Unhealthy eating in Pregnancy

[MummyCJW]

I'm 38 weeks pregnant and although I've added alot more water and fruit ect.. to my diet, I'm ashamed to say I've had sooo much unhealthy food (lots of chocolate and fast food) , fizzy drinks, throughout my pregnancy and now feeling incredibly guilty, now I'm soo far on. I kept saying I would stop with the unhealthy food and just didn't.
My partner is a different nationality to me and says that in his country the women go completely healthy during pregnancy and has given me alot of stick about my diet.
I really want to breastfeed and am scared I have effected the amount of milk I may produce because of how my diet has been (because of what I've read)

I've done the same. Been eating a lot of fruit and veg but have also been eating more junk than normal, partially because that's all I could stomach in the first trimester, in the third trimester I am just insatiable.

Tbh, with me being the hormonal cow I am at nearly 39 weeks, I'd tell your partner to fuck off and stop shaming you. Pregnancy is tough without the added judgement from others.

Regarding your milk, your milk doesn't actually come in until 3/4 days after you have your baby. I haven't really read about the effects of what you eat on milk supply because we put enough pressure on ourselves as it is, but just be mindful of what you eat when your supply is establishing. You can also buy some seed packs that make cookies which are meant to be great for boosting your milk.

This site has come good information on diet and BFing which might help with your worries

kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-diet/

I can't see how your diet during pregnancy will effect breast feeding at all. your diet afterwards can i imagine if you don't drink enough for example. Women in famine blighted places successfully breast feed so i don't see you having an issue there.

What junk have you been eating exactly? the only thing i would concern myself with is if i was eating a lot of additives and artificial stuff. Lots of sugar isn't ideal but not the worst thing in the world. Fat however is very good for both you and the baby as it contain all kinds of essential amino acids (this is why we are supposed to give children/babies full fat food)

Your supply will be mostly effected by demand. The more baby feeds the more you will produce. This is especially the case with night feeding as this will produce more of the hormone which tells your body to make milk. The first 6 weeks or so is very important to establish supply so aim for that initially. Use shields of needed (i used these for a year) pump if needed so hubby can feed baby.

You will think your baby isn't getting enough as they seem fussy/upset just keep feeding them, this is all normal!!. the chances of you having a supply issue are very slim and you will be able to tell as baby won't be gaining weight properly. If they are gaining weight them obviously they are getting enough!

Only affects milk supply if you have deficiencies. If you start a nursing support multivitamin now should be okay.

By the way is your DP from Asia? If so as fruit and veg are expensive most women in Asian countries only get access to it during pregnancy and nursing. In India for example I know for a fact that most working women live on a diet of rice, bleached flour breads and cheaper dried lentils until they fall pregnant and then seem to pull out the veg (earlier if there are fertility problems). It’s too late by then to have any impact on spina bifida etc by that point which is why neural tube defects tend to be higher amongst the middle classes there.

I would not worry about that at all! With my first pregnancy, I ate so unhealthy and was very inactive (I was doing my degree at the time, and spent long hours in the library eating white bread and chocolate..) also lots of fast food. It will not affect the breastfeeding. Believe me, as I went on to breastfeed for 3.5 years!

Stress is worse for your milk supply than anything in your diet.

My breastmilk is 90% fast food and ice cream and I'm ok with that.

Lots of people eat unhealthy in pregnancy, as long as you’re getting a fairly balanced diet you’ll be fine, it won’t affect your breast milk. Milk production is stimulated by demand - your baby will feed and fed and feed in the first couple of months, don’t doubt yourself, they’re just establishing a good future supply (I’m currently feeding my third baby and spending a good 3+ hours each evening with a newborn attached to my boob, and a large amount of the rest of the time too).

Thank you for all your responses has made me feel better and less worried about if effecting my milk. Sometimes when we read stuff just have to ignore it.
Teddybear45 - No my partner is originally from Romania, but we have quite a few girls pregnant from our work place and before my maternity, they all sat there with their extetenky healthy and I'm sitting there with my full English everyday, walking up to the chocolate vending machine all the times 😅😅

Sliced pineapple - Thanks for the website and believe me I have told plenty of times 😂 he knows I will eat what I want, but at the same time I can't help feeling that guilt when he goes about it.

Also thanks to everyone for the breastfeeding information and your own experiences! Feeling less worried about it all

I don't think what you eat will have much impact, the baby and breastmilk will take out all the good bits it needs and leave you with the rest.

I had hyperemesis and lived off plain pasta with cheese, lemonade and salt & vinegar crisps. I couldn’t keep fruit, vegetables or vitamin tablets down at all. I breastfed two babies for over a year each with no supply problems whatsoever. It wasn’t an ideal diet, I know, but it didn’t affect my milk.

Congratulations on your pregnancy OP!

You do what you have you’re pregnant, I ate way more sweet stuff than usual and as soon as I gave birth it the cravings went away. I found I ate more instinctively when pregnant and it’s carried on with breastfeeding. I don’t think about what’s bad or good and when I want a lot of watery food I have a massive salad and when I want a quick energy boost I have a biscuit - didn’t ever eat them before but do now and I have a feeling I’ll stop when I stop feeding.

The Kellymom site is brilliant, so much useful info on there as and when you need it.

I ate a mixed diet but definitely lots of 'bad' food, the first 3 months after baby was born I'm pretty sure I ate mostly biscuits. Never affected milk supply!