4 Chinese Medicine Dietary Tips for Postnatal Women

One - Soft warm watery foods and drinks

You have expended a lot of energy growing a human and giving birth, and your body needs warming foods that are easier to digest - think soups, stews, broths.

Foods such as congee (rice porridge), lentils soup, coconut curries, lamb or beef stew, chicken soup, bone broths with seaweed and mushrooms.

These foods are hydrating and are easy for the body to digest, which also equals happy bowels.

Drink 8 glasses of room temperature water a day, sip on bone broth, and herbal teas such as Nettle and Fennel tea.

Two - Stay warm

We always want to keep our bellies and wombs warm, that means no to cold foods such as salads, cold drinks, ice cream, or anything that has been refrigerated. This is because cold slows digestion, and makes our bodies work harder, expending precious energy.

Cold also stagnates blood, therefore it is important after birth for the recovering womb. The same principle applies to menstruation, especially avoid eating cold foods and ice cream around the period, as it can exacerbate cramps. We want blood flowing to the uterus. Warm or room temperature foods always!

If you love cold foods and salads, enjoy, but only now and then, give your digestion a chance to recover and warm up again.

Drink 8 glasses of room temperature water a day, and sip on bone broth, and herbal teas such as Red Date and Goji Berry Tea.

Three - Healthy fats

The postpartum mother (and women in general!) requires saturated fats and omega fatty acids for both mum and bub.

Saturated fats and omegas provide useable energy to the body that doesn’t store as fat, they also balance hormones, support brain function, and stabilise your mood, while nourishing baby's brain and nervous system.

These foods include eggs, grass-fed butter and meat, oily fish (sardines, or taking cod liver oil), coconut oil, sesame oil, and walnuts.

Drink 8 glasses of room temperature water a day, sip on bone broth, and herbal teas such as Nettle and Fennel tea.

Four - Foods to Avoid

If breastfeeding some of the foods you eat may affect baby by causing painful gas, these foods can include beans, legumes, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, and fermented foods such as sauerkraut and cold cows milk.

Some tips are to soak beans before cooking so they are less gassy, drink warm milk instead of cold, and add spices such as ginger and fennel to cooking to counteract gas.