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you and oth you enjoy be … 1 checkup 6 weeks after your baby is born
We hope
que stions. (post partum).
ly,
Sincere aff
Get prenatal care as soon as you think you are
gram st pregnant. Go to all your checkups. You can learn more
The WIC Pro
about your baby and how your body is changing.
If you need help to pay for prenatal care, ask WIC about
the Maryland Children’s Health Program. Or, you can call
1-800-456-8900 to find out more.
Choose ONE SERVING IS
• 1 slice bread or tortilla
TIP
• Eat whole grains like:
Grains
foods 6 ser vings • 1/2 bagel or hamburger bun - Oatmeal
• 1/2 cup cooked rice, noodles, or cereal - Whole wheat or rye bread
for you (or more)
• 1 cup flake-type cereal - Brown rice
and ONE SERVING IS
- Corn tortillas
TIPS
baby, Vegetables
• 1/2 cup chopped or cooked • Eat many kinds and colors: dark green,
orange, red, yellow, purple, and white.
• 1 cup lettuce or other leafy greens
too. 5 ser vings • 1/2 cup vegetable or tomato juice • Add to: scrambled eggs, rice, noodles,
salads, and casseroles.
(or more)
• Your baby grows
best when you
ONE SERVING IS TIPS
eat right.
• 1/2 cup chopped or cooked • Eat many kinds and colors: red, yellow,
• Every day, eat Fruits orange, blue, green, and white.
foods from all • 1 fruit—apple, orange, peach
4 servings • Put sliced or chopped fruit on cereal,
five food groups. • 1/2 cup 100% fruit juice
(or more) pancakes, pudding, and frozen yogurt.
ONE SERVING IS TIPS
• 1 cup milk • Buy lowfat (1%) or fat free milk and
lowfat cheese with your WIC checks.
Milk • 1 cup yogurt
• If it is hard to drink milk, get ideas
3 ser vings • 1 to 2 slices cheese
from WIC.
ONE OUNCE IS TIPS
• 1 ounce meat, chicken, turkey, or fish • A 3-ounce serving is the size of a
Meat • 1/4 cup canned light tuna deck of cards.
& Beans • 1 egg • Eat more beans like you get from WIC.
6 ounces • 1/2 cup cooked beans or tofu
Ask WIC for recipes.
(or more) • 2 tablespoons peanut butter or nuts • Choose lean meats. Bake, broil, or grill them.
Sample Menu Snack smart.
You and your baby do best when you eat regular When you want a snack,
meals. Here is an idea for one day. have one of these.
• Banana or other fruit
Breakfast • Chocolate milk
WIC cereal + milk • Apple slices or banana with
Wheat toast with peanut butter peanut butter
Banana
WIC juice • Pudding made with WIC milk
• Cheese slice on whole wheat toast
Morning Snack • Carrot sticks dipped in salsa
Plain yogurt • Nuts and raisins
Orange slices
• Vanilla yogurt
• Tomato juice
Lunch
• Hard cooked egg
Chili with WIC beans
Cornbread or tortilla • WIC cereal
Broccoli • Oatmeal raisin cookies
Sliced cheese
Water
Fast Foods Tips
Afternoon Snack
Graham crackers On the go? Ask for these fast foods.
Handful of nuts
• Grilled chicken sandwich
Strawberries
• Hamburger or cheeseburger
• Main dish salad or side salad
Dinner
Chicken • Pizza topped with green peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms
Rice • Baked potato with vegetable and cheese toppings
Carrots
• Fruit
Salad—lettuce, tomato
Milk • Water, milk, or juice
Mini Meals If you don’t feel like eating, try a mini meal. Food safety tips
Pick a food from each group. You decide how much.
• Wash your hands with soap and water before
Example: Cold cereal + Milk + Banana you eat or fix food.
• Wash vegetables and fruit with water before
GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3 If you like eating or cooking.
• Cook meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and seafood
Bagel Cheese Apple Butter to the well-done stage. Use a meat thermometer.
Baked potato Cottage cheese Banana Fruit spread • Cook hot dogs, coldcuts and deli meats like
bologna, salami, or ham until steaming hot
Bread Frozen yogurt Grapes Cream cheese before eating.
Cold cereal Milk Melon Jelly • If you eat fish one or more times a week, ask
Crackers Milkshake Orange WIC or your doctor for more information.
Margarine
English muffin Pudding Peach
Sugar
Graham crackers Yogurt Pineapple
What about vitamins?
Hamburger bun Cooked beans Raisins
Your doctor may say to take a prenatal vitamin.
