Few expecting mothers are taught what to eat after birth to support their postpartum recovery.
Everyone prioritizes nutrition during pregnancy. But did you know that postpartum nutrition needs are just as important if not more? Postpartum nutrition can have a big impact on healing, energy, digestion, and recovery during the first weeks with a new baby.
In this episode of the Postpartum Prep Podcast, I sat down with Carla from Carla Sage Birthwork to answer real listener questions about postpartum healing foods, recovery, cravings, and nourishment after birth.
Read on for the highlights - or catch the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Pregnant? Download your free postpartum prep checklist!
You Probably Don’t Need Expensive Superfoods
Carla shared that she does not believe there is one magical food that will fix everything after birth. Instead, she explained that the best postpartum nutrition is often simple, affordable, and accessible.
She described postpartum healing foods as:
Warming foods
Slow-cooked meals
Seasonal foods
Broths and meat stocks
Slow-cooked vegetables
Nourishing fats
This includes foods like:
Soups
Stews
Congee
Slow-cooked meats
Sweet potatoes
Pumpkin
Apples with cinnamon
Broth and meat stock
These foods may sound simple, but they can be deeply nourishing during postpartum recovery.
Why Warm Foods Matter After Birth
Carla mentioned the importance of warm foods after birth, because digestion is much weaker in postpartum.
She used an Ayurvedic analogy to describe how before birth, digestion is like a burning fire. After birth, it can feel more like a small candle flame. This is why many mothers notice digestion feels more sensitive during the fourth trimester.
According to Carla, warm and cooked foods may help support that weakened digestive system. Cold and raw foods may be harder for the body to process during early postpartum healing.
This is why she recommends focusing on:
Warm soups
Stews
Cooked fruits
Warming spices
Soft and hydrating meals
Warming spices like cinnamon and ginger
This focus on warming foods is found in traditional postpartum healing practices around the world.
Foods to Avoid in Early Postpartum
Carla also explored foods that may feel less supportive after birth. She shared that cold and raw foods can sometimes dampen digestion during postpartum recovery.
This includes:
Cold salads
Raw vegetables
Raw juices
Iced drinks
Raw snack foods
She explained that even foods often labeled as “healthy” may not feel supportive in the first weeks postpartum.
That does not mean mothers need strict rules or perfection. Instead, it can be enough to simply focus warmth, gentleness, and easy digestion while the body heals.
Is It Okay to Follow Postpartum Cravings?
Carla spoke openly about balance and not becoming overly restrictive with food after birth.
She shared that cravings can still be honored thoughtfully.
For example, if a mother is craving ice cream, she might pair it with something warm like apple crumble or make a warm custard with cinnamon instead.
The goal is not perfection - the goal is to support healing while still caring for emotional wellbeing.
The First Six Weeks After Birth Matter
Carla explained that the first six weeks postpartum are a unique healing window.
In the early weeks, softer and more hydrating foods are often easier to tolerate.
As digestion strengthens, mothers can usually return to more variety and flexibility with food.
Instead of pressure or rigid rules, it focuses on warmth, nourishment, and caring for the motherbaby dyad after birth.
Watch or Listen to the Full Episode
Carla offers a gentle and supportive perspective on postpartum recovery.
The full conversation explores:
Postpartum healing foods
Nutrition for postpartum recovery
Warming foods
Digestion after birth
Postpartum cravings
Traditional postpartum care practices
Listen to the full episode of the Postpartum Prep Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
[00:00:00] The best nutrition is actually quite affordable and accessible. Digestion is weakened in postpartum and the digestive force or energy or what's known as the fire in Ayurveda is very low. The main things to avoid in postpartum are cold, raw foods. I think it's really great to honour the craving somewhat but see if it can be adapted to postpartum.
[00:00:28] I think it's really important to remember that the first six weeks of postpartum actually goes by very quickly. Welcome back to the Postpartum Prep Podcast. My name is Keridan, I'm your podcast host and your guide to preparing for a smoother start to life with your new baby. Here on the Postpartum Prep Podcast we talk about all things life after birth. We talk about feeding, we talk about sleep, postpartum recovery, mental health and so much more.
[00:00:52] Today we have Carla from Carla Sage Birthwork here to talk to us about nutrition for postpartum healing and energy. We're doing a Q&A today so we have some of your real questions to answer here on the podcast. Welcome, Carla. Thank you.
[00:01:39] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:02:14] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:02:43] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:03:35] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:04:29] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:05:03] Thank you.
[00:05:32] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:06:02] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:06:41] Thank you.
