The Fourth Trimester: Why Nutrition STILL Matters
By: Julie C. Shea, MS, RDN, LDN, CPT
Why is it that after a woman gives birth, she and our Western society believe the hard part is over and pre-pregnancy life resumes as usual? This misguided perception may lead many women to miss out on a pivotal phase of recovery and nutrient repletion during the postpartum period. Immediately following the birth of your baby, your main priorities should include rest, recovery, nourishment of yourself and nourishment of your new, tiny human!
Why Nutrients May Be Needed
During labor and delivery, your body expends an incredible amount of energy to deliver your baby! You will need to concentrate on adequate nutrition to repair your muscles and tissues used throughout your pregnancy and birth, as well as your energy levels so you can focus on caring for your baby. Speaking of that precious bundle, your body transferred a significant amount of nutrients to your baby during pregnancy to ensure appropriate growth and development, but now that has likely left your nutrient stores on ‘empty!’ Finally, breastfeeding continues to place a significant demand on the body to not only make milk, but also to ensure it is nutritionally dense with everything your baby needs to grow. For these reasons, women should continue to prioritize nutrition and receive support from their partners, family and friends to experience a smoother transition into their new role as a mother.
Traditional Cultures: A Different Approach
Many traditional cultures around the world observe specific practices within the immediate postpartum period for the new mom to rest, establish breastfeeding, replenish nutrient stores and avoid physically demanding activities. Unfortunately, for those of us in Western societies, most postpartum practices do not typically last longer than the first few days or initial weeks following birth.
In many traditional cultures, the mother is expected to participate in a period of rest lasting anywhere from 21 days to five weeks! For example, in China, women participate in what is known as zuo yue which translates to “doing the month.” Within this time period, the new mom is prohibited from participating in regular household chores and cooking or preparing meals.
Additionally, family members assume the role of caregiver for the new mom providing practical support by completing the prohibited chores and sharing elderly advice for the mother regarding her care and her baby. An interesting example of this is found in Japanese culture, where the new mom-to-be travels to her family home around 32-35 weeks to be tended to by her mother until approximately 8 weeks postpartum!
No matter how unattainable these practices may seem, one thing that remains clear is that traditional cultures place a heavy emphasis on postpartum nutrition.
Postpartum Nutrition with Real Food
Although there seems to be some discrepancy among specific foods within various cultures related to regional differences, a commonality across the board is a woman’s intake of high quality animal products. These foods may include bone broths, organ meats, seafood or eggs as research shows the nutrients found in these foods are vital to a new mom’s healing and milk production. Furthermore, many cultures support the intake of “warming” foods to restore harmony and balance within the body. This belief may be connected to the idea that pregnancy is a state of ‘hotness,’ while postpartum is considered a cold and vulnerable state.
For example, in China, yang foods are considered warming, while yin foods are cooling. Rich bone broth made from pig’s feet or black-bone chicken enriched with sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, and seaweed may be prepared for the mother. Other foods such as pork, chicken soup, fermented rice, eggs, ginseng, herbal teas, inner organs, and noodles in brown sugar broth are encouraged to enhance milk production or because they are believed to temper postpartum bleeding by discharging dirty blood. In many ways, the foods prioritized in more traditional cultures address the key nutrients that require repletion following pregnancy and birth such as protein, electrolytes, iron, vitamin B12, iodine, B-vitamins, zinc, choline and DHA!
A Summary of Foods to Enhance Your Recovery
Now you may be questioning whether or not you have to change your entire diet again to meet the new nutritional needs of your body and your baby. Let me set the record straight – YOU DO NOT. In fact, you can continue to eat the way you did throughout your pregnancy with a few modifications to enhance recovery and support your postpartum journey.
One of the biggest take-aways is that you will definitely require more calories. Yes, you read that right – more, not less. Forget society’s expectation to “bounce-back” or “return to your pre-pregnancy body or weight” and honor your hunger and nutrition needs where you are today! Because the newborn stage can be a bit demanding, especially if you are breastfeeding, I would encourage you to arrange some help to have meals delivered to your home or arrange some nutrient dense freezer meals to have on hand for your partner or support person to prepare for you in a pinch.
Remember to focus on soups and hearty stews made with rich bone broth for amino acids, micronutrients and electrolytes. Aim to include foods high in iron, omega-3 fats and iodine like slow-cooked meat, butter, ghee, fatty fish, organ meats, eggs, and seafood or seaweed-infused broths. Try to prioritize soft cooked vegetables for easy digestion so your body can focus on other demanding tasks – like milk production. In addition, adequate fluid intake is crucial to support your milk supply and keep you from getting dehydrated throughout the day. An easy way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to keep a large stainless steel cup near your nursing station or have your partner bring you a glass of water or lactation tea every time you nurse!
I sincerely hope this article has been an encouraging reminder of how important it is to nourish your incredible body in the postpartum phase! Honor the fact that your body just participated in the miraculous task of growing a tiny human and the demanding marathon of birth – it needs to be replenished and well fed during this time, just as it was in pregnancy. The same foods that supported your changing body during pregnancy are the ones that will play a critical role in your recovery following birth and create the most nutrient-dense breast milk for your sweet new addition!
If you need recipe ideas, visit the BumptUp instagram for easy recipe ideas throughout all stages of pregnancy, including postpartum! If you’re interested in more personalized postpartum meal ideas, utilize the BumptUp app’s ‘Ask an Expert’ feature to speak with me, a registered dietitian, for more tailored guidance and suggestions!
- Dennis, Cindy-Lee et al. “Traditional postpartum practices and rituals: a qualitative systematic review.” Women’s health (London, England) vol. 3,4 (2007): 487-502. doi:10.2217/17455057.3.4.487