Postnatal nutrition

Postnatal nutrition – what to eat after pregnancy? 



As a dietitian involved in Women’s Health, including nutrition in pregnancy and also seeing new mums post delivery, a question I often get asked is ‘Is what I eat once I’ve delivered the baby important?’

In short, whether you are breastfeeding or not, the answer is yes!


Understandable that being a new mum brings about different challenges, and worrying about what you are going to eat might seem overwhelming on top of it all.

However, a poor dietary intake can increase stress levels, tiredness and those overwhelmed feelings, particularly when added on top of this new mum business.


So what can be done? Well, here is some insight into the importance of nutrition during this time, looking at key nutrients, and what foods to try and include throughout the day.


Postnatal Nutrition is important for many reasons.

  • After giving birth your nutrition is important to assist with the healing process
  • Whilst breastfeeding, eating a nutritious diet is essential and can impact on your babies’ health.
  • Your Nutrition can assist in boosting energy levels
  • Your Nutrition can correct nutritional deficiencies


If you are breastfeeding, eating a healthy balanced diet that includes a variety of nutritious foods will assist in meeting your nutrition requirements. Aiming to include foods such as wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat or meat alternatives, and healthy fats, and if no underlying nutritional deficiencies are present, supplementation should only be required for Omega 3, iodine and vitamin D whilst breastfeeding.


To boost energy levels whilst breastfeeding, avoiding quick sugar fixes is recommended, as well as avoiding relying on caffeine as an energy boost. Alternatively, aiming to eat small regular meals throughout the day (roughly every 3-4 hours), and choosing low GI foods (wholegrain bread, sweet potato, & yoghurt to name a few) to assist with sustaining energy.   


Women often lose a lot of blood during childbirth, thus having a blood test to check your iron stores is important, ensuring they aren’t depleted contributing to low energy levels, and supplementation should be discussed with your medical practitioner if required.


Along with what foods to choose, during breastfeeding our fluid requirements are increased, thus ensuring we are drinking enough to minimise dehydration is key, and for further ideas on boosting your fluid intake check out our Hydration blog from January 2018 at http://www.discoverhealth.com.au/single-post/2018/01/20/Stay-hydrated-this-Summer


Trying to get outside each day for some fresh air will also assist with energy levels, and if you are looking at getting back into exercise, to ensure a safe return after having a baby, get in contact with your physiotherapist, who can assist you with the correct progression and support. 


Or Check out the Free Educational Talk for ‘Returning Safely to Exercise (Postnatal)’ at Back in Motion Alphington on Wed 22nd August at 7pm. *For more information visit the Back in Motion Alphington Facebook site.

And if you find that you want further assistance in putting all of this information into your everyday life and everyday meals, including working out what foods are Low GI, one of our dietitian’s would be happy to assist you. Give us a call on 9431 4337.


Discover Health Dietetics

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winter Warming Mealtime

Image
Winter Warming Mealtime June is here, it’s officially winter, and with the cold weather that comes along with it, what better time of year to get your slow cooker out and make some hearty, warming meals. Don’t have a slow cooker? That’s absolutely fine, grab a casserole dish or a heavy, lidded pot and cook slowly in the oven on low for 4 hours or more.   And a hearty meal doesn’t have to be based on a meat component alone. You can include all components that would ensure a nourishing, balanced meal, including some protein, carbohydrates and vegetables to fill you up.   So what should you add to make up this delicious warming meal?   Whether it is a stew, a soup, a casserole or a risotto, you can make them all on a slow cook, letting the aroma’s fill your kitchen.   Pick a protein – beef, pork, lamb, chicken, etc   ·          And who says you need to buy expensive cuts of meat. It doesn’t matter if you pick the cheaper cuts, it just means that these cuts might
Read more

Which bread to choose

Image
Bread; getting a bad rapt – which bread to choose? There is a lot of conflicting information out there regarding what you ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’ be eating, and bread often gets a bad rapt in the middle of it all!   As a dietitian, one of the more common questions I get asked is; ‘what bread is the healthiest?’ Or another common question is; ‘Should I even be eating bread?’   Bread contains a number of key essential nutrients, a major one being Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are our body’s main source of energy, as they get digested and broken down into glucose, which is used by our muscles as the energy source. Different types of bread contain different types of carbohydrates, which are broken down at different rates and therefore release energy at different rates.   The term to describe how quickly or slowly this happens is called the Glycaemic Index (GI), which is the rate at which carbohydrates affect our blood glucose (or sugar) levels.   High GI carbohydrat
Read more

Vitamin D - it’s free!

Image
Vitamin D; it’s free! With all of these sunny, warm, November days, we remember Vitamin D; an important key nutrient to consider for your health, and the most amazing thing is that it is readily available and free for all!   You may wonder why Vitamin D is so important, well Vitamin D supports muscle strength, a healthy immune system, healthy skin, and is essential in the absorption of Calcium from our gut, therefore enhancing bone health.   Not getting enough Vitamin D, or having a Vitamin D deficiency, can lead to significant health outcomes, such as developing soft, weak or fragile bones and therefore lead to falls or fractures, osteoporosis, and can increase the risk of having altered immunity and other autoimmune diseases.   So, where do we get Vitamin D? Well as you might have guessed, the main source is Sunlight, with it not being possible to meet our requirements through diet alone. We are able to get small amounts from some foods, such as oily fish (salmon, h
Read more