Eating tips for new parents

Eating a variety of foods is important to keep you healthy and give you energy to look after your baby. All new parents need to keep their energy levels up. 

If you are breastfeeding, you do not need to eat a special diet. Just eat balanced meals. You can continue to follow your cultural food traditions. 

Eat a variety of foods from the 5 food groups every day:

1. Vegetables and legumes/beans
2. Fruits
3. Wholegrain breads and cereals
4. Dairy (milk, cheese and yoghurt)
5. Meat and meat alternatives

Tips

• For meals, aim for half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate of meat or alternatives, and a quarter plate of foods like rice, bread, or potatoes.
• Eat plenty of vegetables.
• Eat healthy snacks, such as fruit (fresh, tinned or dried), nuts, cheese or yoghurt. 
• Drink plenty of water.

Breastfeeding and your diet

Breastfeeding is free and gives your baby the perfect nutrition. It is normal to feel more hungry when you are breastfeeding. This is because your body needs more energy to make milk. Breastfeeding uses more of your body's water, so you might feel thirstier than usual.

Breastfeeding can help you lose the extra weight from pregnancy. When you breastfeed, your body uses some of the extra fat it stored up during pregnancy. Breastfeeding helps your body absorb nutrients from food better too.

In some cultures, women are told to eat a lot of sweet foods or high fat foods to make more milk. But research shows that these foods don't affect how much milk you make.