Diet after cesarean section: Don't be too strict

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor I Le Thi Phuong - Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

After a woman has a cesarean section, it is still necessary to note a few points about the diet after cesarean section to restore health quickly and benefit the health of both mother and child.

After cesarean section, what to eat to help the body recover quickly is the question of many people. After cesarean section, the pressure in the abdomen is suddenly reduced, causing the abdominal muscles to decrease, bowel movements slow down, easy to be constipated. Therefore, after the surgery, the mother should not eat anything for the first 6 hours after surgery, when the intestines have gradually recovered, they should eat and drink.
After cesarean section, about 1-2 days, the digestive capacity is still weak, so eat easily digestible foods, do not eat greasy foods. After 3-4 days of caesarean section, you should not eat too many soups. After a week, mothers can eat and drink normally. When you have a better appetite, you can add eggs, poultry...
After giving birth, the mother eats more in the last months of pregnancy to make milk for lactation. Mothers need to eat all groups: meat, fish, eggs, milk, especially sea fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, fatty fish, seaweed, seaweed... rich in DHA, mother Eating the above foods, breast milk is rich in DHA, good for the nervous system, good for the eyes of the baby. Vegetables and fruits with dark green, red, orange and yellow colors have many provitamin A substances that are good for children's eyes such as vegetables, spinach, broccoli, papaya, papaya, mango oranges... Every day should eat more than 20 Different foods, change dishes every day, choose safe foods. Limit carbonated soft drinks, coffee, do not drink beer, alcohol and smoke.
Stimulates digestion, so braise fish meat with fresh turmeric or ginger.
After giving birth, exercise to prevent blood clots and veins.
Sun exposure every day for 20-30 minutes, prevent vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D will absorb calcium well.
According to Oriental medicine, carp has a sweet taste, is beneficial for urination, has a detoxifying effect, can treat cirrhosis of the liver, abdominal distention, postpartum hemorrhage and mothers without milk. . Take a fresh carp about 500g, cooked with wine, or remove the organs, dried and ground into powder, daily with wine to treat uterine bleeding. Carp also has the effect of promoting lactation, so after giving birth, it is very reasonable for the mother to eat carp.
Continue to take iron and vitamin supplements for at least one month after giving birth.

Sweet potatoes have laxative and diuretic properties, thereby consuming excess energy stored in the body. Pregnant women after cesarean section can add sweet potatoes to their diet.
Mothers should eat red skinned potatoes with yellow flesh because this type of potato contains a lot of minerals. In the case of colds and constipation, it is better to use white potatoes with white flesh. Mothers should eat sweet potatoes with other foods containing animal or vegetable protein to maximize the effects of sweet potatoes on the body.
Sweet potatoes contain sugar, so you should avoid eating more than once, because if you eat a lot while hungry, it will increase the secretion of gastric juice, which warms the intestines, belches and produces gas.
In the sweet potato skin contains many vitamins and minerals, so eat the skin immediately, do not peel it if it is not necessary.
It should be noted to store potatoes in a clean, dry, cool place. Avoid rodents and should only be used within a week of purchase.
Potatoes that have sprouts and green skins contain toxins, so mothers need to pay attention to remove these potatoes because they can cause poisoning.

There are rumors that eating beef will form deep scars and slow down the healing process. In fact, this information is not entirely correct. Pigments in beef and large amount of protein are the cause of dark scars when eating beef. However, leaving a deep scar when eating beef is due to the location of each person, not everyone has dark scars when eating.
Nutritionists still recommend that people with open wounds eat beef because of its excellent nutritional content. Beef is a food rich in protein, vitamins and essential minerals that are good for the body's recovery. In some cases, if you are hypersensitive or too worried about dark scars, you can also supplement your nutrition with other protein sources such as soy, milk or other meats, ..

During the first 2 months after the cesarean section, the mother should not eat chicken, because the ingredients in chicken meat have many nutrients, but if not eaten properly, it is easy to cause itching and scarring from the incision. Because cesarean section creates a big wound to remove the baby, if the mother does not pay attention, it affects both the health of the mother and the baby, and the loss of aesthetics later for the mother.
Chicken has many vitamins and fats, is the type of poultry that brings the most nutrition to the mother and is very beneficial for the baby's milk. However, in addition to chicken, mothers should also abstain from some hot spices such as chili, pepper, vinegar, foods containing a lot of fat.

Nutrition experts say that if someone in the family has a history of seafood allergy, there is a high chance that the baby will be allergic to seafood. Therefore, mothers should also pay attention and abstain from eating seafood during breastfeeding.
For pregnant mothers giving birth by cesarean section, it is best to abstain from seafood for 3 months after giving birth and only eat those that are good for the mother's body. In addition, mothers should limit eating seafood such as snails, clams, scallops... because this is a food group with high welding properties, easy to get cold stomach, flatulence, indigestion... affect quality. amount of milk.
Mothers should add shrimps rich in calcium and healthy protein, helping the body quickly recover. This is also a very familiar food, easy to prepare into many different dishes, enriching the menu of each mother's meal. In addition, it is possible to add sea crabs, which contain many minerals, iron, potassium and calcium, which are also very good for the body after birth.
If eating seafood after cesarean section, mothers should only eat fresh seafood, do not eat frozen seafood, seafood processing should be steamed or boiled to retain the most nutritional value. , limit frying, add more meats, green vegetables and fruits to ensure enough necessary nutrients for mother and baby.

After giving birth, mothers can eat fruit every day. If the mother is constipated, then eating a pepper banana every day also has a good effect, according to some documents, eating banana pepper also has the effect of reducing nervous tension. There are postpartum women who do not want to eat, so eating fruit also helps digestion. The sour and sweet medlar fruit after eating will increase appetite, benefit digestion, promote uterine contractions and expel blood. At the same time, fruits also help mothers to supplement vitamin deficiencies in the body. In addition, mothers need to pay attention not to eat too many sour and cold fruits, to prevent the acid from damaging the teeth and the stomach being irritated by cold foods.
Postpartum nutrition in general and after cesarean section in particular is very important, so mothers must pay special attention. To ensure the amount of milk for the baby, mothers should abstain from eating and drinking actively before falling into a "passive" position.
Mothers should eat in moderation, increase the number of meals and spend a lot of time resting and regaining health after giving birth. In addition, mothers should combine a reasonable diet with light activity to help the body get used to it after cesarean section. At the same time, light activity will also make the incision heal quickly and heal the scar.