There is a connection between mother and child, which is manifested not only during pregnancy. And after the birth of the baby, she does not interrupt, because women most often feed their children breast milk. In connection with the period of adaptation of the digestive system of the child, the mother needs to adjust her diet. What is the diet for colic in a newborn? The article will discuss the nutritional features of women, as well as about permitted and prohibited foods.
Colic in newborns
This term is called increased gas formation in the intestine. As a result, the baby’s tummy swells, and when a large amount of gas accumulates, it feels pain and bursting. The child begins to feel discomfort, therefore, cries loudly.
Causes of discomfort:
- The formation of gases and colic is a natural physiological process. After all, in a child up to 3 months, the formation of gastrointestinal organs. In this situation, pain is relieved with the help of special medicines.
- Sometimes colic occurs when the baby is not properly applied to the chest. It captures the nipple incorrectly, thereby swallowing a lot of air. To get rid of him, the child after feeding must be vilified with a column so that he burps the air.
- Pediatricians recommend that parents watch their baby. After all, they are restless by nature. Due to overexcitation, screaming and crying, the child may swallow air, which leads to colic.
- The causes of tummy troubles, if the baby is on HB, can be the mother’s improper diet. There are a number of products to which he may have negative reactions in the form of increased gas formation, especially if a woman reacts to them in exactly the same way. In this situation, you need a diet for mom with colic in newborns.
- In some cases, unpleasant symptoms can occur with overeating. Newborns have little control over the degree of their satiety, therefore, hungry, hastily swallow air with milk. Mom should not force-feed the baby or wait specifically for 3 hours to satisfy his hunger.
The causes of problems with the tummy in the baby are many. However, a diet for colic in newborns will alleviate its condition. Only allowed foods should be included in the food, and prohibited foods should be excluded.
How to find out that the baby has colic
You can understand that a child has stomach problems by the following symptoms:
- with colic, the baby, while crying, squeezes fingers on the legs and arms, while pulling the knees to the tummy;
- the child’s crying becomes strong, his face turns red;
- sometimes parents may hear rumbling in the stomach, and sometimes bloating is noticeable;
- after the gas leaves the baby immediately calms down;
- a chair with colic does not change its consistency and color;
- babies who gain weight quickly are more prone to bouts of colic.
Stomach problems in babies begin on the 10th day from birth and last up to 3-4 months.
The basic principles of nutrition
A diet for lactating colic in a newborn should be observed, especially if there are problems with the stomach. The main principles of nutrition are:
- So that the child does not have a feeling of oversaturation and there are no problems with the digestion of milk, mother needs to count calories. The nutritional value of the diet should be 3,500 kcal. Menus should not be overloaded with fatty, salty, spicy dishes.
- The diet should be a sufficient amount of fluid. It is best to drink water, unsweetened and weak green or black tea, juices, compotes. Milk will not be able to make up for the lack of fluid.
- The menu should include lean meat. It should be steamed or baked.
- In the diet should not be present foods that contribute to increased gas formation.
Over time, the menu can be supplemented with a variety of dishes, but up to 3 months it is best to adhere to a nursing mother's diet for colic in newborns. In the subsequent period, with the introduction of a new product, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the child. If it does not change, you can use it further.
General recommendations
A diet for colic in a newborn is designed so that the baby does not feel any discomfort. The menu should be varied and rich in nutrients. As noted, the calorie intake should not exceed 3500 kcal, but this amount should be divided into 5-6 receptions.
Drinking up to 2 liters of water per day is recommended. It is allowed to drink weak tea with milk.
In the daily diet should be present vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, cereals.
What foods should not be included in the diet
Any food that a nursing mother eats and processes the body, necessarily passes into breast milk. Especially carefully, a woman needs to monitor nutrition in the first 3 months of her baby's life, when he has an adaptation of the gastrointestinal tract to new conditions. During this period, the diet for colic in the newborn must be treated with full responsibility.
Products that can cause stomach problems in a child include:
- condensed milk, milk and ice cream;
- wheat, oats, barley and rye due to gluten content;
- citrus fruits and juices;
- soy, eggs, peanuts and seafood in large quantities.
The nutrition of a nursing mother should be proper and balanced. Products that cause increased gas formation are excluded from the diet. These include raw vegetables, legumes, fresh pastries, raisins and grapes. They can lead to colic, cramping and bloating.
Also, coffee, chocolate, spices, brown bread, smoked meats, spicy dishes and vegetables (pumpkin, tomatoes) are completely excluded from the diet.
