Postpartum Nutrition
Whilst the focus in the postpartum period is often on your new baby, your body is also entering a period of healing. Proper rest and replenishment can have positive effects on your health for years to come, so it’s worth taking the time to consider your postpartum nutrition.
Ideally, postpartum food should be warm, comforting, nutrient-dense, and easy to digest, while also replenishing important nutrients.
What to focus on, in the immediate postpartum period:
Water/hydration is needed to replace fluids lost in labour and birth, for energy and gut health, and for making breast milk.
Protein is important for muscle repair and energy after birth, and is needed to make breast milk.
Fibre is important because constipation is very common in pregnancy, and digestion may be slow after labour and birth. Fibre is important for getting digestion and gut health in order after pregnancy, which in turn is important for your baby’s gut health.
Vitamins A, C & E and Zinc are important for healing after birth due to their role in growth and repair, and skin and cell health.
Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and improve blood vessel and nerve function, making them important for healing after birth.
B Vitamins are important for energy production and many other processes in the mother. B vitamins can also be depleted where there’s inadequate zinc intake, or where zinc is blocked by iron supplementation.
What to replenish after pregnancy
The requirements for most nutrients are higher in pregnancy. Generally speaking the mother’s body will take whatever is needed from the mother’s diet or stored nutrients for the fetus’s development, so the baby will not go without but the mother may become depleted. This is particularly of concern with some nutrients that tend to be low in a typical diet.
These nutrients can be depleted by pregnancy and need to be replenished:
Iron - Blood volume, and therefore iron needs, increase during pregnancy. Iron is important postpartum because blood (and therefore iron) is lost during and after birth, because it’s so important for energy levels, and because it can be difficult to get enough from our diet (especially if you don't eat much red meat). The last thing a new mum needs is to be extra tired from lack of iron so iron is particularly important.
Calcium - Calcium is needed in pregnancy for your baby’s bone development, and is lost during and after birth (due to blood loss), and many people don’t get enough from their diet. Calcium absorption can also be decreased by taking iron supplements, which many pregnant women do.
Calcium is needed to produce breast milk, for baby’s bones and muscles.
Calcium is also important because a deficiency has such important consequences - if calcium stores aren’t replenished before menopause, a woman has an even greater risk of developing osteoporosis, and is more susceptible to bone breaks in older age.
Zinc - Zinc is important for your baby’s development, and can become depleted especially where the mother has been taking iron supplements, as with calcium, because iron supplements can block zinc absorption. As with calcium and iron, zinc is lost with blood during and after birth.
Zinc is an important component of breast milk for baby’s skin, cells, and immunity.
Omega-3 is particularly important for your baby’s brain, eye and nervous system development. In pregnancy, omega-3 is taken from the mother’s brain so without adequate dietary intake she will end up depleted. A majority of people don’t get enough omega-3 in their diet.
Omega-3 is also needed for nerve and brain function, and plays a role in mental health and preventing anxiety and depression. It’s also a component of breast milk for baby’s brain, vision, and nerve development.
Vitamin A - Important in breast milk for the baby’s vision, and eye, skin and cell development.
B vitamins - In pregnancy these are important for the fetus’s development - DNA formation and regulation, nerve function and red blood cell production. They’re also important for preventing birth defects, premature delivery and miscarriage.
Vitamin B12 - Is needed in postpartum for wound healing, skin, cell and nerve health, and mood. B12 can be stored more efficiently than other B vitamins, but can become depleted especially in a diet low in animal foods.
Vitamin C - Important in postpartum for wound healing, skin and cell health. Important in breastfeeding for the baby’s skin and immune system.
Vitamin D - Is required in pregnancy for the absorption of calcium, iron and zinc. Also crucial for bone health and cell function. Vitamin D is a component of breastmilk where it’s needed for the baby’s bone development.
Vitamin E - Is important in postpartum for wound healing, and skin and cell health.
Iodine - Important when breastfeeding for baby’s thyroid function and hormone production.
Nutrients for Breastfeeding
As with pregnancy, the body will take what it needs to make breastmilk. However, there are some nutrients that are dependent on maternal diet and/or stores, meaning if the mother is deficient, the breast milk will contain less. These are vitamin A, B vitamins, iodine, vitamin D, and omega-3.
Whereas with other nutrients (calcium for example), there will always be enough in the breast milk but the mother will become depleted if she’s not getting enough from her diet.
Hydration is very important for breastfeeding, and you should aim to drink around 3L water per day. Have water bottles in all your feeding locations around the house, in your car and nappy bag, by your bedside, and anywhere else you spend your time.
Energy for Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding requires somewhere around 2000kJ extra per day, the equivalent of a whole meal or a few substantial snacks.
How much you actually need will vary depending on how much physical activity you do, and how much milk you’re producing.