Postnatal Nutrition & Foods For New Parents

At every stage of your life, maintaining a balanced diet will help lift your energy levels and ensure you have the nutrients you need for a strong immune system. Postpartum, when your system is trying to catch up with itself after pregnancy and childbirth, these nutrients are more important than ever. Food for new parents isn’t just about sustenance, but also about giving you the resources to cope with the days and nights ahead of you.

If you’re breastfeeding, you’re burning more calories than usual and losing fluids at a more rapid rate. For breastfeeding mums, it’s even more important to eat a balanced healthy diet to help support milk production.

When we talk about trying to maintain a healthy balanced diet, we’re absolutely not talking about dieting. As a new mum recovering from pregnancy and birth and not getting nearly enough sleep, this is not the time for dieting. We’re talking about getting a good range of vitamins and minerals and food groups so that you feel energised.

As a quick recap, a balanced healthy diet consists of the following:

Fruits and vegetables – aim for at least five portions of fruit and veg a day, which can include fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced.

Starchy foods should make up a third of overall food eaten. Aiming for wholegrain varieties will provide additional dietary fibre in your diet, which can really help if you have been affected by bowel issues or constipation after giving birth to your baby.

Proteins such as lean meat and chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, soya foods and pulses provide a diverse range of vitamins and minerals. Aim for at least two portions of fish every week – oily fish, such as salmon & mackerel contain omega 3 fatty acids, so include at least one portion of oily fish as part of your weekly fish intake.

Dairy & Alternatives such as milk, cheese, fromage frais and yoghurt contain calcium and other important nutrients. Choose lower fat and lower sugar options.

Healthy fats - Choose unsaturated oils such as rapeseed or olive oil, and spreads made from these, and consume in small amounts.

Stay hydrated - As always, make sure you’re drinking enough fluids, especially if you’re breastfeeding. Always keep a drink handy; water and skimmed or semi-skimmed milk are all good choices.

Foods to limit and avoid - For advice on what is ‘off limit’ for breastfeeding mums, including some fish and caffeine-containing drinks and foods, have a look at which foods to be aware of HERE.

You may be wondering if there are any ‘feel good foods’ that can give you an extra boost!

Whilst a healthy balanced diet should enable you to meet the majority of your nutritional needs; bar vitamin D (for which there are few dietary sources), the requirement for additional nutrients is very individual, and would be discussed with you by your healthcare professional. So if you do have any concerns, please speak to your GP, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional.

If you’re worried about finding time to eat healthily whilst settling into looking after your new baby, don’t be, it doesn’t have to complicated! Here are some quick and easy healthy meal ideas to help maintain good postpartum nutrition:

Breakfast – Breakfast is a great opportunity to get fibre into your system. Wholegrain cereals, porridge and wholemeal toast are all good sources of fibre. Add fruit, nuts or nut butter and seeds to really set yourself up for the day.

Lunch –Low-fat cheese or a tinned salmon sandwich with wholegrain bread, baked beans on toast or in a baked potato, hummus with wholemeal pitta bread and vegetable sticks – the options for a healthy, hearty lunch are many and varied! Go for wholemeal bread, pasta and rice, and try to get some veg in there if you can.

Dinner – Any dinner options that include a range of protein, wholegrain starch and vegetables, are a winner. For example, wholegrain pasta with bolognese, vegetable lasagne, stir fry, curry, etc.

Snacks – Fresh fruit with low fat yoghurt, nuts (the low-salt kind), hummus and breadsticks, homemade trail mix (nuts, seeds, dried fruit)

And here’s some top tips for those early weeks and months:

Food recipes for new parents

Caffeine and alcohol - Caffeine can reach your baby through your breast milk and may keep them awake, so it’s a good idea to restrict your caffeine intake to less than 200mg a day when breastfeeding. Things to keep an eye on beside coffee are tea, chocolate, energy drinks and soft drinks, as well as some cold and flu remedies. If you’re going to drink alcohol while breastfeeding, try to limit to one or two units a week, and allow a couple of hours between drinking and breastfeeding.

Peanuts and other allergens – Peanuts or foods containing peanuts, such as peanut butter, can be included as part of a healthy, varied diet while breastfeeding – unless you’re allergic! Avoiding peanuts or other allergenic foods (for example eggs or wheat) while breastfeeding won’t reduce your baby’s chances of developing an allergy and is not recommended.

However, if you have a family history of food allergies or other allergic conditions, then your baby may be at higher risk of developing an allergy, and you may wish to discuss this further with your GP, midwife or health visitor.