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Sweet Pea ​Births
Sweet Pea ​Births
...celebrating every swee​t pea their birth
...celebrating every swee​t pea their birth
Blog
Postpartum Wellness Series: Nutrition
| Posted on November 16, 2017 at 10:23 AM |
Postpartum Wellness Series – Nutrition Welcome to our Postpartum Wellness
Series. Each week we will look at one
area you can influence to help the days and weeks after you bring your baby
home be just a little bit smoother. These early days with your sweet pea are the
most precious – they will never be this small again. It is a good and worthy
endeavor to make these first memories as well as they can be made for your
family. My goal with this 8-week series is to offer some practical tips that
you can employ without any extra purchases outside of your normal postpartum
needs. Hopefully all that these tips will require is a little attention and a
slight shift in perspective. It is my intention that you can find at least one
small thing each week that will improve your postpartum experience.  Postpartum nutrition is just as important as
prenatal nutrition. We encourage our students to continue following “The Brewer
Diet”. This “diet” was designed by Dr. Tom Brewer to teach his patients to eat
healthy, whole food long before it was the “it” thing to do. You can find a link to The Brewer Diet
website HERE. The holistic approach to postpartum invites
the woman and her family to treat this time as a recovery period from pregnancy
and childbirth. The following five ideas
will help you treat your body gently and ease back into the non-pregnant state. Avoid Sugars and Caffeine Take heart, mamas...not forever...just “for
now”! I am raising my hand over here – I
do enjoy the occasional caramel and mocha coffee.
The issue with sugars and caffeine in the
immediate postpartum is the way they affect normal body functioning. Sugar can contribute to mood swings at a time
when you are already adjusting to a new normal after pregnancy. Caffeine is a
well-known stimulant that keeps you awake, the opposite of what needs to happen
in the immediate postpartum. Your body
does a lot of work to repair itself while you are sleeping, so find a non-caffeinated
beverage to enjoy for at least six weeks after your sweet pea arrives. THIS article outlines some of the amazing things that happen within your body when
you are not awake. Avoiding sugars and caffeine keeps you on a
fair playing field as you adjust to life with a newborn. And if it makes it
easier, circle a date six weeks out from the birth-day on the calendar when you
can go get your favorite sugary and caffeine-rich treat!! Eat Real Food Circling back to The Brewer Diet…the foundation
of postpartum nutrition is a diet rich in protein, fluids, fruits and
vegetables. You can also continue taking your prenatal vitamin. Believe it or
not, if you are going to breastfeed, you need 500+ calories a day than you
needed when you were pregnant. Protein: for cell growth and repair…all the organs
that have been squished in the last months of pregnancy, the uterus that has to
heal, the vagina and/or cesarean birth scar that have to heal from their part
in the birth journey…all these body parts need protein so that your cells can
do their work to rebuild all that has been bruised and stretched through the
course of pregnancy and birth. Fluids: it never ceases to amaze me that the
human body is about 60% water! So keep that water bottle handy and refill it
often. In addition, breastmilk is a live fluid that is created out of your
bloodstream for your sweet pea. Breastmilk is 88% water (https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/baby-water/),
so this is another reason why you may feel thirsty all the time if you are not
paying attention to your water intake. Ample hydration is one of the ways to
ensure you are making enough milk for your sweet pea – give your body what it
needs to make that breastmilk. Fruits and Vegetables: these are the most bioavailable vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants designed by Mother Nature just for you. Not everyone can afford to eat all organic all the time, so we offer the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen" lists from the Environmental Working Group as a resource. It may help you decide how to spend your grocery budget - spend a little more to eat organic and save where you can buying conventional growth foods. They now have easy smart phone apps that you can download and access as you shop. Keep One-handed Snacks Handy However you feed your baby – hands are going
to be occupied. In the early days, both hands. As you get more comfortable, you
will find yourself becoming an expert at one-handed eating (and finding things
on menus that can be eaten with one hand!). My postpartum shopping list included of
apples, carrots, celery, crackers, nut butter, hummus, and hard cheese (sharp
cheddar is my favorite!). Here is a quick list of snacks you can stock
or have someone prepare for you with these seven ingredients:
I specifically avoided ranch dressing and
soft cheeses. Some newborns are sensitive to the large milk protein found in
cows’ milk. The hard cheeses are easier
to digest since the protein is broken-down differently in the preparation
