It can be difficult to know if you're getting everything you need from your diet when you're expecting, and that doesn't change when your babe arrives and you're both breastfeeding and attempting to recovery from birth. We spoke to registered dietitian Rosie Schwartz to get the answers new parents need about prenatal and postnatal nutrition.

New moms definitely need an assortment of nutrients for both themselves and their babies. While a shortfall of nutrients may affect the quality of the breast milk, it won't affect the quantity.

Anxiety (especially about your milk supply), fatigue and skipping meals can all lead to reduced milk supply. Medical issues such as low levels of the hormone prolactin can also be a factor.

Anxiety can halt the release of the hormone oxytocin and thus delay the let-down of the breast milk—think of it as what opens the tap to allow the breast milk to flow. If you're worried about your breast milk supply, the let-down won’t occur and over time, your fears of too little milk may become a reality.

Foods that claim to increase your milk supply may provide some nutrients and boost your confidence about your breast milk but in fact, there’s no scientific evidence that they are actually increasing your milk supply. A recent study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,  followed more than 170 parents who were exclusively breastfeeding healthy two-month-old babies. One group of parents was provided a serving of commercially available lactation cookies to consume daily for a month; the other group of parents ate a serving of conventional cookies not designed to increase lactation, each day for a month. At the end of the study,  consuming lactation cookies did not have a significant impact on how much milk was actually produced or perceived to be produced.

Be wary of products claiming to improve breast milk quality. Consuming omega-3 fats to make your breast milk better for baby brain development is ineffective unless they are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). To get DHA in your breast milk, eat coldwater fish such as salmon or sardines, or take DHA supplements derived from algae.

Breastfeeding women do require more iron. Along with eating iron-rich foods, continue taking prenatal vitamins throughout the breastfeeding period.

Keep Enough Fuel in Your System

When you look at schedules and newborns, it’s easy to see how you can go for hours without food or drink. Many moms go back to sleep after nursing during the night. All of a sudden, the clock says it’s almost noon and you haven’t had any food or water. That’s definitely a recipe for fatigue.

Decide on a time (say, 9 a.m.) when you won’t go back to sleep without eating first. Keep your pantry, fridge and freezer stocked with easy-to-grab choices like the following:

  • canned legumes, fish and soups
  • hard-boiled eggs (a quick protein hit)
  • frozen vegetables (a nutritious addition to prepared soups)
  • frozen fruit (a flavourful topping to Greek yogurt)
  • whole grain crackers, cheese and an apple or cherry tomatoes (makes a quick snack or meal)

Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and author of The Enlightened Eater’s Whole Foods Guide (Viking Canada). Visit rosieschwartz.com for more.

Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, July/August 2015.