[00:07:11] Thank you.
[00:07:42] Yeah. Thank you.
[00:08:15] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:08:48] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:09:48] Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.
[00:10:22] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:10:58] Thank you. It's a lot.
[00:11:30] And so, yeah.
[00:12:04] I'm just, you know, because I'm just, you know,
[00:13:00] because of the blue, you know,
[00:13:30] So, you know, so I'm just, you know, I'm, you know, I'm just, you know, you're in the blue, you know, I'm just a little bit of the,
[00:13:54] eating, I'm aware of how negative it can be to be strict. So I try to like, you know, still have balance within my practice and what I'm advising to new mothers. I think it's just so important to be mindful. And, you know, if you're craving like iced water
[00:14:21] soon after giving birth, it would be very wise not to give into that craving. If you're craving something like ice cream as well, I think it's really great to, to honour the craving somewhat, but see if it can be adapted to postpartum. So with ice cream, for example, if I have a mother who's like, I just want to have a big bowl of ice cream, then I'll actually make her some custard,
[00:14:48] which is warm and it has cinnamon in it and it's creamy. Worst case scenario is that she has the ice cream served with something warm, like an apple crumble. And then the ice cream isn't completely icy when she's eating it. And, you know, say like someone's craving
[00:15:13] a packet of chips, like the chips on a sensitive digestion are going to be, I guess, quite dehydrating and also just taxing on that digestive fire. And so really it's just about weighing up, like, like what is the impact going to be of me following this craving? Um, because do I want to set myself back? Do I want to have like constipation tomorrow?
[00:15:42] And constipation in postpartum is something we want to avoid because of the strain on the pelvic floor. So I think, you know, with awareness and understanding about how these foods interact in our body, we can then, you know, make conscious decisions with our cravings, um, as well, because I, I don't like
[00:16:07] ever want women to feel like they're too restricted. Um, cause I know that can be very triggering, but I think it's just so important to understand, yeah, what's happening in our body and why we need to really care for it. I think it's really important to remember that the first six weeks of postpartum actually goes by very quickly. And once you're out of that and you have, your digestion is strong,
[00:16:35] you can start being more fluid and free with your eating. So you mentioned the first six weeks, is that kind of the timeframe where you recommend being on this kind of modified, like very, uh, you know, warming foods, cooked foods, postpartum diet? Yeah, I do. And there are actually phases within that first six weeks. So the first week or two is,
[00:17:05] um, you're really focusing on the soft fluidy foods. Um, so yeah, um, hydrating foods like soups and stews and that sort of thing and congee. Um, and you're not going to like overboard on like the proteins or anything complex and heavy, like lasagna, anything that's going to like really potentially like be too
[00:17:32] much for that small little candle flame. Um, and then like the digestion will start to strengthen. And that's where mothers can start to add in more variety and, um, and have, I guess, more solid foods rather than just like really soupy kind of foods. Um, so, I mean, there's a lot
[00:17:58] to it, um, which is a part of the education that I do, but yeah, generally speaking, it's, it's probably at least the first four to five weeks before the digestion really, um, is ready for that even bigger variety of foods. That's great to know. Thank you so much. And that was the last question that we had for our Q&A today.
[00:18:23] Thank you for answering all our questions today and for being here on the postpartum prep podcast in general. It's been so great to have you. And I really hope anyone who's listening to this episode, if you haven't already listened to our full episode, I think you really would love it. I, I was, I felt, I said I was buzzing after we finished recording that episode because it was, um, yeah, just, I think a really amazing conversation. I'm really helpful to
[00:18:50] understand a bit deeper about why postpartum healing matters and why rest is so important for postpartum healing. We also talked about how to gather a support system to support you during postpartum. And we talked about boundaries and navigating difficult relationships with, um, mothers and mother-in-laws and how to handle those situations. Thank you again, Carla, so much for
[00:19:16] listening today, for joining us today. For those of you who are listening today, please be sure if you're new here that you follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you want to submit a question for a future Q&A episode, I always share our upcoming, upcoming Q&A topics in my email newsletter. So you can subscribe to the email newsletter by downloading my free postpartum prep
[00:19:42] checklist. And I will also be able to update you via email then about all our future episodes. And please share this podcast. If you know anybody who would benefit from listening to this episode, you could even share this episode with someone in your postpartum support system. So they can also learn about how to best support you, um, with meals after birth. And otherwise I'll see you. We'll see
[00:20:12] you in our original episode, um, that Carla and I had recorded. It will be the episode just before this one. Thank you so much for listening. Bye for now.