After childbirth, the focus naturally shifts towards the newborn. But amid the joys and sleepless nights, we must not forget about the new mother’s wellbeing. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a unique approach to postpartum care, emphasizing the importance of ‘postpartum nutrition’ in conjunction with postpartum confinement.
This isn’t about restrictive diets, but rather about nourishing the body with certain foods that support healing, boost energy and promote healthy breastfeeding. This all sounds great, but how does it work?
TCM focuses on restoring balance within your body after birth. Warm, comforting foods are considered vital, as they are believed to promote circulation and aid recovery. Nutrient-rich broths, soups and stews, packed with vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, provide the building blocks for your body to heal.
Let’s look further into the world of postpartum nutrition. We’ll explore delicious nourishing meal options, and answer all your questions about creating a balanced, restorative, healthy diet that supports you during this postpartum period.
Why is nutrition important for new mothers?
Good postpartum nutrition is vital for your recovery from the incredible feat of childbirth. Just as a new baby needs nourishment to thrive, so does the new mother. Postpartum nutrition isn’t about fad diets or quick fixes. It’s about providing your body with the essential building blocks and TCM superfoods it needs to heal, regain energy and create a nourishing environment for breastfeeding (if that’s your choice).
Think of it as an act of self-love – a way to ensure you have the strength and vitality to embrace motherhood. By addressing each of the 3 stages of good postpartum diet, you’re not just taking care of yourself, you’re laying the foundation for good overall health and a happy future.
First Stage: Metabolism. Supporting a healthy postpartum diet at this stage helps replenish the body with important nutrients lost during childbirth.
Second Stage: Restoration. The postpartum diet supports recovery of physical body strength.
Third Stage: Nourishment. Eating quality protein boosts immunity and restores energy to postnatal mothers.
What is the 3-stage progressive recovery plan and what does it mean practically?
The plan is based on ancient Chinese wisdom as well as on the modern interpretive thinking of Taiwanese TCM gynaecological pioneer, Dr. Xu Hui Yin, and the famed Taste For Life TCM team. It combines TCM, western thinking about nutrition, and dietary therapy. The approach is designed to address the physical and emotional changes that a new mother typically goes through as a result of giving birth.
During childbirth, it is believed that a lot of Qi (energy and blood) is lost, so it is necessary to replenish it and re-balance the body after childbirth, through rest, recuperation, care and nutrition. Optimum nutrition at this stage sets the mother up for overall good health in the long term. Let’s look at these 3 stages in a little more detail:
Stage 1: Metabolism
This stage takes about 10 days, and its focus is on revitalizing the internal organs of the body, increasing metabolism and alleviating any water retention after giving birth. The food choices at this stage are full of nutrients and herbal ingredients that are designed to strengthen the womb, liver and kidneys, adjust the digestion system and subtly increase the absorption of nutrients.
These nutrients are all natural and organic. They include protein, iron and folic acid, which might be critically deficient in the mother after birth. Iron helps with red blood cell production and blood nurturing, and combats postpartum fatigue. The focus is on eating beef, fish, red dates and other protein-rich foods. If a mother is vegetarian, she can eat plant protein, such as tofu, soy bean products and whole grains (quinoa and hemp seeds), which are also high in protein.
Folic acid (vitamin B9) plays an important role. It is a water-soluble vitamin, essential for pregnant women and postpartum women’s health. It aids in recovery after childbirth and supports the increased nutritional demands of breastfeeding. Folic acid can support blood regeneration and prevent iron deficiency anaemia; it also helps the uterus and other tissue repair and recovery after delivery. Folic acid is important for breastfeeding mothers in relation to a baby’s growth and development. Adequate intake of folic acid ensures sufficient levels in breast milk and helps neural and immune systems and fetal brain development.
Stage 2: Restoration
The restoration stage takes 10 days and helps strengthen the physical body, including spine and bones, internally and externally. The focus is on restoring hormones and re-balancing the body, which helps with breastfeeding and the shrinking of the womb after childbirth.