Noodles Cooked chicken Strawberries It is a pill with extra iron and folic acid to help your
baby grow. Take the pill with water. If it is hard to
Noodle soup Cooked meat Broccoli
take, talk with your doctor. Do not take any other
Oatmeal or grits Egg, hard cooked Carrots vitamins unless your doctor says to.
Pita bread Egg salad Green peppers
Raisin bread Egg, scrambled Raw spinach
Hamburger Tomato
Keep your teeth healthy.
Rice
To keep your teeth and gums healthy, be sure to:
Roll Nuts (like walnuts) Tomato soup
… Brush your teeth (and tongue) at least two times
Tortilla Peanut butter Vegetable soup a day.
… Floss your teeth two times a day.
… Drink water, not sugary drinks.
… Get a dental checkup.
Use a soft-bristle toothbrush. Brush gently. If your
gums bleed when you brush or floss, tell your doctor.
Weight Gain
Be active You need to gain weight so your
for a baby grows right. Your doctor will
say how much. It might be 25 to 35
healthy pounds. Or, it might be less or
more than this.
body. After the 3rd month, you might
gain about one pound a week. To
keep a steady weight gain:
• Eat when you feel hungry.
• Choose healthy foods to eat.
• Drink water when you get thirsty.
• Keep active by walking.
If your weight gain is:
Just right—
You can lose the weight after your baby is born.
Too little —
Your baby could be born too small or too soon.
Too much—
Your body stays fit when you Find time to be active for
It is hard to lose the weight after the baby is born.
move it. If your doctor says it is 30 minutes, most or all days
okay, try to keep active. Walking and of the week.
swimming are two ways. You will
You can break the time up like this:
look and feel good because you:
… walk 10 minutes in the morning. Notes
… have more energy and feel
less tired. … walk 10 minutes after lunch.
… sleep better. … walk 10 minutes after dinner.
… work off stress.
… tone your muscles.
… have better posture.
Don’t smoke. Don’t take medicine without your
Keep your ! If you smoke, your baby: !
doctor’s OK.
baby safe. … may be born too small or too sick to
live.
Ask your doctor if the medicine is safe before you
take it. Any medicine, even aspirin, laxatives, or cold
tablets could hurt your baby.
… may be at risk for crib death (SIDS).
… may be at risk for lung problems like Don’t take herbal supplements or drink
asthma.
Get help to cut back or quit. Talk with
!
herbal teas.
Some herbs might hurt your baby. If you take herbs
your doctor or call 1-800-548-8252 or drink herbal teas, ask your doctor if it is safe.
(American Lung Association).
Don’t eat certain foods.
! Don’t drink beer, wine, liquor, or
mixed drinks. !
Some foods can make you sick or hurt your baby.
If you drink, your baby: Do not eat:
… may be born with birth defects. • Tilefish, swordfish, king mackerel, or shark
… may have health or learning problems • Crab mustard
for life.
• Raw oysters or fish like sushi or sushimi
Even a drink once in a while could
• Rare or raw meat, chicken, or turkey
hurt your baby. Get help to quit.
Talk with your doctor or call • Deli meat spreads or pates
se: 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
not u
• Raw or soft-cooked eggs
Do caine • Feta, blue-veined, Brie, or
k/co
" Crac ers Mexican-style (queso blanco or
" Sp eed o
r upp
ners
! Don’t use street drugs.
If you use drugs, your baby:
queso fresco) cheeses
• Unpasteurized (raw) milk or cheese
" Dow … may be born too small or too sick
oin • Unpasteurized juice or cider
" Her to live.
a
ijuan • Raw sprouts, like alfalfa sprouts
" Mar l dus
t … may be born with birth defects.
or Ange
" PCP … may have health or learning
problems for life.
" LSD
Get help to quit. Talk with your doctor
or call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Pregnancy
Discomforts Your body changes when you are
pregnant. You might feel sick to your
stomach the first 3 or 4 months.
Some smells and foods might make
you throw up.
If you feel sick…
(Morning Sickness)
• Open the window to let fresh air
in and stale air out.
• Get up slowly when you wake up.
• Stay away from smells that make
you sick.
As your baby grows, you might If you can’t move your
• Eat cold foods if the smell of food bowels… (Constipation)
get an upset stomach when you
makes you sick.
eat. It might be hard to move your • Eat high fiber foods like:
• Eat any food that stays down. bowels. Talk to your doctor if you
get these problems. Do not take … Vegetables
• Eat small amounts of food every one
medicine unless your doctor says … Fruit
or two hours.
to. Here are some tips: … Beans (the kind WIC gives)
• Drink liquids, but take small sips.