process. And some newborns will not tolerate any dairy…unfortunately, the only
way to find out is through trial and error. We also had lots of yogurt and flax seed, plus
sandwich fixings in the refrigerator. Yogurt is an easy snack to sprinkle with
ground flax seed for a protein and good-fat boost between feedings. Someone can
also make-ahead sandwiches or tortilla wraps for the times you are ravenous and
don’t have time to make a full meal. My
favorite sandwich was hummus and avocado with lettuce between two slices of
whole grain bread. That combination worked equally well as a wrap. Yum!! My last suggestion is to try out all the “Just
A Handful” snack bags that can be purchased at Trader Joe’s. They have several
different varieties that include dried fruits and nuts in a snack pouch. Not so
great for the environment…so after postpartum you can buy the bigger bag and
serve yourself. In the short term, please do the little things that make life
easier and buy these handy packs!! Funny side note: I always kept several snack
size pouches in my diaper bag or my purse…our older kids always knew where to
go to find snacks when we were out and about. They bemoaned the day when I was
no longer breastfeeding around the clock and stopped stocking them, “You never
have good snacks anymore!” Probiotics and fish oils We are learning about the benefits of
probiotics and fish oil as more research is done into postpartum mood and
anxiety disorders. Here is some information from THIS study from the University of Auckland:
Taking probiotics may reduce postnatal depressionwww.auckland.ac.nz A small study that was presented in 2011
found that:
So while you are no longer pregnant in the
postpartum period, the benefit of the omega-3s found in walnuts, flax seed,
fatty fish, and fish oils can still be an advantage.
THIS article makes sense of the alphabet soup and may help you decide what you want
to eat or how to supplement going forward. Placenta encapsulation I included placenta encapsulation in the nutrition
portion of this series because however you may consume it, the placenta is
being processed by the digestive tract. Observation of other mammals indicates
that placenta consumption is common and “natural” in the animal kingdom. Anecdotal information from a placenta encapsulation
website:
HERE and HERE are some blog posts I have done
on placenta encapsulation if you want to learn more about our experience and
the different methods of preparing the placenta for consumption. That Basket Again… As I mentioned in the first post, the “breastfeeding
basket” was a time and sanity saver in the postpartum period. I would keep some
“just a handful” treats from Trader Joe’s in it at all times. If you missed the sleep installment, here is “the
basket”: Gather the most-used items that you need when you sit down to
feed your baby so that you don’t have to get up and find them, or have someone
bring them to you. This is what I kept
in my basket: water, one-hand snacks that do not need to be refrigerated (bars,
nut packs, fruit leather, etc.), diapers, wipes, change of clothes for the
baby, burp cloths, bottom cream and nipple cream. I hope that out of these 5+1 tips, there is at least one that
you can embrace whole-heartedly. I
invite you to jot down or type yourself a note of one small thing you can do to
make that tip happen for you this postpartum. Try to start one journal page or
virtual note that you can add to as we progress through this 8-week series for
a better postpartum experience. Previous Installments: Coming up next week: Exercise And check back for the rest of the series: Physical recovery Social Support Practical Support Emotional Support Medical Intervention Please leave us a comment - it will be moderated and posted. References: Probiotics and Postpartum Depression Study
from The University of Auckland New Zealand https://goo.gl/dYQKgo Time Health: “Study: Fish Oil May Prevent
Symptoms of Postpartum Depression” http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/12/study-fish-oil-may-prevent-symptoms-of-postpartum-depression/ WebMD: “Omega-3s May Cut Risk of Postpartum
Depression” https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20110412/omega-3s-may-cut-risk-of-postpartum-depression#1 Dietary omega-3 fatty acids aid in the
modulation of inflammation and metabolic health https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4030645/ Placenta Benefits Info: http://placentabenefits.info/articles/ Steamed, Dehydrated or Raw: Placentas May
Help Moms’ Post-Partum Health https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/steamed-dehydrated-or-raw-placentas-may-help-moms%E2%80%99-post-partum-health UNLV Study Finds No Iron Benefit from Eating
Placenta https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/unlv-study-finds-no-iron-benefit-eating-placenta The material included on this site is for informational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Krystyna and Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. This blog contains information about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®. Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona: Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale |
Categories: Nutrition, Placenta, Placenta Encapsulation, Planning for Baby, Postpartum, Postpartum Depression