After you have your baby, it is important to take care of yourself and eat nutritious foods.

If you are breastfeeding, the food you eat helps your baby grow strong and healthy, too. Good eating habits and exercise will help you lose the weight you gained.

You don’t need a special diet during breastfeeding, but what you eat does need to be nutritionally balanced. That means plenty of fruit and vegetables, as well as whole grains such as oats, brown rice, and cereals and breads labelled ‘wholegrain’, ‘wholemeal’ or ‘wholewheat’.

These foods, as well as potatoes, pasta and couscous, are also high in starch, an important source of energy.

You should also ensure you’re getting enough calcium, as this is depleted when breastfeeding and should also have optimum intake of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is key. It’s essential for healthy bones, for both you and your baby.