Postpartum is such a delicate time. Whether you birthed your baby vaginally or via belly, you need to time to rest, replenish and reconnect. The 4th trimester is not just about physical recovery either... it’s also about bonding, slowing down, and letting your nervous system settle into motherhood whether it's your first or your fourth.
“Indeed, a new mother is just as fragile as her baby.”
In these early weeks, digestion is slower, hormones are shifting dramatically, milk supply is being established, and your tissues are healing from pregnancy and birth. Warmth, softness, and nourishment are what help everything recalibrate.
Across cultures and generations, new mothers have been cared for with warm, soft, easy-to-digest foods. Soups, stews, porridges, congee, broths, etc.
Birth temporarily weakens the digestive fire. Icy drinks, raw salads, chips, smoothies, and dry, processed foods can actually make postpartum symptoms worse. I did this with my first postpartum and horrible constipation and bloating. This can also further increase stress, fatigue, anxiety, mood swings.
Warm, cooked foods gently “turn the system back on and stoke the digestive fire." They help stabilize blood sugar, calm the nervous system, replenish nutrients, and support milk production.
As Hippocrates said,
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
And nowhere is that more true than the postpartum window.
What Your Body Is Needing Most Right Now
Iron
Replenishes blood lost during birth and supports energy.
Protein
Repairs tissues, supports hormone production, and helps stabilize mood.
Healthy fats
Deeply nourishing for your brain and essential for rich, satisfying breast milk.
Vitamins & antioxidants
Help your tissues regenerate and support your immune system during a vulnerable time.
Therapeutic herbs and spices
Ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, fennel, cumin, cardamom, clove—ingredients used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to warm the body, fight inflammation, and support digestion.
Modern Meals Rooted in Ancestral Wisdom
The principles we lean on today....Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Weston A. Price, and the First 40 Days aren’t new. They’re ancient traditions that honor what a postpartum mother truly needs.
Warmth.
Softness.
Nutrient-density.
Digestive ease.
Our ancestors intuitively understood that postpartum recovery sets the stage for a mother’s long-term well-being. Nourishing the mother reduces depletion, stabilizes emotions, supports milk supply, and protects her health for years to come. They say how you heal in your first 40 days can affect your next 40 years.
The Power of Quality Ingredients (Especially Animal Foods)
When it comes to rebuilding strength, quality matters.
Our great-great-grandparents intuitively knew the value of well-raised animals. Meat and organs from healthy animals are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, especially for postpartum recovery. They provide iron, B vitamins, minerals, collagen, fat, and protein in highly absorbable forms. Check out our post on "Where to Buy Quality Meat."
Foods to favor:
Warm. Soft. Easy to digest. Protein-rich. Whole food.
Things like....Soups, Stews, Porridge and congee, Broths, Slow-cooked meats, Cooked vegetables, Warm grains, Herbal infusions, Stewed fruits
Foods to avoid (for now):
Ice-cold drinks, Cold Smoothies, Salads and raw veggies, Chips, crackers, dry snacks, Processed foods with fillers, Anything hard, crunchy, or difficult to digest
Stocking Your Freezer Ahead of Time
Whether you rely on family, friends, or a delivery service, the goal is the same: to keep nourishing, warm food flowing into your body. Check out our pre-set packages or custom boxes to stock your freezer with the most nutrient dense postpartum meals.
Also be sure to check out our FREE postpartum recipe guide and quick guide to postpartum healing for more tangible tips and postpartum recipes.
These first forty days are sacred. Honor them.
And remember, you’re not meant to do any of this alone.
This makes so much sense and I wish it was more common knowledge! Thank you for the option for moms to press the easy button and still get the nourishment they need!
I am so glad companies like this exist. This is the type of education and wisdom all moms need to prepare for a major life transition that needs tender loving care. As a new mom not quite 2 weeks postpartum I have truly appreciated the insight and perspective of this approach to postpartum healing.
This is what encouraged me to do postpartum food prep this time around! Baby #2 due in about 5 weeks!! This post is extremely insightful, and I can’t wait to feel the difference this time around postpartum!!
After I had my son, I felt I had zero appetite. With hormones, stress and anxiety my body was in full emergency recover mode. I craved warmth. Once I really listened to my body and fed it warm nutritional meals that gave me strength and made me feel “whole” again I felt so much better. Even a clearer mind. My baby is almost 4months old and I still keep my body warm with some of these methods.
Third postpartum and ordered these meals with the most recent baby only. I will fully credit this recovery to eating more primally and tuning into how I respond to my breastfeeding needs.
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