ginger and breastfeeding

C

catan

Registered User
I'm due in June and will be in confinement according to chinese tradition. My mother says that all the foods I have to eat will be cooked in ginger. I read that you shouldn't eat ginger while breastfeeding... is this true? My mother never breastfed so it wasn't an issue for her. She's also against bf-ing. Tried to google the subject but wasn't able to really find anything.
 
I'm not sure about ginger and breastfeeding, but I do know that you're supposed to avoid ginger for the first couple weeks after you give birth as it's a bloodthinner and since you'll be bleeding, you don't want to increase the bleeding. I had the ginger fried rice and the ginger vinegar stuff after I had my baby and it seemed ok. I just didn't eat too much of the ginger vinegar in one sitting as I wasn't sure how baby would react to it.
 
Just had my first child in Feb. Had ginger in almost every meal for 30 days based on the Asian confinement practices. No issue, didn't affect me nor the baby.
 
my OBGYN told me to avoid ginger for the first month as it would increase bleeding. i know it's good for you as it helps you "release" the air from within and so it is a "health" food in that sense.

as for b-feeding and ginger...well - it depends, you really have to monitor all foods you eat to see how it affects your baby before you decide to stop / minimize a certain good.

Congrats!
 
I found this article to be superb at recommending lactogenic foods (foods that support lactation).

This is the section for Ginger:

Ginger

Ginger is helpful for the letdown and milk flow. Some mothers benefit from drinking ginger ale. Even commercial ginger ale is flavored with “natural flavoring” that is real ginger.

Warning: Do not use ginger or ginger ale in the early postpartum if there was significant blood loss during birth. Do not take ginger immediately after birth due to danger of hemorrhaging.

Caution: Ginger tends to compound and increase the effects of medication being taken. Talk to your doctor if you are taking medication, especially diabetic, blood-thinning, or heart medicine.

Sources: You can find ginger at your local grocery store. Check out stores that sell Asian foods, health food stores, and on line.
Click to expand...

Also, this chart is really useful for knowing what is or is not good while breastfeeding.
 
was in confinement too for 30 days and ate ginger about 10 days after giving birth. it was in everything. no issues with nursing - was fine.
 
You can start ginger on the 12th days if vaginal delivery. 30 days if c-section. Ginger can delay healing of any wounds and if your baby has jaundice it can make it worse. Once you have passed the wound period it is quite safe to take ginger.

Confinement will have alcohol in cooking too. Its safe too as it evaporates when cooked. So the amount in breast milk is very little. Some new mums will drink alcohol DOM or yumeishu before sleeping to warm their body but if you are breast feeding, you should just limit to wine in cooking.

Whatever you eat will pass through breast milk to your baby so its important that you eat in moderation and have a well balanced diet.

Are you hiring confinement lady, can u pm me her contact? I'm preparing for my next pregnancy and will be grateful to have a good Referal. Thx u
 
My confinement period is ending now (yay!). I started eating foods cooked in ginger the day I gave birth (mum wouldn't let me eat anything else..). The diet was very rich and heating, everything bathed in sesame oil and ginger. It didn't affect breastfeeding as baby nursed happily. My baby was jaundiced (minor) for weeks though, so I'm not sure if that was related... I drank liquor for a few days in the second week postpartum, noticed it affected my milk supply, and stopped.

I didn't hire a confinement lady, my mum went to see a chinese medicine doctor for the specific herbal drinks, and she herself handled the food based on her family's traditions.
 
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