Eating Well For New Mums

Eating Well For New Mums

The early weeks and months of a baby’s life can be both exciting, tiring and fulfilling, and an anxious time for new families. Whether it is a first baby or parents have been through this experience before, new parenthood can be overwhelming. It is important that a new mum looks after herself as well as her baby, and that includes eating well.

The good news is it is never too late to start eating better, and eating well is not complicated, expensive or dull. This resource will provide lots of ideas for how to eat well across the day and where to get lots of good recipes, and provides photos and recipes for nutritious snacks to help you support new mums.

Eating Well For Everyone

The information on the next few pages summarizes public health advice on what a good diet looks like for adults, and provides some practical tips on what the advice means in practice.

Meals and snacks should be based around these two food groups:

• Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates. These foods should make up over one-third of the food we eat. Choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions with less added fat, salt and sugar.
• Fruit and vegetables. These should make up more than one-third of the food we eat. Eat at least five portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day.

It is also important to include foods from these two food groups:

• Dairy and alternatives provide useful nutrients and should be eaten every day in moderate amounts. Choose lower-fat and lower sugar options.
• Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins. Eat more beans and pulses and two portions of sustainably sourced fish every week, one of which is oily.

Foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar should be limited in the diet as eating these foods and drinks means that it may be harder to get in all the nutrients you need without having too much energy (calories).

Oils and spreads: Choose oils and fats which are unsaturated, and use in small amounts.

Drinks: Have 6-8 drinks a day. Water, lower fat milk, sugar-free drinks including tea and coffee all count. Limit fruit juices and/ or smoothies to 150ml per day as the sugars in these drinks can damage teeth and contribute to overweight.

Helping new families to eat well

Below is some advice that can be shared with new families.

• If you share where you live with a partner or other family members, try to eat together at meal times and all eat the same healthy food.
• Make sure foods that you like and that are good options are easily to hand: chopped up fruit and vegetables, yoghurt, wholegrain bread, and cooled water in the fridge.
• If other people are helping you with shopping, be specific about what you want them to buy.
• If you find shopping difficult with a new baby in tow, find out about vegetable box and other food box scheme deliveries in your area. This is often good, local and organic food at reasonable prices and you are also supporting your local farmers.
• In some areas you can still have a milk delivery to your door, which can be useful in the first few months after a new baby arrives. You may be able to get other foods like bread, eggs and juice in the same delivery.
• If friends and family come and visit, ask them to bring you fruit baskets rather than cakes and sweets, or even a healthy casserole you can freeze for another day. People usually love to help and being given specific ideas can be helpful for them too