Can a nursing mother eat pomegranate?

Every nursing mother should monitor her diet as closely as possible. When breastfeeding, pomegranate, like any other bright red fruit, can cause an allergic reaction and rashes in the baby. However, if you follow the correct diet, you can achieve maximum benefits from consuming this fruit.

Is it possible to eat pomegranate during breastfeeding?

Like most exotic fruits and vegetables, pomegranate is a concern for most women breastfeeding their baby. Any fruits of bright colors are the strongest potential allergens, so the introduction of pomegranate into the mother’s diet when feeding an infant should be done gradually.

Important! In addition to skin rashes, a sharp increase in the amount of fruit consumed can cause a child to develop chronic allergies for life.

You should be especially careful when choosing the fruits themselves. The fruits should be as ripe and sweet as possible.Not fully ripened pomegranates have a sour taste, so they can easily cause digestive system problems, not only in the child, but also in the nursing mother herself. The fruits should be free of rot, as well as traces of falls and blows.

Is it possible to drink pomegranate juice while breastfeeding?

As with the fruit, pomegranate juice should also be consumed as carefully as possible when feeding a newborn. A drink bought in a supermarket is most likely diluted, so the concentration of nutrients and its possible harm to the body are not so significant.

It is worth understanding that juice from the supermarket may contain a large number of dyes and preservatives that are harmful to the child. The way out of this situation is to make your own drink at home. This way, a mother can completely protect herself and her child from low-quality products.

To get high-quality juice from ripe fruits, you need to thoroughly peel the pomegranate and sort the grains by hand. It is important to remove films, greenish parts and grains damaged by mold. Homemade pomegranate juice for nursing mothers can be diluted with carrot or beet juice - this will reduce its acidity.

What are the benefits of pomegranate during breastfeeding?

Pomegranate is a storehouse of chemical compounds beneficial to humans. It contains beneficial amino acids that play a vital role in the proper formation of the nervous system. The fruit is also rich in easily soluble polyphenols necessary for the body, which act as antioxidants.

Pomegranates and pomegranate juice contain a whole complex of vitamins, including:

  • vitamin C – stimulant of the immune system and accelerator of hemoglobin production;
  • vitamins A, E and PP, which together improve blood circulation, form the skeletal system and help protect body cells;
  • vitamin B9, necessary for the proper development of cells of the central nervous system and improved cellular regeneration.

The fruit is also rich in a variety of microelements. Calcium helps in the formation of the skeletal system. Magnesium is an essential element for the formation of nerve fibers. Iron improves blood circulation. Potassium improves brain activity and provides cardiovascular protection.

Introducing pomegranate into a mother’s diet when feeding her infant

A nursing mother can eat pomegranate if certain conditions are met. In the first 2 months of breastfeeding, you should completely abandon a product such as pomegranate - it can cause even minimal allergic reactions, affecting the chemical composition of breast milk.

Pomegranate, like other foods with sour and sweet taste, changes the taste of mother's milk, so even at 3 months of breastfeeding, you should not rush to introduce it into the diet. Such a change in the usual taste can cause the child to completely refuse to eat.

Most pediatricians recommend introducing pomegranate and its juice starting at 6 months of age. At this time, his digestive system becomes more stable and ready to digest new foods. In addition, by the age of 6 months, in addition to breastfeeding, the child begins to be introduced to a variety of complementary foods.

Rules for using pomegranate during breastfeeding

In order not to harm the body of the mother and child during breastfeeding, it is necessary to follow a clear plan for introducing it into the diet.Experts say that the initial dose of pomegranate for a woman should be minimal. The best option would be to consume 4-5 grains per day. After a couple of days, it will be necessary to pay attention to the general condition of the child, especially to a possible increase in intestinal colic. An allergic reaction usually does not manifest itself immediately. If no rashes or slight redness appear on the baby’s skin, most likely the child’s body is resistant to eating this fruit.

Important! The maximum dose of pomegranate for a nursing woman is 50-60 g per day. One pomegranate should be divided into 6-7 days.

