This week you may have listened to Rebecca Stevens chat to me over on the Podcast about Postnatal Nutrition. Rebecca has also written a guest blog post to share all her wisdom on eating healthy in the postnatal phase.

How to eat healthily in the postnatal phase

Listen to the podcast

There are many factors influencing how you feel and function during the postnatal phase. A healthy diet is just one piece of the jigsaw puzzle. This post provides an overview of what constitutes a healthy diet, what else you need to think about nutrition-wise in the postnatal phase and tips to help you achieve that when time isn’t on your side.

What is a healthy diet?

In general terms, to help us stay healthy we need to eat a varied, balanced and sustainable (one you can stick to) diet that contains the major food groups – the macronutrients – carbohydrates (including fibre), fats and proteins and a range of micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and polyphenols.

Nutrition research to date highlights that the Mediterranean diet which include lots of fresh foods: vegetables, fruits, healthy/monounsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil, avocados), legumes (lentils, peanuts, chickpeas, beans), wholegrains (e.g. brown or wild rice, barley, quinoa, freekeh) fish and less red meat and processed foods is the healthiest dietary pattern in terms of supporting long term health. The UK government’s advice about healthy eating (The Eatwell Guide) is based on this. However, we know as a population, women in the UK are not eating sufficient fruit and vegetables, fibre and some micronutrients (including iron and vitamin D) and over consuming saturated fat, sugar and salt.

In addition to following a healthy diet, a Vitamin D supplement (10 micrograms) is also recommended during autumn/winter.

However, eating well and being able to stick to ‘normal’ dietary habits and patterns can all go out the window when you have a small baby to look after and potentially other kids too.

What else do you need to think about in the postnatal stage?

In the very early days post delivery, food sources that have collagen such as bone broth are recommended to help support your body’s recovery. If you don’t eat meat, greek yoghurt is an easy to digest source of protein to help support tissue repair, a great source of probiotics for digestive health and contains other important nutrients e.g. calcium and iodine. Food sources that are anti-inflammatory are also particularly important at this time as they also support the healing process e.g. omega-3 rich fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines & trout), walnuts, chia seeds, green vegetables.

If you are breastfeeding, there are a few additional nutritional requirements beyond the general advice of eating a healthy, balanced diet. These include:

Calcium – you will need increased amounts to support breastfeeding and to replace any depletion in your calcium stores as a result of the pregnancy. Include calcium-rich foods in your diet e.g. milk, cheese, yoghurts. If you are plant-based choose calcium-enriched options.

Omega-3s – evidence suggests that a diet rich in omega-3s results in omega-3 rich breast milk, which is important as it supports brain development in babies. Sources of omega-3 includes nuts, seeds and oily fish e.g. salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout. Try and incorporate one-two servings of oily fish per week (N.B. the advice is to not eat more than two portions due to a potential risk of contamination from pollutants in the water).

Increased water/fluids – you will need to drink more fluids and remember to drink the fluids before a headache begins. It is difficult to quantify just how much you’ll need as it depends on the amount of milk production, how hot it is and exercise levels but the European Food Safety Authority recommend around 10-12 glasses of water in comparison to 8 glasses for adults in general.

Increased energy – during the third trimester your body starts to increase its fat stores in preparation for breastfeeding. This extra fat helps to produce breastmilk and forms the contents of the milk itself. Your body needs around an extra 500 calories (kcal) per day. Therefore it is recommended that you eat a bit more than usual while breastfeeding - a few healthy snacks or a small meal will help meet this extra demand.

How can I make sure I’m eating healthily?

Consuming enough food and healthy, balanced meals can be difficult with so much going on. Here are some tips when time might not be on your side.

Ask a friend/family member to bring/prepare a meal rather than bring a present. And if your baby is no longer a newborn and presents have dwindled, if you are asked by your guests if they can bring anything – be honest!

Get your husband/partner involved in food prep the night before e.g. soups or overnight oats (see recipe later on). Overnight oats are a filling and nutritious breakfast that take a little prep the night before. Soups are a fantastic way to increase your vegetable intake (important for overall health including your immune system). Remember that shop-bought soups are also fine!

