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Moms and Tots
Look after yourself and your baby. We answer your questions about eating during pregnancy, and what to feed your baby.
Quick tips for pregnancy:
Suffering from insomnia? Calcium helps induce nibble on some almonds, yoghurt and sesame seeds for an evening snack. Those middle of the night leg cramps are generally caused by a magnesium and calcium deficiency. Focus on increasing your intake of milk products and drink plenty of water.
Boosting Calcium
Calcium supplementation during pregnancy has been associated with reduced risk of high blood pressure in babies and children. Calcium may also play a role in maintaining healthy blood pressure in the mother, which reduces the risk of preeclampsia as well as cramps and premature labour. If pregnancy depletes your supplies of calcium you may run the risk of osteoporosis later in life.
To ensure proper foetal development in the early weeks, the mother needs to roughly double her normal calcium intake. During pregnancy you need between 1 200 and 1 500 mg of calcium a day – the equivalent of four glasses of low fat or skimmed milk. During breastfeeding a woman loses between 400 and 1 600 mg of calcium a day and up to 2% of bone density, although this may actually increase to beyond pre-pregnancy levels.
Good food sources include dairy products as well as leafy green vegetables, almonds, legumes, canned fish such as pilchards, sardines and salmon. When choosing a supplement, remember that additional Vitamin D and magnesium are required to boost absorption. Some experts recommend taking calcium in the evening on an empty stomach. Don’t overdo it as too much supplementation can lead to urinary tract infections.
Source: Medical Essentials, Mother and Child
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Question: Is it true that pregnant women shouldn't eat cheese? |
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Answer: Hard cheese is an excellent source of calcium for pregnant women during those important months as their baby develops.
- Pregnant women should be more aware of pre-existing conditions or new reactions to foods and should talk with their doctor or registered dietician about special nutritional concerns early on.
- Also, pregnant women need to be more aware of potentially harmful bacteria found in certain foods. For example, pregnant women should be sure to eat only pasteurised foods, including milk, hard cheeses, processed cheese, cream cheese and cottage cheese.
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Questions: Can cow’s milk be used to feed babies? |
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Answer: Cow’s milk should not be given to infants until they are one year old. It is recommended that infants should receive human milk (as first choice) or commercially prepared iron-fortified milk formulas during their first 12 months. Cow’s milk is not recommended for infants younger than one year because its composition differs substantially from human milk. Commercially prepared iron-fortified milk formulas mimics human milk to a great extent.
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Questions: Why is cow’s milk not suitable for baby feeding? |
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Answer: Cow's milk is not recommended for infants younger than one year. The kidneys of small infants are physiologically still immature, especially during the first few weeks of life to be able to process the high mineral content and type of protein present in cow’s milk.
Although functional, the digestive tract of the infant is still immature early in life. Casein is the main protein in cow’s milk whereas whey protein is predominant in human milk. The casein of cow’s milk is difficult for small infants to digest because it forms a tough curd in the infant’s stomach.
The consequence is that their ability to excrete dissolved waste substances from a lot of minerals and protein ingested through cow’s milk, may be impaired which may result in an increased risk of kidney damage and oedema (the accumulation of moisture/water in the body) among others.
The high phosphorus content of cow’s milk may lead to a decrease in blood calcium content in the newborn which may result in tetany (painful muscle spasms). Cow’s milk has a low iron content and bioavailability. Iron is needed for healthy red blood cells and plays a role in oxygen transport to the body tissues. Cow’s milk may cause gastrointestinal blood loss and may therefore also contribute to iron deficiency anaemia. This is when abnormal small blood cells are produced with less of the iron-containing components (haemoglobin) that are responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and tissue cells.
Susceptible infants may be sensitive to cow’s milk protein which may evoke allergenic manifestations to cow’s milk, especially if introduced to cow’s milk before the age of one year.
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Question: When can I include cow’s milk in my child’s diet? |
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Answer: Natural dairy products are excellent, nutritious foods for persons one year and older, except in cases of a true milk allergy (a problem that is not as prevalent than commonly believed). The healthy infant will be able to handle full strength cow’s milk from one year and older. Calcium is needed for the maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. Despite lacking iron and vitamin C, it offers a lot of other important vitamins and minerals important for growth and physical wellbeing. It makes an important contribution of vitamins A, D, B1, B2, B6, B12, folate and panthothenic acid to the overall diet. It provides good quality protein to the diet, which is essential for growth.
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Question: From what age may children start eating yoghurt? |
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Answer: Children can start eating yoghurt when they start to eat solid foods. Obviously it is better to start with the smooth products without the big fruit pieces, as small kids might choke on it. Children who are allergic to cow's milk should probably not eat yoghurt (at least not without consulting a doctor).
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Question: How much dairy should my child be getting? |
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Answer: Starting at age one, dairy matters at every age for everyone. From fat free to lactose-free, it's easy to get the amount of dairy foods you need to meet your calcium needs. The National Academy of Sciences recommends the following calcium intake levels for various age groups:
- Adults ages 19-50 need 1,000 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of drinking at least three 8-oz. glasses of milk.
- Adults over the age of 50 need 1,200 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of drinking four 8-oz. glasses of milk.
- Teens ages 9-18 need 1,300 mg of calcium a day, or about four 8-oz. glasses of milk.
- Kids ages 4-8 need 800 mg of calcium a day, or about three 8-oz. glasses of milk.
- Kids ages 1-3 need 500 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of about two 8-oz. glasses of milk.
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Question: Is it true that milk allergies can be “outgrown” over a period of time in children? |
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Answer: Most infants allergic to cow’s milk lost their hypersensitivity to cow’s milk at the age of 1 – 2 years. It is also important not to introduce cow’s milk to infants before the age of 1 year because some infants may be sensitive to cow’s milk protein, which may evoke allergenic manifestations to cow’s milk. However, some individuals remain allergic to milk for the rest of their lives and should therefore exclude all milk and milk products from their diets. |
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