It is also important to pay attention to the baby’s behavior and his stool - if it is normal, you can gradually increase the size of the portions of fruit consumed. Of course, the mother should observe moderation in her diet during the feeding period, so even if pomegranate does not harm the child’s body, the possible consequences should not be neglected.

Under no circumstances should the seeds be consumed. They contain a huge amount of chemical compounds and tannins that negatively affect the child’s gastrointestinal tract. An excellent option would be to make the juice yourself or buy it at the store.

When breastfeeding, you should start drinking pomegranate juice with extreme caution. It is best to start with a dose of a few sips per day and constantly monitor your baby's behavior after feeding. If no rashes are found and the child does not experience problems with bowel movements, you can gradually increase the dose of juice. However, it is worth remembering that the maximum dose for the mother is no more than 200 ml per day.

Precautionary measures

To avoid possible negative consequences of eating pomegranates while breastfeeding, you must follow a few simple rules:

  1. Do not be overzealous when adding pomegranate to your diet. It is better to wait a little until the child’s digestive system is at least slightly formed.
  2. Do not eat too much fruit or drink large portions of juice, even if your baby does not show signs of an allergic reaction.
  3. Do not drink juice during periods of fluctuating bowel movements in your child. The acid it contains does not contribute to the normalization of the gastrointestinal tract.

Nursing mothers should listen to dentists. To avoid problems with tooth enamel, they recommend diluting the juice with water in a 1:1 ratio to avoid tooth decay due to the high amount of acid contained in the juice. Adding sugar or a substitute to it also helps to change the acid composition of the juice.

Contraindications to pomegranate when breastfeeding

The most important factor prohibiting the use of pomegranate and pomegranate juice while breastfeeding is the child’s tendency to allergic reactions. At the first symptoms of an allergy, the mother must immediately exclude this product from her diet. It is advisable to try to enter the menu again only after a couple of months. If the reaction recurs, you should consult a doctor for advice.

Attention! Under no circumstances should you drink pomegranate juice during the first and second months of breastfeeding. The child’s digestion is simply not ready for such an irritant.

Pomegranate juice has a strong stool-fixing effect. This can lead to prolonged constipation in a nursing mother.Constipation is one of the causes of hemorrhoids in women, so a seemingly harmless fruit can lead to serious health problems. Under no circumstances should pomegranate juice be consumed by women suffering from gastritis and pancreatitis during lactation. The acidity of the juice will aggravate the disease.

It is forbidden for breastfeeding women with oral problems to consume pomegranate juice. Since the juice contains a large amount of acid, regular consumption of it contributes to the destruction of tooth enamel. Considering that all women face dental problems during breastfeeding, it is better to protect yourself by avoiding excessive consumption of this product.

Conclusion

Pomegranate should be administered as carefully as possible during breastfeeding. At the first appearance of allergy symptoms or bowel problems in a child, it is necessary to completely stop using it. If the introduction of a new fruit was successful, you can gradually increase its amount in the diet without fanaticism.

Reviews of pomegranate during breastfeeding

Maria Ovchinnikova, 32 years old, Moscow.
I really love pomegranates in any form, so after 3 months after the birth of the child, I began to introduce them into my diet. No allergies were noticed, so I calmly ate them for the rest of the breastfeeding period. Now the child is already 3 years old and he also loves this fruit very much. Most likely, the habit was passed on through breast milk.
Alexandra Malinina, 28 years old, Novosibirsk.
Problems with introducing pomegranate juice began with my second child. When I fed the first one, he accepted the new fruit perfectly. The second child developed a skin rash on the third day.Since no other new products were consumed, most likely the allergy was caused by pomegranate juice. I stopped using it completely.
Marina Eskova, 22 years old, Rostov.
I ate pomegranates all my life, but during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, my teeth began to deteriorate very badly. As it turned out, regular consumption of your favorite pomegranate juice led to their destruction. I had to give up this habit.

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