Worst Hospital Foods Served After Birth

We asked our community to share the worst hospital meals they were served after birth… and honestly? We wish we were surprised. From strained chicken soup to actual Lunchables, iceberg lettuce topped with chicken nuggets, and those sad little cups of applesauce, what was meant to be nourishment looked more like an afterthought. These trays weren’t just bland or boring. They were completely disconnected from what postpartum bodies actually need.

After birth, food isn’t just a box to check. It’s care. It’s recovery. It’s medicine. Mothers deserve warm, nutrient-rich meals that help them rebuild strength, replenish blood and minerals, and support breastfeeding and hormone balance. Instead, too many are handed ultra-processed, inflammatory food that does the opposite. We can’t let this be the norm. Postpartum is powerful, and moms deserve better.

1. Dumplings and UBS (universal brown sauce)
2. Salad
3. Wonder bread with kraft peanut butter
4. Turkey deli meat sandwich on a hamburger bun. I literally LOL'd and ordered delivery 😅
5. All of it... I denied every meal, made hubs bring from home, since he went to take care of older kiddo
6. I didn't even play with hospital food - my husband brought food for every meal!
7. An iceberg salad with chicken nuggets on top 🫠
8. Spaghetti with a slimy smelly piece of tilapia...with apple juice. Ate none of it!
9. It was cold and looked like rubber, the nurse said she could microwave it...
10. Being told right after having my baby around midnight that there basically wasn't any 🙃
11. Literally EVERYTHING!!!
12. Toast with apple sauce cold. Then the next meal they brought pork chop(1) no sauce?
13. Soda
14. A very bad quality burger minutes after delivering
15. Omg so many carbs!!! And very little protein. Def contributed to swelling.
16. hamburger, fries. Cake
17. Weetbixs
18. Salad. I didn't know how bad it would stop me up. 😩
19. Snack box: Uncrustable, Lays, and some nasty wafer cookie thing. The ingredients!
20. Gross meatloaf or cold/soggy turkey sandwich
21. Lunchable
22. All of it. Pork, "ice cream" w no actual cream, etc. Only ate my packed mama meals!! (now Restorative Roots)
23. Something called "strained chicken soup" that was actually pureed chicken noodle soup
24. All of it! Should be a crime after such trauma
25. Microwaveable Pancakes with HFCS syrup
26. Everything lol
27. Pancakes with corn syrup filled "maple syrup"
28. Sandwich
29. Ordered egg sandwich, received just a gross patty of "egg" + unknown mixins
30. Cream of Wheat... I have Celiac Disease 😅 they even slapped a gf label on it haha
31. Tomato soup! Tasted like water
32. everything they gave me was horrible- like they even make oatmeal taste like hospital?
33. Literally ALL of it
34. Didn't eat any of it but they kept asking me if I wanted sprite instead of water...😭
35. actually pre baby bc gestational diabetes-what they gave me was weirdly full of sugar
36. Every tray 😂
37. Breakfast cereal. I mean I ate it because I was starving but come on man Frosted Flakes?
38. Nothing. They literally forgot to drop off my food on my second PP night.
39. Chicken fried steak 🤢 🤢
40. Fortunately Ashley Shapiro (she was my day nurse) ordered a burger and fries for me
41. I think being told I couldn't eat or drink was the worst- but ew, pretty sure it was dry turkey
42. The cold tuna sandwich when the kitchen was closed for the day 🤢
43. Pancakes, high fructose corn syrup, apple juice, and potatoes with an "omelet"
44. Steamed broccoli with mold in it, I actually have a picture 🥲
45. Turkey burger... Just a slab of meat on soggy roll 🤮
46. Anything cold!
47. Fried foods... like really?
48. All of it lol thankful my mom would bring me mama meals! (now Restorative Roots)
49. I had my 1st during covid and they forgot to even bring me food and no outside food was allowed. I ordered the hungry mama kit for my second and that’s what I ate at the hospital and at home for weeks. Best purchase ever!
50. I was given nasty oatmeal at 7am (I gave birth at 10:30pm after 29 hours of labor) it was pathetic
51. They brought me a roast beef sandwich and it should simply be illegal
52. Kitchen wasn’t open by the time my daughter was born. I have gluten allergies and only thing available on site after 8pm was premade sandwiches. My dad went to McDonald’s for me and got me a large fry… this was all I had to eat till the next morning and it makes me sick just thinking about it.

Let’s be real: hospital food isn’t built for healing, but your postpartum plan can be. If you’re planning a hospital birth, don’t leave your postpartum nourishment up to chance. We created a Hospital Food Packing Guide to help you feel supported and well-fed, no matter what’s on the hospital tray. Inside, you’ll find practical tools, nourishing meal ideas, snacks, teas, and thoughtful extras to help you feel grounded, replenished, and cared for in those first sacred hours and days.