Helping Postnatal Recovery Through Nutrition

Did you know what you eat and drink can play a massive part in your postnatal recovery? Your body is placed under huge stress and trauma during pregnancy and childbirth and it can be quite a journey to feel truly recovered again.

As well as rest, sleep and gentle movement, here are some top tips to give your body the best chance of recovery:

🔥 Eat Warm Food

Warm foods are easier to digest so your body doesn’t have to work so hard to absorb all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs to function. Less face it, we need to preserve any energy for looking after your baby and for healing your body and scars you may have incurred during childbirth.

💦 Keep hydrated
Drink plenty of water, 1-2litres per day, maybe even more if you’re breastfeeding. Water supports your digestive system and keeps things moving - trust me you do not want to be constipated when you’ve just had a baby. This will put unnecessary pressure on your core and pelvic floor. Water is also necessary to help us rebuild and regenerate new cells needed for healing.

⭐️Anti-inflammatory foods

Inflammation is the bodies natural process to fight infection or help recover from an injury. But too much or prolonged inflammation can be damaging to the body as it starts to break down normal cells and tissues. A diet high in fruit, leafy greens, foods containing omega 3, gluten free grains and spices such as turmeric can all play a part in helping to reduce inflammation

🥚 Collagen

Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the body and helps provide structure (think glue!) to muscles, skin and ligaments. All three are stretched and damaged during pregnancy and childbirth - having the right levels of collagen will help the body to repair itself. Give your body a boost by eating plenty of protein, egg whites, foods containing vitamin c (strawberries, citrus fruits), copper (dark chocolate anyone?!) and sesame seeds.

💊 Supplements

With a varied and balanced diet you should get all the vitamins and minerals you need. However, when you’ve just had your baby, cooking a variety of healthy foods might not quite be the top of your agenda. If you’re vegan, you might struggle to get enough of everything you need too, particularly iron. To help repair and heal focus on Vitamin A (think orange foods), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, B12 and Iron. A good multivitamin should have adequate quantities of each but do check - not all vitamins are made equal.