A few days back I went to the hospital for my younger one’s vaccinations. I wanted to be sure everything was up to date before school reopened. There I saw many new moms with infants and babies in the paediatric section. When I looked at them, I observed the same emotions which I had gone through a few years ago when my elder one was born. The post-pregnancy hormones, the exhaustion, and the concern for their babies…it all looked very familiar.

One thing which I used to worry about the most was Nutrition as my elder one was a premature baby. As a nutritionist, I knew the value of right nutrition and how it can help growth and development of a baby. I always wanted best for my daughter and good nutrition was at the top of the list. Being a new mom, I had my own concerns and doctors helped me understand the relationship between a mom’s diet and a healthy baby.

Mom’s nutrition makes a big difference as whatever she eats goes to the child. Thus, it should have all essential nutrients which are needed for a baby’s development and most importantly, brain development. The term for this is Feed IQ. It means feeding a baby right food for right development. Feed IQ is a term which is not only for a new born but also something which should be considered from conception till the child is 2 years old. A mom’s diet plays an important role in feeding IQ to her child.

Good cognitive development depends on good nutrition for both mom and child and good nutrition depends on a good diet.

A good diet for an expecting mom and a new mom must include all the essential nutrients. I remember my mom told me to include foods like fennel seeds, fenugreek, nuts etc. to increase the milk supply. But the focus should be a right diet so that the milk a baby gets has all nutrients.

A breastfeeding mom needs to have a diet with all essential nutrients like calcium, iron, and folic acid. But two nutrients which are important for a baby’s cognitive development are DHA and Vitamin E. Vitamin E has antioxidant properties and prevents the oxidation of DHA.

DHA is an omega 3 fatty acid which is the main component of breast milk. Since Vitamin E is important, moms can get it from natural sources like fruits and vegetables which are rich in Vitamin E.  Natural Vitamin E sources are nuts, spinach, broccoli and various vegetable oils like sunflower oil, soybean oil, etc. Recently I came to know about SimMom which has natural Vitamin E in it and can help moms to get the right nutrition while feeding their child.

As a new mom, I had thousands of questions in my mind. But I took some right decisions for my baby and today I am sharing my learnings with you.

My learnings from my experiences as a mom:

  1. Make sure to eat healthy right from the time you conceive as baby’s health is directly proportional to moms’ diet.
  2. You are not alone. All moms go through this phase.
  3. If you are a breastfeeding mother or a formula feeding one, it doesn’t matter. The main concern should be right nutrition. Formula milk is good too. So don’t feel guilty.
  4. Take care of your nutrition first. A healthy mom means a healthy child.
  5. Just remember that we are all still women, and mothers, whether we breastfeed or not. There is enough judgment around for women. Just enjoy this phase and cherish it.
  6. Last but not least, do things that make you happy as a happy and healthy mom means a happy and healthy child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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