Specific Postpartum Nutritional Considerations to Support Your Recovery
When it comes to postpartum recovery, nutrition plays a central role in ensuring you are supported in all the right ways. Proper nourishment can significantly aid in rest, promote tissue healing, support mood and hormone balance, enhance breastfeeding, and improve digestive health. By focusing on these key aspects, you
can navigate the postpartum period more smoothly. Let’s explore how a balanced diet can contribute to each of these crucial areas of postpartum recovery.
Rest
Sleep can be difficult when your baby is waking up frequently at night. Start your day with breakfast foods rich in tryptophan, vitamin B6, magnesium, and zinc. This gives your body the nutrients needed to make melatonin, which is important for restorative sleep. An example of sleep-supporting breakfast is an omelet with chopped greens, potatoes, and cheese or smoked salmon. These nutrients work best to improve sleep when combined with morning sunlight exposure and limited screen time for 2 hours before bed. Prior to bedtime, a cup of chamomile tea is a gentle way to help relax.
Tissue Healing
After childbirth, your body undergoes a dramatic transformation to heal from childbirth and bring the pelvis and womb back to a non-pregnant state. Cesarean delivery or trauma during the birth brings an additional need to support tissue healing. Nutrients that are fundamental for tissue recovery include water, protein (including collagen rich protein), zinc, vitamin C, and other antioxidants. Simple ideas to help with this are:
Add a marrow bone in with slow cooked beef stew and serve with a side of leafy greens steamed with olive oil, garlic, and ginger.
Sip a cup of bone broth with a pinch of salt or warm water with a squeeze of lemon.
Make homemade gelatin from orange juice and grass-fed gelatin.
Mood Support and Hormone Balance
One of the greatest challenges after childbirth can be mental and emotional changes. Mood swings, depression, and anxiety can affect the entire family and impact your postpartum journey. Many times, these challenges are written off as normal or ignored, thinking that they will get better with time.
However, they may be a sign of nutritional deficiencies or imbalances. Especially important postpartum is maintaining a healthy balance of zinc and copper, staying hydrated, and eating an anti-inflammatory diet that is rich in antioxidants. These nutrients influence mental and physical health and imbalances in copper and zinc have been linked to postpartum mood disorders. After childbirth, prioritize zinc rich foods such as beef, fish, oysters, and pumpkin seeds to support mood regulation and hormone balance. Make a large batch of pesto using pumpkin seeds instead of pinenuts, freeze in small portions in an ice-cube tray, once frozen transfer to a sealed container, and defrost individually when ready to use. This is great to add to a whole grain pasta with chicken or as a sandwich spread.
Balanced blood sugar levels are crucial for sustaining energy throughout the day and to help keep mood stable. Here are some ways to help keep your blood sugar balanced.
Eat a protein-rich meal within one and a half hours after waking up and before caffeine.
Aim for regular meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fiber to keep blood sugar levels stable.
Limit refined sugars and grains which can lead to large blood sugar fluctuations and deplete nutrients.
When you enjoy sweets, combine them with something that will slow the blood sugar spike such as fat, fiber, or protein.
Oxytocin is the hormone related to bonding and affection. Breastfeeding, nurturing touch, and cuddling all increase oxytocin levels and promote bonding with your new baby. You can also support your body’s ability to make oxytocin through getting adequate vitamin D (fatty fish, mushrooms, eggs, and sunlight), vitamin C (from citrus fruits and green vegetables), magnesium (green vegetables, nuts, and seeds) and healthy fats (fatty fish, butter, ghee). For an oxytocin boosting lunch, eat salmon sauteed in butter with mushrooms and greens with a side of sourdough bread and hummus. Even better, eat with loved ones and outside whenever you can!
If you have concerns about your postpartum mental health, it is essential to seek professional guidance.
Breastfeeding
For breastfeeding mothers, it's essential to support lactation by incorporating foods and herbs known to enhance milk production. All the suggestions in this guide will support a healthy milk supply. In addition, drink tea made from fennel, nettle, blessed thistle, and/or red raspberry leaf. Brew a large pot in the morning and drink throughout the day. Avoid the herbs parsley and sage as they may decrease milk supply.
Also remember that whatever you eat, your baby will be exposed to through your breastmilk. Eating a variety of foods and spices can help your baby develop a wide flavor palate. It is safest to avoid alcohol during the early postpartum period while breastfeeding as it impairs sleep quality and is expressed in breastmilk. If you choose to consume alcohol, it is best to limit it to one standard drink and to wait at least two hours before breastfeeding. Similarly, while 1-2 cups of coffee a day is considered safe, keep in mind that caffeine reduces calcium, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins which are already in high demand. Also, babies are not able to clear it from their bodies as fast as adults and it may cause fussiness in babies, especially in larger quantities. Limit caffeine to 200mg a day and consume before 2pm, so as not to disrupt your sleep. Stick with herbal teas or green tea as much as possible.
Digestion and Gut Health
Gut health is especially crucial postpartum as this is where nutrients are absorbed. Support a healthy gut by eating a variety of fiber rich foods and incorporating fermented foods.
Have a snack of yogurt or kefir with berries.
Use bone broth and a spoon of miso paste as a base for a simple noodle soup.
Add a spoonful of kimchi or sauerkraut as a topping for a rice bowl or sandwich.
Constipation is common after childbirth and can cause discomfort and hemorrhoids. To help keep things easy and regular in the bathroom, stay well hydrated and get a good variety of fibers in your meals. Add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed or chia seed to your food to get extra fiber and keep things moving smoothly!
Tune in for Part 3 to learn how to build a nourishing plate with the right nutrients.
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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.
