What food causes colic in a newborn?

The essence of the problem

Colic begins in the first days of a child’s life, passes closer to three months of age, and sometimes lasts up to six months. The baby behaves restlessly when using gas, cries, screams, and is capricious a lot. Sleep problems do not bother everyone, but they are also not uncommon. In this case, stool disturbances are observed - green mucous stool, constipation.

The main cause of colic is poor nutrition of the mother. If you exclude all potentially dangerous products, the risks will still be above 50%, but if you consume them, gassers are almost guaranteed to worry. Therefore, you need to adjust your diet and eat mostly safe, light foods.

Helpful advice! If you are on the wrong diet, eliminate a number of foods from your diet and see if your health improves or not.

What foods cause colic in breastfed babies?

The list of potentially harmful foods turns out to be truly long. Despite this, experienced doctors pay special attention to the following unwanted foods:

• Black bread. Enzymes that lead to fermentation of the dough during leavening can enter the baby’s stomach and increase the process of gas formation. In this regard, it is best to replace regular bread with crispbread.
• Cow's milk. Lactose, which is contained in milk, leads to increased gas formation in the baby. Moreover, fresh dairy products are a potential cause of an allergic reaction in a newborn. As a replacement, it is advisable to use fermented milk products, which turn out to be very beneficial for a young mother and her baby.
• Legumes. They contain a significant amount of protein, but it is still advisable to replace them with fish, meat or cheese. For example, it is advisable to include tofu cheese in the diet, the composition of which turns out to be truly beneficial.
• Some fruits and vegetables. Fiber leads to disruption of the gastrointestinal tract and can increase flatulence. To prevent active gas formation, it is advisable to consume baked, boiled or steamed vegetables, fruits and dishes made from them.
• Sour, spicy and salty foods. Such foods lead to intestinal irritation. In this regard, it is best for young mothers to temporarily exclude such dishes.
• Sweets do not always have a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract in children, since the available sugar leads to an intensification of the fermentation process. It is advisable to give up treats for a while.
• Coffee, alcohol and sugary soda are also potentially dangerous.

Avoiding the above foods reduces the risks associated with active fermentation and serious gastrointestinal problems.

How to eat when feeding a baby?

the following rules must be adhered to:

1. Drink enough water. The minimum daily intake is 2 liters, the main volume should be clean drinking water without gases. Avoid lemonade, strong tea, and coffee. Compotes and herbal decoctions are allowed, as well as fermented milk. Green and black teas, if you make them not very strong and drink not in liters, will not harm the baby.
2. Introduce new products carefully, optimally, gradually. Take breaks between doses and see how your baby feels. When food allergies begin, put off new treats.
3. Remove salty and fatty foods from your diet. Fish, marinades, lard (especially smoked, with spices), exotic foods are temporarily prohibited. Follow a hypoallergenic diet.
4. Eat little and often. It is advisable for a nursing mother to plan 5 meals a day.

Important! Lactation teas increase milk production and do not cause unwanted reactions in the baby. Use them as needed.

Nutrition rules for a nursing mother

• Drink more fluids. The minimum daily intake is 2 liters. At the same time, half the volume should be plain drinking water. Also, during lactation, you can drink black and green tea, fruit drinks and compotes, natural juices, and fermented milk drinks. The liquid stimulates the flow of breast milk, cleanses the body and improves digestion. When breastfeeding, it is good to drink herbal teas for lactation, which tone the body. Do not allow your body to dehydrate!;
• Incorporate each new product into your diet gradually. Take breaks between new foods for two days and carefully monitor your baby’s well-being. If the baby has a food allergy, delay the introduction for 4-6 weeks;
• Don't eat too fatty or fried foods. Eliminate lard, smoked meat and fish, pickles and marinades, various delicacies and exotic foods from your diet. In the first months of lactation, you should adhere to a special hypoallergenic diet;
• Eat small portions, but often. Nutritionists advise a nursing mother to eat five times a day.

What shouldn't mom do?

The main thing that a mother should do is think 100 times about whether she should eat a certain product or not. If it can cause an undesirable reaction, then no. It is not necessary to eat a lean and monotonous diet; try the following substitutions:

1. Brown bread is contraindicated for breastfeeding, but whole grain bread is suitable.
2. Ketchups, mustards, mayonnaises, hot and sweet sauces, and pickles are prohibited - they irritate the newborn’s intestines.
3. Raw vegetables and fruits are also not allowed - in addition to vitamins, they contain a lot of fiber, which causes flatulence. Grapes, citrus fruits, cabbage, fermented foods - exclude. Vegetables are allowed, but only steamed; fruits are baked (for example, apples, pears, quinces).
4. Sweets, chocolates and other desserts are not needed - they often cause increased gas formation.
5. Replace beans with cheese, cottage cheese, and low-fat fish - these are also good sources of protein.

Cow's milk is a risky product, lacking antigens and often causing severe allergies. Sour milk is a more neutral option. Coffee and alcohol are prohibited for the entire feeding time.

What a nursing mother should not do

If the baby is breastfed, the mother needs to know what foods to include in the diet and what not. When visiting a child for the first time, the pediatrician usually talks about what causes colic during breastfeeding . The list of undesirable products looks like this:

• whole cow's milk;
• fiber in fresh vegetables and fruits, such as white cabbage, beets, carrots. Allowed after heat treatment.
• legumes cause flatulence.
• dried apricots, apricots, baked potatoes in their skins - contain a high concentration of the microelement potassium, which promotes bloating.
• bread - contains yeast, causes fermentation. Replaced with bread.
• fruits on a full stomach also cause fermentation, it is better to eat before or between meals or use as a snack.
• desserts with cream, rich bakery products, and sweets also lead to fermentation. You can eat halva and pastila.