Always have snacks on you when you go out – e.g. fruit, nuts, cereal bar, trail mix – if you start to feel signs of hunger, get munching! By eating little and often it will help to keep your blood sugars stable and prevent reaching for less healthy snacks because you are famished.

Stock up on the basics/essentials that can be thrown together to make quick, easy and nutritious meals.

Carbohydrates - e.g. packets of rice, quinoa, other grains, bread, wraps
Proteins – e.g. roasted chicken, lentils, salmon, hummus, different cheeses, yoghurts
Fats – e.g. cheese, nuts, avocados
Vegetables – e.g. tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, carrots
Fruits – e.g. bananas, berries, apples, citrus (anything that doesn’t involve lots of prep)
Seeds e.g. mixed bags to add to salads, soups and overnight oats
Ingredients for nutrient-rich smoothies e.g. fruit, vegetables, coconut water, yoghurts.

Don’t restrict yourself, if you fancy a piece of cake, have it. Just try not to eat the whole cake. The important thing is to aim for a balanced diet across the week and some cake fits within a balanced diet. Nutrition/what you are eating should be thought about in weekly terms not daily. If you’ve not eaten well for a couple of days, don’t panic and try to eat more healthily when it suits – perhaps the weekend or when someone is able to help you.

Keep things simple – remember that you shouldn’t always aim for perfection in this phase of life. Cutting corners is fine. Likewise, not eating three proper meals but having more numerous smaller meals is also ok if that fits with feeding your baby. Smaller, simple meal ideas include boiled eggs (eggs are a very good source of protein and other nutrients) and toast, hummus or guacamole with vegetable crudités, baked beans on toast or peanut butter on toast. If you are eating a healthy breakfast and dinner, don’t worry so much about what you have for lunch as long as you are eating something.

Eat to fuel and nourish yourself, not to lose weight - bouncing back to your original body size and shape post baby can be high on the priority list. But this is not the time to start dieting. Your body needs sufficient energy to get through the day and the many roles you are fulfilling. Your body also needs a balanced, healthy diet and reducing calorie intake or restricting food groups (other than due to intolerances associated with breastmilk e.g. dairy) will not allow you to do this.

Stay hydrated - consuming enough fluids is incredibly important especially if you are breastfeeding. The production of milk further dehydrates your body and being so busy, many women simply forget to keep the hydration levels up and become very thirsty. To stay hydrated always have a water bottle with you when you leave the house and keep glasses or water bottles around the home in spots where you like to breastfeed. If you aren’t partial to the taste of plain water, try adding flavours to it (e.g. mint, lemon or berries) or no added sugar squash.

Try to remember to prioritise your own care. If you’re not eating properly it has a knock on effect. Your baby and your family need you to be functioning as well as you can. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

Overnight oats recipe

A few minutes prep the night before gives you a tasty and nutritious breakfast option (protein and fat from the milk, yoghurt and chia seeds, slow-release energy and fibre from the oats and some of your 5/day target). There are so many different combinations - nuts, dried fruit, defrosted fruit, fresh fruit, tinned fruit, honey, maple syrup, seeds, coconut. This is the basic recipe, adapt to suit your own preferences. It keeps for two days in the fridge so you can make double and have breakfast sorted for two days.

Ingredients:

*50g porridge oats
*125ml milk (use your preferred choice N.B. if you use a plant-based milk check out the label to see if they are calcium and iodine-enriched)
*75ml Greek yoghurt (any yoghurt will do but you may not need/want to add extra honey/syrup if you have sweetened yoghurt)
*Handful of chosen fruit(s) and nut(s)
*2 tsp of chia seeds
*1 tsp of maple syrup, mixed seeds & desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl apart from the fruit and syrup/honey (if using that day) and leave it in the fridge overnight

2. Add the fruit and syrup/honey the next morning.

3. Give it a stir and tuck in.

Rebecca Stevens

BSc (Hons), MSc, ANutr

Registered Associate Nutritionist with the Association for Nutrition

www.nourishandnurturenutrition.com

Email: rebeccastevensnutrition@gmail.com

Instagram