’s body does not absorb caffeine as quickly as yours does, and consume it frequently may throw off their sleep schedule.
3). Medicines to Avoid
Most medications can take safely while breastfeeding, but some medicines are must avoid, such as:
- Acebutolol
- Thiazide diuretics
- Dimetapp
- Doxepin
- Narcotics
4). Dried fruits
Though dried fruits are full of vitamins and nutrients and necessary for proper brain development but dried fruit like prunes, apricots, cranberries, etc. can build your breastfed baby gassy.
Because the drying method concentrates all of the nutrients in the fruit and fiber, which might cause some gas if consumed daily.
In addition, the natural fruit sugar in dried fruits will cause gas and flatulence some hours later when you eat them.
Therefore if you give suck your baby after eating dried fruits, she may ream the implications.
5). Dairy foods
Another common offender of gas for breastfed babies is dairy products in the mother’s diet.
Foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, frozen dessert, ice cream can cause gas in babies once the mother consumes them.
But the good news is, this does not occur with all breastfed babies, but some babies who are more sensitive to lactose.
If your baby is especially sensitive to lactose, you can also try lactose-free dairy products, as they’ll still contain the essential sources of nutrients your baby wants for correct bone development.
6). Spicy foods
While consumption spicy foods are totally safe for breastfeeding ladies, these foods can result in excess gas in some cases and create your toddler gassier and seemingly even fussier.
If your diet consists of spicy foods and your baby is especially gassier than before, you, of course, try to avoid these junky rich spices, because it will help to reduce the gas problem in your baby.
7). Processed foods
Processed foods or packed goods are other culprits to make your baby extremely gassy.
Because it contains a range of ingredients, including lactose and fructose, which can increase the amount of gas not only yourself but for your baby too.
8). Fried foods
Overly greasy foods — such as something pan or deep-fried along with fatty meats, pastries, gravies, rich creams, and a few sauces easily enter into your breast milk and probably cause gas in your breastfed baby.
Not only this gas can be uncomfortable for a baby, but also it’s harmful to you.
Because most of the fried foods are low fiber-based, and they cannot digest ever into the mother’s body.
9). Vegetables
Eating vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, in other words, cruciferous vegetables might cause gas for several breastfed babies.
Although the quantity of gas caused after you eat these vegetables is not harmful to your baby, it might cause delicate discomfort to the baby.
That’s why we only suggest avoiding these foods if they cause a serious downside for your baby.
If these vegetables don’t appear gas on your breastfed baby, keep them in your diet because these contains a high amount of phytochemicals, minerals, vitamins, and fiber that are highly necessary to yours’ and your baby’s health.
10). Chocolate
Not all but some chocolates contain caffeine.
Not only has this caffeine caused problems with your baby’s sleep, but it seemed to have a harmful laxative effect on many babies.
We are not saying you cannot eat chocolate but try to have in moderate level.
And with this, don’t forget to lookout whether your baby is ok with this food or it’s disrupting his sleep by causing runny stools.
11). Starchy food
Corn, pasta, potatoes, and alternative foods made in starch contain a high amount of carbohydrates and can cause gas in not your breastfed baby but also yours.
So like the other food, you must grow a habit of eating less amount of starch food so that it can digest properly.
The other thing is if your kid is too sensitive to the starches mentioned; try out some substitution item them with rice-based starches.
12). Beans and lentils
When you think about foods that cause gas, beans are most likely at the highest of the list. So, it can cause gas in breastfed babies in a similar way.
Because beans contain “raffinose” in a large amount, which is non-digestible sugar for both humans, it causes terrible indigestion if the human doesn’t have enough amounts of enzymes in their body.
Because the lack of enzyme causes intestine and produces bacteria, hydrogen, carbon-di-oxide, and methane gas directly. So, it’s better not to eat beans, at least in breastfeeding time.
13). Garlic
Studies show that your breast milk takes the flavor of the food you have eaten. Out of lots of tasty flavors, garlic is not that favorable to babies.
For this, the baby may less enjoy the breastfeed. So if you notice this, try to avoid garlic as much as possible.
Change the food habit in kids
Reducing gas in your breastfeeding diet can sometimes be a simple matter of how you like to eat, not essentially what you like to eat.
That’s why some feeding behaviors can also increase the number of air you intake, and that results in gas.
- Suppose avoid drinking from a bottle or straw can make you boost air intake.
- Eating while sleeping position causes extra pressure in your stomach in reclining position can cause gas.
- Not only but also wearing tight clothes can also create gassiness in your body.
- Gulping the whole food instead of chewing slowly can also increase gas in your digestive system.
So, you must be aware of these types of habits and change them at your earliest convenience.
For this, light exercise like morning walk, maintain diet food, and diet lifestyle. If you do this, not only gas but other physical problem related to this will never affect you.
Conclusion
As the mother’s body produces lots of hormones during pregnancy and after childbirth, indigestion or bloating of gas can happen for many reasons. And it’s also not a good idea to avoid all the foods which you think create gas.
So, it’s better to consult with a doctor and the pediatric doctor to know the real reason behind gassiness.
If it’s for food, then better stop eating or take in the moderate way of that gas-triggering food.
But if it’s for habits, then obviously a mother has to follow a healthy lifestyle instead of unhealthy habits.
We hope it’s very clear about the foods which are responsible for creating gas in breastfed babies. But if you have any questions, you are always welcome to ask in the below comments.
