Can you eat seafood after a caesarean section?

The importance of nutrition for mums after a caesarean

• A balanced diet with enough protein helps tissue regenerate and speeds up wound healing.
• A varied, complete diet helps you recover, boosts your milk supply and meets your newborn's needs.
• A sensible diet also helps you manage your weight after birth, with foods such as lean meat, vegetables and fruit.

Can mums eat seafood after a caesarean?

• Seafood is a protein-rich food containing many nutrients such as omega-3, omega-6, vitamins and minerals that are good for both mum and baby.
• Mums are sometimes advised not to eat these foods based on traditional beliefs. However, there is very little evidence to support this.
• According to current evidence-based medicine, if you are allergic to seafood you must not eat it. On the other hand, if you have no history of allergy, you can still eat seafood to vary your diet and give your body plenty of nutrients!

Things to note when eating seafood after giving birth

• Mercury is found in seafood not only from the sea; fish and shellfish from rivers can also be contaminated.
• The bigger the fish or the longer it lives, the more mercury it contains. Fish with alarming mercury levels that you should avoid include: king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, tilefish (Gulf of Mexico) and bigeye tuna.
• Some of the best seafood choices for mums are anchovies, sea bass, butterfish, and shrimp and crab, as well as other seafood such as:

Butterfish, catfish, clams, scallops, ..., crab, shrimp/prawns, herring, mullet, oysters, perch, salmon, sardines, skate, sole, squid, tilapia, canned light tuna. According to FDA recommendations, you should eat these in amounts of about 240 to 360 grams/week.

You can also eat fish such as carp, grouper and snapper and other seafood such as: carp, grouper, halibut, monkfish, snapper, Spanish mackerel, albacore tuna, white tuna and yellowfin tuna, but in smaller amounts, only about 120 grams/week.

For convenience, you can use the palm of your hand to estimate. Each palm-sized portion is equivalent to about 120 grams!

Nutrition after a caesarean needs to be complete and food-safe. So choose a diet that is nutritious yet safe!

Reference:

Advice About Eating Fish, FDA (2021)