Postpartum Nutrition: Tips For New Moms

Being a mother means being fully and entirely overwhelmed with love, joy, selflessness and responsibilities. Motherhood is actually defined by sleepless nights, big belly laughter, loud crying, painting on the walls and gapped tooth grins.

But self-care and good nutrition are essential for everyone, especially for the new mums who are recovering from pregnancy, labour and birth-giving process. Lost in the care and happiness of newborns, mothers often lose sight of their own nutrition and health.

So today I am sharing simple and easy tips that can help you get back on track in terms of nutrition and overall wellbeing.

Do Not Diet

Do not diet AT ALL. Stay far away from fad diets and calorie counting especially if you are in the early weeks of postpartum or nursing your child, but rather concentrate on getting enough nutrients from good organic stuff. Try to limit the use of junk and fast foods. You are supposed to get plenty of calories but most of these calories should come from organic sources or whole foods.

Stock your refrigerator up on healthy foods. If your kitchen counter and refrigerator are full of healthy foods, you are more likely be eating the things you are supposed to eat. Try to get nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats like Omega 3 and Omega 6, proteins sourced from lean choices, milk and milk products, nuts beans and other legumes. 

Prioritize Proteins When You Eat

At first place, it can be difficult to simply remember to eat or to eat enough because you are taking care of a tiny human being who is asking for most of your attention and time. But new motherhood is all about cravings and a constant state of hunger especially in the first few weeks after delivery and during breastfeeding. It will make you want to eat constantly all the time. But prioritizing proteins in your diet will help you not only enhance satiation (feeling of fullness) but also it will help promote tissue repair and healing process.

It is usually advised to incorporate 20 to 30 grams of proteins in each meal of the day. If you can achieve this for three to four times a day, you will more likely to feel more satisfied and full after and in between the meals. An easy way to gauge this would be to add one portion (a palm) of proteins in every meal and half a portion in every snack you eat.

Eat To Support Recovery

With pregnancy and birth, a mother’s body goes through an intense process that requires some extra and balanced nutrients to recover. It is necessary to categorize food in order to fuel your body for a speedy recovery. Good nutrition with balanced proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals will help you get the better of physical depletion that has stemmed from labour and birth process. Early postpartum is not the right time to think about eating restricted calories or going on diet. In fact, a new mother’s body needs fuel in the form of balanced macro and micronutrients in order to support her increased energy demands and healing and repairing tissues. 

Eat Or Drink Your Veggies At Least Twice A Day

Eating vegetables can feel tricky but do whatever you can to incorporate vegetables at two or more meals per day with an aim of eventually eating five servings of vegetables or fruits on regular basis. If you find it difficult to cut and cook vegetables, just put one or two veggies of your liking in a blender and blend until smooth. Veggies are actually full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help your body recover from the birth process and are important for good nutrition and health.

Drink Adequate Fluids

Most of the nursing mother observe that they feel thirstier when breastfeeding. So, it is advised to drink plenty of liquids to make up for the thirst you feel. Liquids can be in any form such as milk, fruit juices, vegetable juices or even plain water to quench your thirst. However, avoid the intake of any liquid that contains caffeine. It’s not necessary to compel fluids beyond your thirst but it is advised to drink something while breastfeeding or keep a glass of liquid near your favourite breastfeeding spot.

We hope these tips help you regain your head while acing your breastfeeding journey. If you have any questions that you would like answered by an expert, please talk to us in the comments below.