Nourishing Your Body in Postpartum and Breastfeeding

During pregnancy, we tend to focus a lot on nourishment: eating well to support the growing baby, staying on top of supplements, and making sure we’re getting enough rest and support. But once the baby arrives, our attention often shifts to the baby instead. Your needs don’t go away after birth, though. They actually increase.

Postpartum recovery and breastfeeding are both deeply nutrient-demanding times. Your body is working hard to heal from birth and produce milk if you choose to breastfeed. Eating in a way that replenishes your body can help fuel your energy and resilience for the months ahead.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Why nourishment matters so much after birth

It’s easy to underestimate what the body goes through in the postpartum period. During pregnancy, you gave your baby a steady supply of nutrients. Now, in postpartum, your body is working to recover and heal from labor and birth (especially after a tear or if you had a C-section).

Breastfeeding adds its own nutrient demands. Some nutrients in breastmilk, like protein, folate, and most trace minerals, remain fairly stable regardless of what you eat. However, if you aren’t taking in enough, your body will pull from its own stores to continue producing high-quality milk. Others, like B vitamins, choline, iodine, and DHA, can vary based on your diet. Many of these are vital for your baby’s brain development and immune system, so eating nutrient-rich foods will enrich your baby’s diet too. 

In traditional cultures around the world, postpartum care has long centered around this idea of nourishment. Families would prepare warming, soft, nutrient-rich meals and give new mothers time to rest and recover. Raw and cold foods were often avoided, in part because digestion naturally slows in postpartum (due to hormonal shifts and weaker pelvic floor muscles). Many foods that were encouraged in traditional cultures, like bone broth, soups, organ meats, seafood, rice, seaweed, and eggs, contain the exact nutrients that we now know are needed for recovery.

Foods for postpartum and breastfeeding

Focus on foods that are easy to prepare (or reheat), nourishing, and gentle on digestion.

Here are a few places to start:

1. More calories and more protein

Protein is important for stabilizing blood sugar and for rebuilding tissues, especially the amino acids glycine & proline, which our body uses to make collagen

→ Supportive foods: soups made with bone broth, pulled meats, eggs, stews, or a scoop of collagen powder in tea or oatmeal.

2. Rebuild your blood

Iron and vitamin B12 are especially important after delivery. If you had a lot of blood loss or are feeling fatigued, this is something to pay attention to.

→ Supportive foods: red meat, liver pâté or ancestral meat blends with organ meats, and cooking meals in a cast-iron pan.

3. Key nutrients for breastfeeding

Some nutrients show up in higher concentrations in your milk when your diet includes them regularly. These include B12, choline, vitamins A and D, DHA, iodine, and selenium.

→ Supportive foods: eggs, salmon, sardines, seaweed snacks, full-fat yogurt

4. Support digestion with warm, cooked meals

Warming, soft foods tend to be easier to digest in the early postpartum phase.

→ Supportive foods: oatmeal, sweet potatoes with butter or ghee, well-cooked greens and root vegetables, soft-cooked rice or quinoa with protein and fat.

5. Stay hydrated

It’s common to be thirsty while breastfeeding, and drinking enough can help with your milk supply. Sufficient fluids also support your body’s energy levels, digestion, and detoxification process.

→ Supportive options: filtered water, coconut water, herbal teas, broths. 

What about supplements?

Supplements are not a replacement for food, but they can be supportive in this demanding season.

Continuing your prenatal vitamin and taking a high-quality fish or algae oil supplement is a good place to start. Some other additions to consider:

• Vitamin D, if your prenatal vitamin only contains a low dose, and you live in an area with little sunlight

• Collagen powder for tissue healing and skin repair

• Electrolyte powder or trace mineral drops

• Probiotics, if you are not consuming many fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, or sauerkraut

Final Thoughts

Postpartum is a time of major transitions: for your body, your hormones, your nervous system, and your daily routines. You don’t need to eat perfectly to feel supported. But finding small ways to nourish yourself throughout the day can help you feel more grounded and resilient as you care for your baby.

Even a warm bowl of broth, a spoonful of liver pâté, or a few bites of slow-cooked meat with soft vegetables can be a powerful step toward recovery. Your body has done something incredible, and it deserves to be cared for, too.

If you are currently pregnant and preparing for postpartum or are in the thick of your postpartum season, get my free guide to learn how to support your postpartum recovery with the nutritional foundations.