… Whole grain cereal
If you have heartburn…
Even if you feel sick, you still need … Whole wheat bread and
! food and liquids. If you can’t keep
anything down, call your doctor.
(Indigestion)
• Eat 5 or 6 small meals, not
2 or 3 large ones.
crackers
… Whole wheat noodles
… Brown rice
• Eat less fried or greasy foods. … Corn tortillas
• Eat less spicy foods. • Drink plenty of fluids like water.
• Drink small sips of water with • Walk after you eat.
your meals.
• Don’t drink sodas, coffee or tea
with caffeine.
• Walk after you eat.
Mother’s milk is the normal way
to feed your baby.
• Mother’s milk has the right ingredients
in the right amounts to give your baby
a healthy start. It is all your baby needs
for the first 6 months.
• Mother’s milk is easy to digest. Bowel
movements are softer and easier to pass.
Breastfeeding is good for
mom, too.
• Nursing is convenient. Mother’s
milk is always ready and at the right
temperature. Moms find that: Did You
… Nighttime feedings are easy. Know...
… It saves time— there is no mixing Bab ies w
formula or cleaning bottles. mothe ho do not g
r’s mil
k have et
… There is less to pack up when you Allergie more:
s
go out.
Give your • Nursing saves money—you don’t
Illnesses
Earache
s
and hos
pital sta
ys
baby the need to buy formula or bottles. Diarrhe
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Nursing a baby is a loving, caring, ecay
right start— enjoyable experience! It helps you Moms
w
relax and feel close to your baby. their b ho do not b
Breastfeed! Moms feel proud that their babies
grow as a result of something
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Breastfeeding Basics 1.
1 Nursing should not hurt.
Your breasts might be tender
4 Nursing involves the
4.
whole family.
7 Momstocan nurse school. go
7.
back work or
if they
for a few days, but this should Family members and friends You can:
pass. Learning the right way can help with the baby at
… Have the baby brought to
to put the baby to breast helps bath time, diaper change, and
you for feeding.
prevent problems. If you have playtime. They can help with
discomfort, ask for help. household chores. Babies need … Leave mother’s milk for
lots of love and cuddling other feeding your baby.
2 A mom can make all the
2.
milk her baby needs.
than at feeding time.
… Have your baby drink infant
formula while you are away;
How much milk you make
depends on how often your
5 Momsfavoritenurse can eat
5.
their
who
foods!
but nurse when you and the
baby are together.
baby nurses, not on the size A special diet is not needed.
of your breasts. The more Drinking liquids to satisfy
your baby nurses, the more thirst is important. 8 Momsiscan nurseC-section.
8.
baby born by
if the
milk you make.
The surgery and pain
3 Nursingsag. not make
3. will 6
6. Babies can be nursed in
public if moms choose to.
medicine do not affect
how much milk is made.
breasts You can nurse without anyone
Breasts change due to else knowing by placing a
pregnancy, not breastfeeding. blanket over your shoulder
Wearing a supportive bra to cover the baby. A breast-
during pregnancy and feeding counselor can give
breastfeeding may help. other suggestions.
When you breastfeed, here are some • Nicotine from cigarettes passes • Mothers who use street drugs
into mother’s milk. It is best if should not breastfeed and should
important things to know… you can quit smoking. If you can’t stop using drugs.
• Most over-the-counter and • It is best to choose caffeine-free quit, you can still nurse if you:
prescription medicines are safe drinks. Drinks with caffeine, like • If a mother or her partner is
… Cut back smoking as much as
while nursing. You should still coffee, tea, and some sodas, get into HIV-positive or has AIDS, she
possible.
tell the baby’s doctor about any breast milk and can make some should not breastfeed. If you
medicines (even birth control babies fussy. … Do not smoke when in the think you have AIDS or are at
pills) you are taking. room with baby. risk for it, get tested.
• Alcohol passes into mother’s
milk. It is best to avoid beer, wine, … Smoke just after nursing instead Free testing is available at any
mixed drinks, and liquor. If you of before or during a feeding. Maryland health department.
have questions, ask your baby’s Call the Maryland AIDS hotline
doctor or a breastfeeding counselor. at 1-800-638-6252.
Appointment Date
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.
Department of Agriculture policy, this institution
is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
To file a complaint of discrimination, write:
USDA, Director
Office of Civil Rights—Room 326-W
Whitten Building
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250-9410
or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider
and employer.
Office of the Maryland WIC Program
1-800-242-4WIC
http://www.mdwic.org
Robert L. Ehrlich, Governor
Michael S. Steele, Lt. Governor
S. Anthony McCann, Secretary, DHMH