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Last Ramadan, I watched with worry as my 3 month old baby napped for 5 hours in the afternoon. There’s nothing I love more than a sleeping baby, but even that nap seemed excessive to me. I started to wonder if my breastmilk supply was dipping, causing her to drink less while direct latching, which then made her lethargic.
If you’re breastfeeding or pumping your breast milk this Ramadan, then you might similarly worry about how fasting may affect your milk supply and ultimately your baby’s well-being.
One of the many things you can do to maintain your milk supply while fasting is to load up on lactation goods.
How lactation goods can help you through Ramadan
They’re packed with wholesome ingredients to give you the nutrition you need to increase your breastmilk supply.
Honest sellers of lactation goods will only use healthy ingredients known to naturally help increase breastmilk production. These include oats, flaxseed meal, dates, chia seeds, etc.
Eating lactation products especially during the pre-dawn meal (sahur) can substantially boost the quality of your diet and help increase, or at least maintain your milk supply.
They typically contain oats, which is abundant in nutrients and high in fibre, which can help keep you satiated for longer.
Oats should be a breastfeeding mother’s best friend because of all the benefits they offer. They contain proteins, vitamins, and minerals. They’re high in iron, zinc, manganese, and calcium. Iron is particularly valuable because low iron levels in breastfeeding mums can result in decreased milk supply.
Oats are also high in fibre, which helps keep you feeling full for longer. This can help to counterbalance the way your body feels hungry and thirsty more quickly due to breastfeeding, and lets you fast more comfortably.
They’re quick and easy.
Some days you can throw on your supermom cape and do 1,001 things for your family, including blending yourself a milkshake with dates and oats to drink for sahur or iftar.
But likely, there’ll also be many other days where you. just. can’t. Lactation goods which you can prep a huge batch in advance will come in super handy during such days.
Alternatively, you can also purchase lactation goods so that it’s all done for you. No extra mental load!
Speaking of lactation goods, if you’ve not yet seen Nurture Eats’ lactation cheesecake banana loaf, you absolutely have to check them out.
Fuel your body with Nurture Eats’ cheesecake banana loaves
Myra, the 28 year old owner of Nurture Eats, bakes unique lactation loaves that have cheesecake stuffed in banana bread. This dreamy innovation is what she calls “cake inception” — a cake within a cake.
True to lactation goods, each loaf contains healthy galactagogue ingredients such as organic oats, sugar-free cocoa powder, chia seeds, flaxseed meal, and cinnamon.
The loaves are great not just for breastfeeding mums, but also for pregnant mums who want to send some nutritional love to their babies.
If you’ve been looking to cut down your sugar intake, you’ll appreciate that Nurture Eats intentionally uses bananas as a sugar substitute to reduce the need for added sugar.
And if you need a dairy-free option, Myra can customise your loaf by leaving out the cheesecake portion and replacing the dairy with either a plant-based or nut-based milk, depending on your preference.
Nurture Eats’ lactation cheesecake banana loaves come in 8 enticing flavours. Occasionally, you can get their seasonal specials too. For instance, the current Ramadan special is banana with dates.
Myra’s top 3 personal favourites are the smoked sea salt chocolate, dark chocolate, and blueberry flavours. “I’m a chocolate lover,” she confessed. “But these are also our best sellers.”
Weighing a hefty 1.2kg to 1.4kg, each loaf can be cut into 8-10 slices. Myra recommends that you cling wrap and freeze the slices to extend their shelf life, as she doesn’t use any preservatives. The slices can be left frozen for up to 1 month (a conservative guide, to be safe).
A customer before she became the owner
Before Myra owned the business, she was initially a customer of the previous Nurture Eats owner. Myra’s experience with the blueberry loaf was love at first bite. When Myra found out that she was selling the business, she didn’t hesitate to make an offer.
Having been a customer herself, Myra understands first hand how the loaves can help breastfeeding mothers to not only increase their milk supply, but improve the quality of their milk for baby’s benefit.
While the ownership transition was initially challenging for Myra as she had to quickly learn the ropes of handling orders and liaising with her courier and suppliers, she now has a better footing and intends to maintain the quality of the business.
For Ramadan, Myra recommends eating what you would normally eat during sahur, and then having 1-3 slices of her lactation cheesecake banana loaf to top off your meal. “New customers should start with 1-2 slices per day to experiment first in the initial 1-2 days, before increasing to 2-3 slices,” she said.
Another tip is to make sure you drink enough water — at least 2 litres a day. During sahur, aim to drink at least 3 cups of water. You should also drink up as much water as you can after you break your fast. Breastfeeding mums need to be well-hydrated to maintain their milk supply.
Perfect for gifting
If you know a pregnant mum, or someone who gave birth recently, or a mother who’s breastfeeding this Ramadan, these lactation loaves are perfect for gifting to them in this blessed month. “They make heartfelt gifts, something different from the usual toys and money,” said Myra.
The loaves are not just one of a kind but also get great customer reviews about their tastiness and their milk-boosting qualities:
- “So tasty and full of flavours. The best thing is they really boost my milk supply!”
- “The loaf is tasty and it helped with the milk supply as well.”
- “I really enjoyed them and they’re very tasty! It has made my milk thicker…”
- “My milk is creamy!!! Definitely thanks to your loaves.”
- “Received my loaf this morning and I had a slice. I usually get 120ml per session but today I got 200ml!! It’s like instant magic. And it’s thick creamy milk quality.”
- “I like how they are not too sweet so it’s a guilt free indulgence but I’m surprised at the same time that something healthy can taste so good too.”
To plan your gift, find out if the mum prefers chocolate or fruits. From there, you can narrow down your choices or send a message to Myra to ask for her recommendations. If you need to, you can also request for the loaves to be sugar-free or dairy-free.
Other than the lactation loaves, Nurture Eats also sells lactation brownies, cookies and sticky date bars. You can also include these items in your gift so that mums can see which bakes help their bodies best.
Nourish yourself (or a mum you love!) this Ramadan with Nurture Eats
If you’re worried about how Ramadan fasting is affecting your milk supply, definitely try one of Nurture Eats’ delicious lactation loaves.
And if you’re not breastfeeding but love wholesome and nutritious snacks, nobody will judge you for ordering yourself some of these yummy delights. Treat yourself!
To place your order, look out for Nurture Eats’ weekly pre-orders which typically get announced on their Instagram, @nurtureeatssg. Visit their website, www.nurture-eats.com for more information about their products.
Images by Nurture Eats.
This article is brought to you in partnership with Nurture Eats.
