Understanding the Basics to Nourishing Your Body
Are you expecting or recently had a baby and want to set yourself up for a brilliant start to this new phase of life? Everyone hopes to have a smooth and easy recovery, but perhaps you've heard the stories—mood swings, trouble going to the bathroom, difficulty bonding, endless fatigue. Or maybe you had an unexpectedly difficult postpartum journey in the past, and you’re hoping for better next time? Every pregnancy and every postpartum experience are unique and there are a lot of factors outside of our control, yet one thing remains constant: the importance of nourishing yourself during this pivotal time.
However, while caring for your newborn and adjusting to your new role, it is easy to overlook your own well-being. So, in this multi-part guide, we will show you the nutrients crucial for postpartum recovery, offer practical tips on how to incorporate them into your meals, and provide inspiring meal ideas. Remember, amidst the challenges, it is possible to nourish both yourself and your newborn.
Understanding the Basics to Nourishing Your Body
The key to supporting your body’s healing and transformation process is to focus on a variety of nutrient-dense, whole foods that are prepared so that they are easily digestible, warming, and hydrating. This is especially important in the first few months after giving birth and for the duration of breastfeeding.
Given the high demands for nutrition during the postpartum period, you need to make the most out of every bite. Prioritize nutrient-dense, whole foods over processed, packaged options to provide your body with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants necessary for postpartum recovery. Many foods that were previously dietary staples and valuable nutrient-dense postpartum foods, have disappeared from modern kitchens. These are foods like organ meats, fish eggs, marrow, meat stocks, bone broths, and fermented foods. If these feel foreign to you, consider finding simple ways to try them.
Organ meats like liver, kidney, and heart can be mixed into stews, added to ground meat, or eaten as a pate. Prioritize grass-fed sources for organ meats. If you are not familiar with where to find these, ask the butcher at the grocery store.
Meat stocks and bone broths can be used for the base of any soup or grain instead of water or sipped throughout the day as warm broth.
Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, miso, natto, sauerkraut, and kimchi add flavor and depth to meals along with healthy bacteria and extra nutrients. Choose products that contain live, active cultures.
Food Preparation Methods to Consider
To optimize nutrient absorption and digestibility, incorporate traditional food preparation methods like soaking, sprouting, or fermenting. These techniques enhance your body’s ability to digest and assimilate nutrients, ensuring you get the most out of your meals. Although it can take a few minutes of planning and a bit of foresight, most of these methods are simple. For example:
Soak a handful of almonds in water overnight and eat the next day, after removing the skin.
Choose sourdough bread and aged cheeses when possible.
Soak beans overnight or at least for a few hours before cooking.
Traditional cultures emphasize the importance of keeping the body warm in the early postpartum period. This includes eating foods that are both warm in temperature and in nature.
Soups/stews are both warm and hydrating and are staples in a postpartum meal plan. Not only are soups/stews nourishing, they can also be some of the easiest meals to prepare. Ingredients for your favorite stew can be prepared and frozen in a gallon freezer bag ahead of time, thrown in a slow cooker with meat stock or a soup bone in the morning, and ready to eat in a few hours.
Limit foods like raw salads and cold smoothies.
Be liberal with herbs and spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, black pepper, and fennel. They enhance both the flavor and nutritional profile of your meals, while also providing anti-inflammatory and digestive support.
Hydration is Key
Staying well hydrated is important for many reasons including tissue healing, hormone balance, producing breastmilk, and keeping bowel movements easy. You need about 16 cups of fluids a day for recovery and breastfeeding, this can come from food, beverages, or water. Along with getting fluids through foods like soup and broth, enjoy herbal tea throughout the day and drink filtered water in between meals.
Conclusion: Keep It Simple and Prepare Ahead
Most importantly, keep cooking simple, familiar, enjoyable, prepare in advance, and get help! Especially in the early weeks postpartum, it is best to rest as much as you can and get help with meals when able. Here are some ideas to have wholesome foods ready when you need them:
Make extra food when you cook and store it in the freezer.
Set up a meal train and provide a list of your favorite recipes for family and friends to bring.
Add a postpartum-focused service to your registry so you can have delicious foods made for you when you need them most.
Instead of a traditional baby shower, have a “nesting party” where your family and friends get together to prepare foods that can be stored in the freezer or pantry.
Test out recipes while pregnant to find your favorite, easy recipes like one-pot stews that can be prepared in a few minutes and made in a slow cooker.
Find local restaurants and grocery stores that prepare healthy, nutrient dense foods, where you can order from or pick up when in a pinch.
Add the Yuzi Postnatal Retreat to your gift registry and enjoy the dining program during your stay.
Tune in for Part 2 where we explore specific postpartum considerations to support your recovery.
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Aerin Sembhi, MD is a wife, mom, and board-certified Internal Medicine and Integrative Medicine physician. She founded Sembhi Integrative | Early Motherhood Wellness to support wellness, education, and community during the preconception through postpartum years.
Are you on the journey to motherhood or planning to start soon? Be a part of our growing community with the Winter 2024/2025 launch of our Holistic Preconception and Postpartum Wellness programs. Learn more and join the waitlist for these one-of-a-kind upcoming wellness programs at www.drsembhi.com!
Led by Dr. Sembhi, these programs offer a unique blend of personalized holistic care and community support. With two decades of expertise in nutrition, medicine, and holistic health, along with firsthand experience as a mother for nearly ten years, Dr. Sembhi has crafted a framework to address the root causes of health issues and streamline the path to self-care for mothers.
Don't miss this opportunity to prioritize your well-being and embark on a journey to feel healthy, resilient, and confident as you navigate the joys and challenges of motherhood. Join Sembhi Integrative's waitlist today!
