The best diet for a mother who is breastfeeding her baby is one that is varied, easy to digest, and high in calcium.
However, avoiding certain foods can lower the risk of colic in the baby.
If you are a pizza lover, you are probably wondering if you can eat pizza while breastfeeding.
Don’t worry, we will answer this and more in this article 🙂
Can I Eat Pizza While Breastfeeding?
You can eat pizza while breastfeeding as long as your baby is not sensitive to dairy. Pay attention to food sensitivities and allergies which present as mucus or blood in your baby’s stool, gas, eczema, colic, diarrhea, runny nose, congestion, coughing, etc. Stick to cheese and tomato pizza to rule out allergies to the pizza toppings.
What Foods Can Upset A Breastfed Baby?
The first months of breastfeeding are the most delicate for the baby’s health and the mother’s well-being: the onset of gas colic or the risk of developing allergies is at this stage the highest.
The WHO indicates that there are no real limits to nutrition while breastfeeding. However, it is good to take some precautions.
Here are some foods that could upset a breastfed baby:
1. Fish
Fish is a great source of DHA and EPA, two types of omega-3 fatty acids that are important for brain development in children.
However, while breastfeeding, it is best not to overdo some types of fish and seafood as they can be high in mercury, a metal that can be toxic, especially in infants and children.
Certain types of fish contain more mercury than others.
The recommendation in these cases is to favor smaller fish, ensuring you do not eat more than 12 ounces (or two servings) a week.
Here is a list of low-mercury fish you can eat while breastfeeding your baby:
- Anchovies
- Catfish
- Clam
- Crab
- Crayfish
- Croaker (Atlantic)
- Flounder
- Haddock
- Hake
- Herring
- Mackerel (North Atlantic, Chub)
- Mullet
- Oyster
- Perch
- Pollock
- Salmon
- Sardine
- Scallop
- Shrimp
- Sole
- Squid
- Tilapia
- Trout
- Whitefish
2. Citrus
Citrus fruits should be consumed in moderation because they could cause colic in the baby.
Some babies can negatively react to vitamin C, which is found in lime, oranges, tomatoes, etc.
Keep a diary to record any gastrointestinal issues your baby may have with citric foods.
3. Alcohol
According to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), abstaining from alcohol while breastfeeding would be the best choice for mothers since the alcohol ingested reaches the breast milk and, therefore, the baby.
Frequent and excessive alcohol intake while breastfeeding has been linked to:
- Increased risk of sleep disturbances
- Retardation of psychomotor skills
- Cognitive retardation later in life
It has also been shown that high alcohol consumption reduces the production of breast milk by 20%.
Alcohol should therefore be avoided. However, according to the American CDC, an occasional drink could be safe as long as you wait at least 2/3 hours from taking the alcoholic drink before breastfeeding the baby.
4. Caffeine
Caffeine, like alcohol, can also end up in breast milk and can become a problem for the baby’s health.
In fact, children struggle to “get rid” of the caffeine they consume, and consequently, large quantities of this substance could accumulate in their body, causing:
- Irritability
- Sleep disorders
- Digestive or intestinal problems
- Frequent urination
Coffee isn’t the only source of caffeine; tea and energy drinks also contain it in large quantities.
The general rule is to use common sense and not to overdo the consumption of these drinks.
Two coffees or teas a day, away from feeding, do not negatively affect the baby.
5. Chocolate
Chocolate contains a significant amount of theobromine, a substance that shares the same effects as caffeine.
Consequently, the excessive consumption of chocolate by the breastfeeding mother causes a circulation of theobromine in breast milk.
This can result in:
- Stimulation of the central nervous system
- Increased urination
- Rapid heartbeat
- Insomnia or inability to sleep
Although excessive intake of chocolate and chocolate products can affect the health of breastfed babies, it is important to point out that low or moderate consumption of chocolate will not harm the mother and her baby.
You can therefore enjoy a piece of chocolate without needing to worry!
6. Peanuts and Other “Allergenic” Foods
Until a few years ago, nursing mothers were recommended to avoid taking potentially allergenic foods such as peanuts, eggs, and milk.
This exclusion was due to old beliefs with no scientific evidence.
In fact, if these foods have always been part of the mother’s diet, there is no reason to suddenly exclude them.
So, unless the mom is allergic to peanuts (or other foods), there is no scientific evidence to suggest they should be avoided while breastfeeding.
Just as there is no evidence that not eating peanuts or other allergenic foods protects children from developing an allergy.
However, if you notice that your baby has some symptoms when you eat a certain food, talk to your pediatrician.
What Is Gas Colic?
Colic generally appears in the first weeks of life, and in 90 percent of cases, they resolve spontaneously within three months of the newborn’s life.
To recognize them, the Wessel criteria are used, specifically the “rule of 3”.
We can speak of colic when a newborn cries more than three hours a day, more than three days a week, for more than three weeks.
The crying accompanying colic refers to a sharp and sudden abdominal pain, mainly in the evening: accompanied by agitation, redness of the face, abdominal tension, flexion of the lower limbs on the abdomen and meteorism.
As known, infantile colic is one of the most common disorders in the first months of life, with a prevalence ranging from 3 to 40 percent.
And they represent a cause for alarm and concern for many parents who, faced with the inconsolable cry of a child, do not know how to behave.
The causes of the disorder are still unknown. There are more hypotheses than certainties. The most obvious is that colic is due to excess gas produced by intestinal bacteria or ingested up to the last part of the digestive system.
Scientific evidence, however, is weak to turn this conjecture into a certainty.
Hence the proliferation of other hypotheses, ranging from the presence of intestinal motility disorders to a particular structure of the microbiota.
There is also the possibility that the baby has an allergy to milk proteins.
Can Babies Taste What You Eat In Breast Milk?
Yes, babies can taste what breastfeeding mothers eat.
The taste of banana, for example, reaches the breasts in an hour, licorice and cumin in two.
Menthol, on the other hand, flavors the milk two hours after ingestion, but it also remains in the following 8.
In any case, no flavor lasts more than 8 hours after ingestion.
There are some foods, in particular, that give the milk a rather unpleasant taste:
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli
- Vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family
- Meats, such as horse meat, game, spicy or very spicy salamis.
- Very ‘strong’ spices, such as curry, chili, but also chives which, although not a spice in the strict sense, is used to flavor foods.
- Smoked fish, such as salmon or swordfish. Even fattier fish, such as mackerel, salmon, or tuna, are at risk.
Conclusion
Pizza is perfectly safe to eat when nursing your baby!
But pay attention to allergies and sensitivities that may indicate you should stop eating pizza while breastfeeding.
Keep an eye out for signs such as:
- Mucus or blood in your baby’s stool
- Gas
- Eczema
- Colic
- Diarrhea
- Runny nose
- Congestion
- Coughing
