Lactation

 

Nursing mothers need more of certain nutrients. If you decide to breast-feed your baby, be sure to mark the "I am lactating¾6 months or less" box on your Personal Information Form when the baby is born. And if you breast-feed longer than six months, you should mark the "I am lactating¾more than 6 months" box when your baby passes the half-year mark.* Finally, when you stop breast-feeding, make sure both boxes are unchecked.

 

(If you're lactating while pregnant, check "I am pregnant" in the Personal Information Form; then ask your doctor to help you edit your Personal Daily Allowances to cover both conditions.)

 

Checking the boxes for lactation will automatically change your Personal Daily Allowances (PDAs) to the following levels, most of which are recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board. If your doctor prescribes different levels, you can change your PDAs with the Personal Daily Allowance Editor.

 

(Note: In the rare event that you're over 50 and breast-feeding, some of your PDAs may revert to those for lactating women of age 50 and younger. For details, jump to the Help topic on each nutrient cited below.)

 

*

Until recently, some of the Recommended Dietary Allowances changed during the second six months of lactation. This is no longer true, but Diet Power asks you to specify which stage you are in, so that it can tailor your Food for Thought items accordingly.

 

How Your PDAs Change During Lactation

Your calorie allowance will not automatically change...

 

...if you're already using Diet Power and check "I am lactating" in the Personal Information Form. As you continue using the program, however, it will notice the rise in your metabolic rate and adjust your calorie budget accordingly. By contrast, if you report lactating when you first enroll in Diet Power, the program will start you off with a daily budget 650 calories higher than normal for your age and size. This, too, will change as the program learns how many calories you and your baby actually need.

 


 

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Last Modified: 7/1/07