Golden August: breastfeeding benefits for mothers and babies

The Golden August campaign promotes breastfeeding and raises awareness of its benefits for mothers and babies. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health recommend that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Once complementary foods are introduced, breastfeeding should continue until the age of two or beyond.

In the first months of life, human milk provides babies with the nutrients and hydration they need, and its composition is linked to the mother’s nutritional intake. Maintaining a healthy diet during this stage is therefore important for both the mother’s and child’s health.

“ The nutrients present in breast milk come from both the body’s stores and the mother’s diet. Therefore, the quality of the mother’s diet directly affects the nutritional composition of the milk, making healthy eating habits essential throughout the breastfeeding period,” explains Leticia Schmidt, a Nutrition lecturer at the Faculty of Development of Rio Grande do Sul (FADERGS), who holds a doctorate in Paediatrics and Child Health and is a nutritionist and breastfeeding specialist.

The guidance is to prioritise fresh and minimally processed foods. These are foods that have not undergone industrial processing or had other culinary ingredients added, such as rice, beans, vegetables and fruit.

The importance of adequate diet and hydration

The lecturer gives the example that if a mother’s diet is high in saturated fat, her milk will also contain more saturated fat. The availability of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, however, is important to safeguard the baby’s health. “Nutrients are produced from what the mother consumes at each meal, as well as from what is stored in her body,” she notes.

Maintaining an adequate milk production also requires proper hydration and an adjustment in food intake. “It is important to stay hydrated, always responding to thirst, and to adjust the amount of food, without overlooking its quality, in order to meet the body’s own needs in response to this new demand. A breastfeeding woman needs greater nutritional intake than a woman who is not breastfeeding,” she stresses.

Dietary restrictions should be guided by a professional

Leticia Schmidt says that many women begin restricting certain foods because they believe these could harm the baby. In most cases, however, she says restrictions are unnecessary. Care is needed with the quantity of substances such as caffeine, found in black tea, mate tea, chimarrão, coffee and fizzy drinks, as it may cause restlessness depending on each child’s sensitivity.

Completely avoiding a particular food is only necessary when the baby displays specific symptoms that have been properly diagnosed by a paediatrician. The lecturer emphasises that preventive dietary restrictions are not required. She also highlights the importance of seeking advice from healthcare professionals, since removing foods from the mother’s diet can contribute to nutritional deficiencies for both mother and baby.

Myths about milk production

Leticia Schmidt also explains that beliefs about eating or drinking certain items, such as dark beer or large amounts of milk, to increase milk production have no scientific evidence behind them. In the case of alcoholic drinks, consumption may compromise the baby’s health because alcohol passes into human milk.

Milk production is associated with hormonal factors and the stimulation created by the baby’s sucking. For this reason, according to the specialist, priority has been given to placing the baby in skin-to-skin contact with the mother during the first hour after birth. “The baby’s first hour is extremely important for connection and for the whole breastfeeding process to develop satisfactorily.”

Breastfeeding benefits mothers and babies

Leticia Schmidt has noticed increasing promotion of formula milk as a replacement for human milk. She points out that breastfeeding supports immune development, something formula cannot provide. In addition, the milk’s nutrients develop according to the child’s needs.

“ A mother with a premature baby produces milk that is specific to that baby,” she highlights. Breastfeeding also benefits the mother, including more effective recovery of pre-pregnancy weight, the uterus returning to its normal physiological size, a lower risk of postpartum haemorrhage and a stronger mother-baby bond.

Specialist support can help throughout the process

Leticia Schmidt stresses that many mothers believe they are producing too little milk, although this perception may be mistaken. In such situations, the recommendation is to seek a specialist in breastfeeding who can help the patient understand what is happening and make any necessary changes. Many factors related to the clinical management of breastfeeding can be assessed and corrected. The specialist also notes that family support and attentiveness to the needs of both mother and baby are vital, as this is a time of bodily changes and adaptation.

By Rafaela Bobsin