What is allowed to be used by a nursing mother
A mother’s diet for colic in a newborn should include such products: cottage cheese, cheese, fermented baked milk, natural yogurt. Vegetables, fruits, meat and fish are allowed to be stewed, baked or steamed. Sweets can be replaced with dried fruits and jam.
A woman’s nutrition should be composed of foods that are safe and healthy. They should not overload the digestive organs of the baby. For example:
- Vegetables (potatoes, carrots) are able to enrich the diet with vitamins, micro and macro elements. They are included in the menu in baked or boiled form. Tomatoes and cabbage are able to enhance gas formation, so they should not be abused.
- From fruits, apples, bananas, cherries and plums can be included in the diet.
- The following meats are most useful: veal, rabbit, turkey and chicken. The most gentle types of processing include baking and stewing.
- Preferred cereals are buckwheat, rice, millet.
- The allowed fermented milk products include kefir and yogurt.
- In dishes, you can add butter and vegetable oil, but in limited quantities.
- Proper drinking regimen improves lactation. The allowed drinks include: tea, compote, jelly and fruit drink. The menu completely excludes coffee and cocoa.
If the baby has constipation, then products such as dried apricots, prunes, apricots, boiled beets, apples and pumpkin will help make his intestines work. It is advisable to soak dried fruits before eating. A woman needs to drink enough fluid to dilute breast milk if it is too oily.
What should be included in the menu
The diet menu for colic in newborns should look like this:
- For breakfast, a nursing mother can cook herself an omelet, porridge from permitted cereals or cottage cheese with fruits. As a drink, you can drink weak tea with milk. Bread is allowed to be included in the diet only yesterday, and you can also make a cheese sandwich.
- Lunch may consist of cottage cheese with dried fruits or cottage cheese casseroles.
- For lunch, a woman can prepare potato, vegetable or cereal soup. Garnished with mashed potatoes with steam patties or meatballs, stewed vegetables with boiled fish. As drinks: compote, jelly.
- For a mid-morning snack, you can eat kefir with biscuit cookies or a bun, cottage cheese with jam or any of the allowed cereals.
- Dinner should be varied with the following dishes: boiled fish or meat, stew, stewed cabbage rolls, vinaigrette. As a fruit - a banana.
- Before going to bed, you need to drink kefir or yogurt. This is especially useful for constipation in infants.
By the age of 3 months, a baby can gradually include prohibited foods in her diet. For example, pasta, cauliflower and broccoli. By the fourth month, a woman is allowed to gradually taste onions, honey, barley porridge, as well as fruit or vegetable juices.
Opinion of a famous pediatrician
As Dr. Komarovsky says: "Mom’s diet for colic in newborns is not always effective." He believes that the main cause of colic is not the mother’s nutrition, but overfeeding the baby. For example, if a child ate 100 g of food, and digestive enzymes are only enough for 90 g, then the remaining 10 g will provoke the appearance of a large amount of gas and colic.
The pediatrician believes that it is necessary to monitor the nutrition of the child, and the woman should not be given a breast every time he cries. Otherwise, a vicious circle arises. The baby cries from colic that has arisen from overfeeding, and the mother also additionally feeds him.
As for the diet for colic in newborns, Komarovsky believes that products must be selected individually. There are general prohibitions: chocolate, citrus fruits, smoked meats, etc. And for the rest of the dishes, it is necessary to proceed from the reaction of a particular child.
If mom wants to eat a product, then let it be a small amount. If there are no expressed reactions in the baby on the same day or the next (no rash, changes in stool, etc.), then mom can include this dish on the menu.
Prevention
The prevention of constipation and colic in a baby includes not only the diet of a nursing mother, but also compliance with some rules:
- Be sure to follow the feeding technique. The child is placed to the chest in a comfortable position so that it captures the entire halo of the nipple.
- A woman is recommended to massage the baby’s stomach in a clockwise direction. The procedure is carried out after a meal or 1 hour after it.
- The baby as often as possible needs to be laid on the tummy.
- After feeding the baby must be worn vertically. This is done in order to rid him of excess air.
- From colic, baths with chamomile also help well.
All these actions, together with the proper nutrition of a nursing mother, will help the baby absorb food faster and without unpleasant symptoms.
Conclusion
A mother’s diet for colic in a newborn is important in ridding the baby of discomfort. However, in addition to proper nutrition, a woman should follow the feeding schedule, lay the baby on her tummy and massage him. Only in combination will the applied efforts give a positive result and save the baby from colic.