What dietary taboos should mothers pay attention to?

In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all dietary taboo for pregnant women at all. The only things that must be 100% avoided are foods that are clearly known to cause allergies, raw/half-cooked ingredients that are not thoroughly cooked, alcoholic drinks and foods, and excessive amounts of processed foods that are high in sugar, oil, and salt. The rest of the widely circulated "taboo requirements" basically need to be discussed on a case-by-case basis, and there is no need to adhere to them. Undercooked foods such as sashimi, soft-boiled eggs, and half-cooked steaks may carry salmonella and parasites. Ordinary people are prone to acute gastroenteritis if they eat them. Maternal immunity is also weak and it involves breastfeeding, so you really can't touch one bite. There are also so-called postpartum wine and rice wine boiled chicken. No matter how you cook the alcohol will not completely evaporate and will enter the baby's body through breast milk and affect the development of the nervous system. This is also an uncontroversial taboo.

Before I gave birth to my daughter, I kept a two-page list of postpartum taboos, including things that should not be touched cold, salty, or sour or spicy. When I was discharged from the hospital, the obstetrician laughed at me for a long time, saying that most of these rules were saved when supplies were insufficient and sanitary conditions could not keep up, and they no longer apply to the current situation.

Let’s take the most quarrelsome question of “can we eat cold food”? Elders always say that eating cold food will cause confinement syndrome and uterine cold. My mother in the same ward gave birth to a baby in the summer. On the third day after giving birth, she ate watermelon that had been left out of the refrigerator for about ten minutes. Nothing happened. She usually likes to drink iced milk tea and has a high gastrointestinal tolerance. The doctor also said that there was no problem. But if you usually have a weak spleen and stomach and get diarrhea whenever you eat cold food, then it is definitely safer to eat warm and soft food first. There is no need to go against tradition.

The question of whether spicy food can be eaten is also polarizing. Friends in the Sichuan and Chongqing areas said that they still put chili peppers during confinement and had no problems with their babies. However, some mothers reported that after taking a bite of hot pot, their babies developed rashes the next day. In fact, this also depends on the individual's physical constitution and the tolerance of the baby. If you usually eat spicy food every time, you will not get angry or constipated after eating, and the baby will not have eczema or diarrhea after drinking milk. You can eat less to satisfy the craving. It is easy to be in a bad mood during confinement, and you can't even touch your favorite food to make you upset. But if you don’t feel comfortable eating spicy food, or your baby is sensitive, it doesn’t matter if you tolerate it for a few months.

I once met a best friend who was asked by her mother-in-law to eat salt-free rice for a whole month. On the 10th day of eating, she felt so weak that she couldn't stand. She went to check her electrolytes and found that she was lacking sodium. In fact, not eating salt at all will affect the body's recovery. As long as the taste is lighter than usual, don't touch high-salt foods such as cured products and pickles. The human body inherently needs sodium intake, and not eating it at all will cause problems.

There are also many people’s “list of foods to restore breast milk”, such as leeks, malt, and celery. I was greedy and ate a large plate of leek boxes a while ago. There was no fluctuation in the amount of milk. However, a mother I know accidentally drank a sip of malt tea and her milk was blocked for three days and she cried in pain. This so-called milk-restoring food also varies from person to person. There is no saying that you will immediately run out of milk after taking one bite. If you are really worried, eat less. If you accidentally take a bite, there is no need to be anxious.

I used to think that dietary taboos during confinement were like a minefield, and I would be frightened if I took more than one bite. Only after I experienced it did I realize how important it is. To put it bluntly, it means avoiding those types of foods that are clearly risky, and the rest will be as comfortable as you want. If you eat happily, your body will recover quickly, and your milk supply will naturally be stable. It is much better than trying to follow a bunch of useless rules.