Calcium and collagen are key nutrients in this stage. Calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth, and can help prevent postpartum osteoporosis. Calcium-rich foods include dairy products, leafy greens and fortified cereals. If a new mother is lactose intolerant, we suggest she drinks lactose-free milk or nourishing herbal soups that don’t contain lactose. Milk is not the only source of calcium. Indeed, in TCM postpartum meals, we use many types of herbal soups with pork ribs, chicken or other ingredients that are high in calcium.
Collagen can promote tissue repair and healing. Childbirth often causes significant tissue damage to the uterus and abdominal muscles, and c-section can be especially damaging. Collagen supports skin elasticity, improves skin firmness and hydration and helps with stretch mark recovery and damaged skin. Collagen can also strengthen hair and nails, and restore joint and bone health. Taking collagen or eating foods high in collagen will benefit a mother’s recovery.
Stage 3: Nourishment
This stage lasts for another 10 days and aims to restore and revitalize the body rapidly during the postpartum period. To do this, meals contain a high level of collagen and also Vitamins E and B, which help shrink the womb further. These nutrients increase skin moisture and elasticity, which is ideal for dealing with stretch marks and cracked nipples, and slow down the appearance of aging and tiredness. Foods such as chicken, tofu and chicken or eel essence are recommended.
Vitamin E also plays a key role in improving body and eye health. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and helps with anti-aging. It can also decrease the risk of chronic diseases associated with free radicals. Sufficient vitamin E intake will promote milk production for breastfeeding moms. Babies will also benefit from Vitamin E through breast milk.
Taking a B-complex or eating food groups high in Vitamin B can help red blood cell production, regulate energy and combat postpartum anaemia. Consuming sufficient B3, B6, B9 and B12 from foods or postnatal vitamin supplements can also help prevent postpartum depression and improve breast milk supply.
What are the benefits of postpartum meals?
Postpartum meals offer many benefits for new mothers and newborns. They can meet nutritional needs so the body can body to recover and also help to:
Restore uterine function. A well-balanced diet of confinement meals and tonics is needed to restore Qi, blood and liver and to clear the meridians, helping the uterus pass out all the lochia (postpartum vaginal discharge) for uterine recovery.
Restore blood flow and metabolism. Women experience a deficiency of Qi and blood and poor physical health after childbirth. To help clear and unblock the blood and Qi in the body, new mothers are advised to avoid ‘cold foods’, including sweet fruits, such as banana, watermelon and strawberries.
Avoid postpartum depression. Adequate rest, healthy food consumption and tonics can help prevent postpartum depression. Having good physical and mental health is essential.
Support breastfeeding. The special postpartum herbal soups, with their various nutritional benefits, can help clear breast ducts so mothers can improve their breast milk supply.
Restore body shape. Balanced, healthy postpartum meals contain all the nutrients a new mum needs, and also help to reshape her body.
Why postpartum rest is important
As well as eating the right foods and maintaining a healthy diet, rest is also considered vitally important to new moms. Often, grandmothers or professionals, including doulas, are brought in to shoulder some of mum’s responsibilities shortly after the birth. Postpartum confinement is all about mums getting the support and rest they need after giving birth.
As for healthy eating, there are companies that specialise in postpartum confinement eating and practices so help is always available and out there. A mother’s wellbeing is vital, after all she is paramount to her child. There needs to be a shift away from thinking that mum’s welfare after giving birth is less important than the child’s. The right care is needed, so moms have the best chance to recover and bond with their babies.
The adage ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ is at the heart of confinement care. Of course this is not always totally practical if, in Australia, for example, mums don’t have older relatives experienced in the ways of Chinese confinement. It is important, though, that new mothers seek expertise and guidance wherever they can, from people versed in pregnancy, birth, parenting and confinement. They should not try to do it all on their own.
