The Relationship between Breastfeeding and Colic

Although the cause of colic is not known with any certainty, many people believe that it is related to the baby’s digestive tract. They believe that some babies are born with digestive tracts that just aren’t quite prepared to handle certain types of foods. This would explain why colic almost invariably disappears just a few months after birth. Indeed, it could be that there is more than one cause of colic, and that digestion difficulty happens to be one of the biggest culprits.

Remember, your baby eats what you eat. If you find that your baby seems to be colicky and you are breastfeeding, it is important to begin eliminating foods from your diet that may be causing your baby’s intestinal pain. Ironically, one of the most common resolutions to the problem is to eliminate cow’s milk and other dairy products from your diet. Although there are a number of food’s that you should probably eliminate immediately, cow’s milk is the most common offender and most difficult to eliminate completely.

If you are going to eliminate cow’s milk from your diet, the consequences will be far reaching. First, make sure you are diligent about making sure that the foods you eat don’t contain cow’s milk. Nutritional labels may use the words lactoglobulin, casein, sodium caseinate, whey, or lactalbumin instead of simply “milk.” Most chocolates, processed foods, butter, cheeses, and good baked with batter contain some level of cow’s milk. Even if you’re careful not to have anything with cow’s milk, it can still take up to two weeks to fully eliminate it from your system. You should also consult a doctor or nutrition expert to ensure that you are still getting all your necessary vitamins and minerals, especially calcium.

Eliminating cow’s milk may not resolve your baby’s colic. There are some other foods that breastfeeding mothers ought to avoid. One rule of thumb is to avoid foods that cause you gas. If you have difficulty digesting a given food, your baby will almost certainly have difficulty as well. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are all things that you can easily eliminate from your diet even before you start breastfeeding. You should also try to avoid spicy foods, nuts, and onions. These diet precautions are usually only necessary for the first three months of breastfeeding; after that, your baby’s digestive tract should be strong enough to handle anything that yours can handle.