Miscarriage, no matter when it happens, can leave you feeling emotionally, physically, and hormonally depleted. It’s a silent grief that often goes unspoken, and yet so many women experience it. As a dietitian and mother, I want to gently share how you can begin to support your body and emotions after loss, without pressure or guilt.

This isn’t about “bouncing back.” It’s about restoring, replenishing, and nurturing yourself as you process what has happened.

What happens to your body after a miscarriage?

Your pregnancy hormones will start to drop, and the speed at which this occurs will vary woman to woman. Once bleeding has stopped your hormones should start to go back to normal. 

Alongside the grief experienced, the hormonal changes may impact energy levels and mood, with sudden mood changes, fatigue and you may find you cry or get upset more quickly. There may be sleeplessness, oversleeping, anxiety or breathlessness after a miscarriage. This is why it is important to give yourself grace over this time (however long it may be for you) and aim to optimize the nutrition you are giving yourself to support what you can.

Nutritional Support After Miscarriage

After suffering a miscarriage, it is important to focus on rebuilding strength, restoring micronutrient levels, and balancing hormones. The key is easy to digest foods, especially in the early days and weeks. This gives your body time to focus on healing from the pain of what it is going through, and not have to put too much attention towards digesting foods. Foods such as bone broth, congee (rice cooked in broth), lamb slow cooked (and other animal meats slow cooked) all help on this journey. You can then start to look at particular micronutrients.

Iron

After a miscarriage, due to the blood loss, you may experience low iron stores or anaemia. By focusing on foods that will help replenish your iron stores, your mood and future cycle may improve. Include foods that are easy to digest such as lamb and bone broths when focusing on iron rich foods. You can add chicken liver to any slow cooked meals you have prepared. When eating foods such as spinach, make sure you include some vitamin C (pair it with a squeeze of lemon or tomato) to increase absorption. 

Folate

Folate helps support cellular repair, detoxification and hormone balance. It is important to focus on food-based sources or methylated forms. Food sources include nature’s vitamin liver, leafy greens and lentils.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D can drop after a miscarriage and is linked to immune function and mood. It is important to check your levels with your doctor and your goal should be optimal levels which are between 70 - 100 ng/ml You may need to supplement, but ensure it is a fat based supplement to encourage absorption. Other sources include adequate and safe sun exposure, oily fish and egg yolks. 

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (DHA and EPA)

Fatty acids support mood, reduce inflammation and help with tissue repair. Good sources are fatty fish such as salmon and sardines, chia seeds and walnuts.

Iodine and Selenium

These are essential to support the thyroid which may be affected after a miscarriage. Include 2 brazil nuts into your day to meet selenium requirements and add in some seafood and seaweed to your week. 

Vitamin B’s (Vitamin B6 and B12)

These help to regulate mood and nervous system recovery.

Antioxidants (Vitamin C, E and Zinc)

Antioxidants have been shown to promote tissue repair and reduce oxidative stress. Include plenty of brightly foods into your day to increase your intake of these nutrients. 

Lifestyle Practices to Support Your Healing

During this time it is so important to focus on gentle and accessible support, rather than adding in a pressure of “let’s fix it” mentality.

Rest and sleep are key in your healing. With better rest we are able to help our bodies to balance your hormones and help ourselves heal emotionally.  Think about taking some time to slow down and rest with naps and early nights. Also lower stimulation as much as possible, avoid looking at your phone between 8pm and 6am, try getting some blue blocker glasses if you will be using screens at night time (including watching TV), use dimmer lights or even himalayan salt lamps in your house to encourage better sleep. Rest also focuses on your exercise. High intensity exercise should be avoided until your body has healed. Instead focus on gentle exercise such as walking, breathing techniques and yoga. This can support your mood by releasing endorphins into your system. Practice grounding - get outside into nature and be barefoot! This will help to regulate your nervous system and reset the safety signals in the body after a trauma.

Another thing to consider is to get stress and grief support. This can be with a trained therapist, or even journaling and support groups. The quietness can help reduce cortisol levels.

A more practical thing to do is to look at your surroundings and see what toxins are present. Slowly start to sort products you use on your body, store food in or even cook in. Sometimes the act of “doing something” can be enough to help lower stress in the body.

Miscarriage is a deep and layered loss. There’s no right way to grieve, and healing is not linear. But by gently nourishing your body and mind, you begin the process of restoring your strength, physically and mentally. 

Jordana Ventzke

TMP Collaborator

Jordana is a qualified Paediatric Dietitian and wonderful mother to two children under 6 years old. In addition to being a Dietitian, Jordana is a HypnoBirthing Instructor, helping new families navigate how they would like to birth their babies.

Jordana specialises in infant nutrition, breastfeeding, food allergies and picky eating. She primarily works within the first 1000 days of life. Jordana works with families to support their choices and provide information to help them make informed decisions as to how they would like to raise their children.

Jordana and her husband choose a close attachment parenting approach when raising their children, having breastfed both children and co-slept. She has lived and worked in the Middle East for the last 10 years.