How to Stay Nourished During the Postpartum Period

Nourishment is an important part of postpartum healing. You will enter the postpartum period in a state of depletion, regardless of whether you birthed vaginally or surgically. Birth is a full-body experience that, quite frankly, is hard on the body. Additionally, there is blood loss and the loss of an organ (the placenta), which is a wound that needs to heal. Parents who are adopting or welcoming a baby through surrogacy will also experience depletion, as they adjust to life with their new baby. All parents will likely experience some degree of sleep deprivation in the initial postpartum period.

Thus, nourishing your body through food and hydration is crucial! Food, water, broths, and teas promote physical healing, give you the energy to feed baby, and support your mental health. We invite you to include food and food prep in your postpartum planning process. We cover this topic and help families initiate their plans in our Newborn Care Class; join us to dig in!

Ideas for Staying Nourished During Postpartum

Depending on your preferences and budget, there are a wide range of options for postpartum food support. Take what works for you and your family, and leave the rest.

1. Keep eating. Okay, we know it’s more complicated than this, but, first and foremost, we encourage all postpartum parents to keep eating. Sometimes you forget to feed yourself because you are busy with baby (and/or other children). Other times, food doesn’t exactly sound good. However, as we said at the beginning, nourishment is an important part of postpartum healing. Do your best to keep responding to what sounds good or even just okay.
2. Keep water handy. Keep one in each room you tend to spend time in so that you’ll always have one handy. You might also ask a partner or other support person to be responsible for keeping these filled with fresh, room temperature water. A straw can also be helpful so it’s easy to drink while holding and feeding baby.
3. Prep meals and snacks before birth. Prepare and freeze a few meals that you can have on hand before birth. This is also a task that you can hand over to a loved one who is interested in helping. Buy some of your go-to snacks to have on hand while feeding baby or during the middle of the night– dried fruits, nuts, cheese, protein-type bars, and lactation cookies are some of our clients’ favorites.
4. Organize a Care Calendar or Meal Train. These are two websites that help you coordinate meals from family and friends. You can leave a cooler on your porch for folks to drop stuff off in, so they won’t wake you or baby. (Plus, during COVID, this may be one of the best ways people outside your pod can support you.) On either platform, you’ll be able to specify how many meals you want a week, on which days, and share any dietary needs and preferences.
5. Hire a personal chef or meal delivery service. If your support system is smaller or you want more say over the meals you’ll have available, you might consider paying a personal chef. Some cook in your home, while others cook in an industrial kitchen and drop off prepped meals. If you’re in Austin, check out Gastromonique! Another option is a meal delivery service such a Hello Fresh; while these cut down on time planning and shopping, someone in the home will still need time to cook. Additionally, there are places like Snap Kitchen, that provide prepped meals that you’ll simply have to heat up; these are sold at Whole Foods in Austin, as well.
6. Incorporate quick/easy nourishment. Bone broths, veggie broths, smoothies, and teas can supplement your nutrition and keep you hydrated and nourished. Consider adding these into your meal plan in ways that appeal to you.

What to Eat During Postpartum

This blog is focused on preparing for the reality that during postpartum you will be busy, AND your nourishment is important. Your family may have specific postpartum recipes and practices that you would like to incorporate; wonderful! 

If you are interested in exploring more about food and postpartum healing, check out the first forty days, a beautiful, in-depth book that is full of story, beautiful photos, and recipes. There’s an audiobook format too, that comes with a downloadable guide with recipes.

ABG is Here for You

Your postpartum experience matters deeply to us at Austin Baby Guru. Whatever you are experiencing, feeling, and thinking as your plan for or experience postpartum is valid. We invite you to reach out if you need help navigating the postpartum period.