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January 24, 2012

Infant Feeding Choices: No Guilt Necessary

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 11:22 am

As a health professional, I recommend breastfeeding as the gold standard of infant nutrition. When mom is well-nourished, breast milk offers top notch nutrition for her baby.

I’m also a mother, and, out of necessity, I am practical.

I know that breastfeeding isn’t right for every family, which is why it’s important for moms to feel confident about their infant feeding decision, which may including using infant formula.

Unfortunately, baby formula is a source for much maternal angst.

According to a study of 1,900 expectant first-time moms and those with kids one year old and younger, more than 40% of them feel guilty about using formula instead of breastfeeding, which may be why so many of them say that they’re willing to overspend on formula. Sixty-eight percent (68%) believe a heftier price tag for formula means that it’s a better quality product than store brands, such as those sold by Target and Walgreens.

That’s not true.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, all formula marketed in the U.S. must meet the same nutrient specifications, which are set at levels to fulfill the needs of infants. You’re not paying more for better quality; you’re paying more – up to $600.00 a year - for national brand packaging and advertising.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests breastfeeding for one year, or longer. But the reality is that more than 80% of moms use infant formula exclusively until solid foods are introduced or they supplement with formula within the first six months of lfie.

I fed my three kids breast milk and infant formula, sometimes on the same day. At the time, I was working outside the home and the breast/bottle strategy made the most sense.

Feeling guilty about what you feed your baby is a heavy burden that no mom should bear. Maybe you wanted to nurse your child and it just didn’t work out. Perhaps you planned not to breastfeed. Whatever your choice, nobody has the right to make you feel bad about it. As long as it’s safe, always do what’s best for you and your family.

January 31, 2011

2010 Dietary Guidelines: What They Mean for Pregnant and Nursing Women

Filed under: General Information, Nutrition During Pregnancy, Preconception Nutrition and Fitness — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 12:18 pm

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines (DG) for Americans. The latest recommendations about what to eat have lots of advice for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for women in their childbearing years who may become pregnant. Here are the highlights:

• Healthy weight: If you may become pregnant, and especially if you’re trying for a child, you should achieve a healthy weight before conception. Starting pregnancy at a healthy weight, and gaining the right number of pounds during pregnancy (which is based on your pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index), reduces your chance of pregnancy complications, and improves your health and your child’s, possibly for a lifetime.

• Iron: If you’re pregnant, take an iron supplement. Even if you’re not pregnant, choose foods rich in heme iron, the form of iron most easily absorbed by the body. Animal foods, such as lean beef, pork, and seafood, are rich in heme iron. Another DG recommendation: include foods with non-heme iron, such as cereal, bread, rice, and pasta, and consume foods with vitamin C, such as orange juice, mango, tomatoes, and strawberries, to increase the body’s absorption of non-heme iron.

• Folic acid: Women in their childbearing years who are capable of becoming pregnant should get 400 micrograms (ug) of folic acid daily. Folic acid is a man-made B vitamin that reduces the risk of certain birth defects that occur during the first month after conception. You should also include in your diet foods with folate, folic acid’s naturally-occurring counterpart. Beans, orange juice, and dark leafy greens provide folate.

• Fish: The latest DG recommend that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume 8 to 12 ounces of fish every week. Fish supplies omega-3 fats, which are touted as heart healthy. But when it comes to pregnancy and nursing, the most important omega-3 fat is docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. Your baby’s body starts hoarding DHA around the 24th week of pregnancy because it’s vital for proper brain development and peak vision. Nursing moms need adequate DHA in their diet to pass on to their child through breast milk. (Many infant formulas contain DHA, too.)

The recommendation for fish comes with a caveat: choose a variety of lower-risk fish, such as salmon; limit white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces a week; and avoid tile fish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel.

If you don’t think you can get as much fish as the DG recommend, supplement your diet with fortified foods, including eggs, such as Eggland’s Best, and fortified milk and yogurt. One of my favorite lunches when I was pregnant and even now is two Eggland’s Best eggs fried in a bit of olive oil on a whole wheat English muffin. Yum!

December 1, 2010

New Recommendations for Calcium and Vitamin D: Are You Getting Enough?

Filed under: Breastfeeding, General Information, Info for Dads, Nutrition During Pregnancy, Preconception Nutrition and Fitness — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 9:54 pm

This week, the Institute of Medicine released their much-anticipated report about calcium and vitamin D, and how much we need. Like a lot of nutrition professionals, I had anticipated much higher recommendations for vitamin D, but that’s another story.

You’re pregnant or trying to be, or you’re nursing a baby, so here’s what you need to know. Pregnant and lactating women and others in their childbearing years need 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily, the equivalent of about three servings of dairy foods, such as 8 ounces of any type of milk, 8 ounces of yogurt, or 1 1/2 ounces of hard cheese, like cheddar. Fortified orange juice supplies as much calcium as milk, and other foods, like fortified cereals and dark green leafy vegetables provide calcium, too.

Vitamin D is a different story because it’s harder to get from food. It’s not called the sunshine vitamin for nothing;your body makes vitamin D in response to strong summer sunlight. According to Michael Holick, MD, a vitamin D expert at Boston University, if you live north of Atlanta, Georgia, you don’t make any vitamin D for six months a year. To make matters worse, very few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. Milk is fortified with vitamin D and so are many soy beverages, which, by the way, also contain added calcium. Fortified orange juice has as much vitamin D as milk.

For more on the calcium and vitamin D recommendations, and a list of vitamin D rich foods, check out this USA Today article.

Have you seen my other blog at USATODAY.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and recipes that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids. 

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