關於哺乳的一切，在孕期就準備好了，跟生產一樣，只需順勢而為⋯
“Lactation is the physiologic completion of the reproductive cycle. The maternal body prepares during pregnancy for lactation, not only by developing the breast to produce milk but also by storing additional nutrients and energy for milk production. The transition to fully sustaining an infant should not be complex or require major adjustments for a woman. After delivery, mothers usually note an increase in appetite and thirst and a change in some dietary preferences.”哺乳是生殖週期生理功能的完成。媽媽的身體在孕期就已經為哺乳做準備，不只乳房開始製造乳汁，也儲備了製造乳汁的營養與能量。產後至完全提供寶寶母乳的轉換，不該是複雜或是需要女性做出重大調整的。產後，母親通常會察覺自己食慾增加，也容易渴，喜歡吃的食物也會改變。
“Most material for nursing mothers regarding maternal diet during lactation set up complicated “rules” about dietary intake that fail to consider the mother’s dietary stores, normal dietary preferences, and cultural patterns. Thus, one barrier to breastfeeding for some women is the “diet rules” they see as being too hard to follow or too restrictive. All over the world, women produce adequate and even abundant milk on inadequate diets. Women in cultures with modest but adequate diets produce milk without any obvious detriment to themselves and with none of the fatigue and loss of well-being that some well-fed Western mothers experience. Insufficient milk is a problem in Western cultures and rarely in developing countries.”
大部分對哺乳期婦女的飲食建議與「規則」都太複雜而且沒考量母體孕期的儲存、母親本身對飲食的偏好，以及文化形態的差異。有一些婦女因為這些嚴格難以遵守的飲食限制，覺得哺餵母乳有很大的障礙。世界上許多地方的婦女在相對輕微營養不良的狀態下，仍能分泌足夠的乳汁餵養新生兒。很多地方有適當的飲食，母親們分泌足夠的乳汁，卻不會像西方國家的許多婦女對哺乳有疲累不好的經驗感受。「泌乳不足」這個西方文化的問題卻少見於發展中國家。
Ch.9 Maternal Nutrition and Supplements for Mother and Infant
#足夠的乳汁與母親的飲食無絕對的關係
