It is thought that a mother is postpartum well into the 7th year of her child’s life and key nutrition during this time is essential. This week’s post is going to look at optimising nutrition after the first few months postpartum and well into the years that follow. 

Only recently has research started to be done very specifically on women, before this, most research on diet and exercise was performed with men as the main participant and womens guidelines were extrapolated from the results. But we can see now that women are not just small men and our needs change dramatically throughout the month as we have a monthly cycle of hormonal changes versus a 24 hour cycle of hormonal changes (experienced by men).

What this means is, we need to change how we educate mothers about what they should be eating and how they need to be eating to recover their nutrient losses that occurred during pregnancy.

Protein is The Key for Women

We need to ensure that we are getting at least 30g of protein in every meal we are eating. What does 30g look like: 

120 - 150g grass fed meat, pasture raised chicken or wild caught fish. When we eat protein from these sources it means that our micronutrient profile improves as these foods contain higher quantities of essential nutrients. 

3 – 4 pasture raised eggs.

Cheese contains about 7g of protein for every 30g, with parmesan cheese containing the highest amount of protein, falling at 10g protein per 30g of cheese. 

Postpartum Dental Support

During pregnancy our dental health takes a knock and the teeth will have minerals pulled from them if we are not eating enough of these necessary minerals during pregnancy. In this postpartum stage it is essential that we replenish these stores and help support our dental health, particularly if you are planning to have more children. The most important nutrients related to dental are Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2 and calcium. They all work together to improve the absorption of each other and aid how the body is able to use these nutrients.  

Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2 are both fat soluble vitamins, which means that they require fat in order to be absorbed by the body. Excellent sources of Vitamin K2 are dairy products (particularly butter), animal products (chicken meat has a far higher amount that beef) and fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and kefir. Make sure you are serving these foods with a fat, such as olive oil drizzled over or cooked in butter or ghee, to allow the body to absorb it more effectively.

Daily Omega-3s for Brain, Heart & Inflammation

Omega-3’s remain a nutrient which we need to make sure we enjoy on a daily basis. Omega-3’s help with our own brain function, but also improve heart health, and they will help our bodies deal with inflammation as they have anti-inflammatory properties. Include wild caught salmon into your diet at least once a week and then make sure you enjoy olive oil, olives and avocado on a daily basis. Other foods high in omega-3’s are flaxseeds and chia seeds. These can be added to salads or over meals to add an extra crunch. 

Magnesium Glycinate: A Postpartum Sleep Support

Finally, one nutrient that I think would benefit everyone, but especially mom’s who are postpartum, is magnesium, but specifically in the form of magnesium glycinate. This has been shown to improve sleep quality, which I think we can all agree on is something we need to work on as moms. Magnesium tends to be lower in most foods, due to the lack of magnesium in our soils where foods are grown, so this is one supplement I do recommend and you can take it about 30 minutes before bed.

If we change how we focus on food and why we need to eat certain foods, we end up eating more whole foods which means we don’t take as many empty calories and this helps with weight control. We need to be kind to ourselves as mothers and not expect ourselves to “bounce back” after birth. It is something to focus on long term and improve our own longevity long into this postpartum stage.  

Jordana Ventzke

TMP Collaborator | Instagram: @jv_nutrition

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.