A nursing mother can easily replace all products recommended for use during breastfeeding with approved analogues.

Foods that cause colic

You should definitely know the list of foods that cause colic in newborns - it includes a “set” that is harmless for the “common person” and unsafe for a young mother. If possible, do not consume these products at all in the first months of your child’s life.

Milk

Cow's milk is the cause of gas and allergies, so it is contraindicated in the first 5 months of life. Cook porridge in water, drink tea and milk “naked.” Fresh milk is especially dangerous for a nursing mother - it causes not only colic in the baby, but also cessation of lactation.

Alternative options are cheese, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese. Goat's milk can be added, but it has a peculiar taste and a pungent odor.

Black bread

Brown bread, like other fermented products, is contraindicated during breastfeeding. Its use provokes increased gas formation, which leads to severe colic in the newborn. Replace it with whole grain breads - they will improve the condition of your skin, hair, and start your metabolism.

The best option for a nursing mother is bread with bran and caraway seeds. Cumin with bran, due to its unique composition, has a positive effect on the production of breast milk. Breasts tolerate the product well.

Legume family

Legumes are one of the causes of flatulence in infants. The group includes lentils and beans, peas, beans, and corn. These vegetables are extremely healthy, rich in protein, diversify the diet, add new taste to dishes, cleanse the body, and remove toxins. Beans do not cause allergies in infants, but colic is easy. Replace them with other sources of protein.

Despite their positive properties, beans should not be consumed in the first months of lactation. They negatively affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, causing bloating and severe colic.

Vegetables fruits

Not all, but raw ones - they are poorly digested, cause upset in the mother and gas in the baby. Other possible side effects are poisoning and infections. So eat, but strictly after good heat treatment to increase digestibility and disinfection.

The presence of fiber in the diet of a nursing mother is mandatory. These are pears, bananas, apples, broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, cauliflower, bananas. Alternate - consuming everything at once will only cause harm. Gradually introduce cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, and apricots. Fruits of bright colors are more likely than others to cause allergies.

Beets and cabbage are difficult to digest, so they are undesirable when feeding. It is permissible to introduce them after six months. Cooking methods: boiling, steaming, stewing, baking. Do not use oil, exclude pickled and pickled vegetables.

Sweet

Mothers can have sweets, but in limited quantities and not all. Eliminate butter, flour, fat, cream, chocolates, products with flavors, caffeine, and dyes too. Allowed:

• dried fruits;
• bitter chocolate;
• meringues;
• white marshmallows;
• Viennese, English waffles;
• biscuits;
• oriental sweets.

The main thing is not to abuse it.

Important ! Eliminate store-bought sauces completely - use sour cream, yogurt, and vegetable oil instead.

What foods should you avoid?

Next, let's talk more specifically about foods that cause colic in newborns; about the food to which a responsible mother should say an unequivocal “no.”

First of all, lactose-containing products, namely whole milk, should be removed from the mother’s diet. According to research relevant to 2020, lactose (lactase)[3] is a powerful catalyst for gas formation in the baby’s stomach. It is not only difficult to digest, but also causes various allergic reactions. Among the compromise options are lactic acid fermentation products (sour cream, kefir, yogurt), but we will talk about this in more detail below.

It is easy to assume that the delicate walls of the newborn intestine are easily irritated by spicy foods. For this reason, a responsible mother is obliged to refrain from any condiments - such as ketchup, mustard and even mayonnaise.

Black bread with bran is the first path to colic. The fact is that bran contains enzymes that provoke flatulence with no less success than lactase. A nursing mother should avoid it like fire.

All sorts of sweets also come under a barrage of criticism. If a mother does not want her child to suffer from stomach pain, she will have to temporarily give up sweets, chocolate and cakes.

And finally, let’s touch on vegetables and fruits. It's not that simple here. You shouldn’t give up on a vegetarian diet, but all vegetables and fruits used for food must first undergo heat treatment[4]. There is no other way: fiber is a faithful companion of flatulence.

How to help your baby?

Proper nutrition for the mother is the key to the well-being of the child. But be careful - even the most harmless foods can cause unwanted reactions in the first months of life. There are other recommendations:

1. Place your baby correctly - he should grasp the nipple so as not to swallow air.
2. Change the formula or make sure your baby doesn't overeat. Incorrectly selected artificial nutrition and gluttony are also risk factors.
3. Place a warm diaper on your tummy - it will warm the sore spot and make you feel better. The fabric should not be hot.
4. For prevention, place the baby on his stomach for a couple of minutes before each feeding, and hold him upright after eating.
5. A light massage is also a good remedy for gas. Move clockwise, the movements should be circular and light. Perform a set of gymnastic exercises - place the child on his back, begin to straighten and bend his legs.
6. Dill water soothes the stomach, normalizes digestion, and is useful for lactation. Buy a ready-made pharmacy decoction or make it yourself from dry seeds in a water bath.

There is no need to buy medications - start with diet correction and other simple methods described in the article. Use only those medications prescribed by your doctor.

Colic bothers most newborns and goes away on its own by 3-6 months. The main reason for their appearance is the malnutrition of the nursing mother. Also make sure that the baby takes the breast as needed, that the formula is suitable for him, and that there is no overeating. Medicines are usually not required.