Prepping for Postpartum: Food, Food, Food!

My favourite thing to bring or have delivered to new mums is food! Firstly, because often new mums are so distracted and exhausted to even think about cooking, and secondly, because it is so important for mums to be nourished properly if they are to survive the hectic first weeks of recovery, sleep deprivation and learning to breastfeed.

Prepping your freezer for postpartum, or cooking for a loved one who has just had a baby is the best gift ever - but what should you be prepping?

A great book to get a hold of is “THE FIRST FORTY DAYS” by Heng Ou - it not only outlines why nourishment is so important but it also has a tonne of recipes, suggestions on pantry staples and some great tips for postpartum in general.

The key to an easier recovery postpartum is eating food that is easily digestible and warming, this helps mums reserve their energy for more important things. With this in mind - soups, broths, curries, slow-cooked meats and veggies are perfect. Hand-held snacks like slices, muffins, bliss balls or quiches are also great to deliver fresh or frozen.

Here are some of my favourite recipes I love making for clients!

Broths:

Beef Bone Broth - I love this adaptation, and this beautiful doula also has a shiitake broth recipe for our veg mamas too.

A great ready-made option for a quick nutrient injection is the range of bone broths from Nutraorganics or the Body Glue from Gevity RX. Perfect for a postpartum gift basket!

Mains:

Thai Pumpkin Soup - Based on this recipe by Donna Hay, replace some of the water with coconut milk and serve with a squeeze of lime, coriander, fresh or dried chilli, and roti or fresh sourdough. This can be made with vege stock for vegan mamas and is great for the freezer or a jar in the fridge.

Chicken & Corn Soup - I love to replace the stock with bone broth or any kind, and the corn flour can be skipped for a gluten free soup.

Slow Cooked Beef Lasagne - I like to replace the stock with beef bone broth for extra nourishment. Can also be made Gluten Free and freezes well.

Family Friendly Fried Rice - a hit with the whole family, and super cheap to make. Great for using up any meat you have in the fridge, freezes well and can be made meat free and gluten free.

Slow Cooked Beef Ragu - a perfect meal to pop on in the morning when everyone is in a better mood. Great for the freezer, and can be served with mash, pasta or even made into a lasagne or shepherd's pie for a revamp! Can be made with Lamb and rosemary for a twist too.

Snacks:

Peanut Butter & Honey Rice Crispies from The First Forty Days - think healthy kids treats.

Zucchini Slice by Donna Hay - perfect for a quick 2nd brekkie!

Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins - great for the freezer and for mini muffins!

Chia Seed Pudding  - serve in jars with fresh fruit and nuts on top, perfect for vegan mums too.

Some extra tips:

🌻 Serve frozen meals in small servings so that mums can defrost one at a time. 

🌻Serve soup and broth in a mug, not a bowl, as it’s easy to drink while feeding.

🌻Bring along rice pouches for easy microwaving - it means you don’t have to cook rice and portions can easily be made one-handed.

🌻If you are in need of more Tupperware or baking dishes, the op shop if a great place to look - you can get some really cheap dishes that you then don’t have to worry about collecting if you don’t want to!

🌻 Sometimes mamas won’t be up for a visit at the exact time you are dropping a meal - please don’t be offended, you never know what that beautiful woman has been through in the last few days, and how her body is recovering. The best idea is to simply leave a meal outside in a freezer bag with some ice packs, and let mama know that it’s there for her.

🌻 If you want to be promoted to favourite friend, then go one extra and set up a Meal Train for mum! You can use a Whatsapp group, a shared Google Sheets page or the free Meal Train website to get one going.

Don’t Have Time to Cook?

Then your best option is to organise a food service for at least the first couple of weeks postpartum. Most cities will have their own services - just search “Postpartum Meal Delivery in {your town}”.

Here in Perth we have a couple I always recommend -

The Baby Days - specifically formulated for postpartum nutritional needs, there is also 10% your first order when you subscribe to the newsletter!

The Postpartum Chef - beautiful mama Tara is a qualified chef and works with doulas all over Perth to nourish mums in their postpartum, as well as delivering to the Perth metro and surrounds.

Poppet’s Pantry - not specifically for postpartum but amazing hearty meals, this Nedlands based family business is nourishing mamas and their families all over Perth.

The Whole Bowl Co. - frozen meals delivered all over Australia specifically for postpartum, 10% off your first order when you subscribe to their newsletter too.

Feel free to download this information in an easy PDF right here to save on your phone!

I can’t wait to see what you make for yourself or a loved one during postpartum! Make sure you come say hi over on Facebook or Instagram!!!

Sending so much love!

Britt xxx

The Wonderful World of the Placenta

The wonders of pregnancy never stop surprising. The fact that our bodies MAKE, NOURISH and then BIRTH a live human is crazy. A vital part of that process is an organ called the placenta. You may have heard of it before - but what is it and why does the baby need it to survive? What does it do? What happens to the placenta once your baby is earthside? Let’s start at the beginning…

What is the Placenta?

The placenta is an organ that is created by the mum and baby together. Yep I’ll repeat that - your baby and you CREATE AN ORGAN. Pretty cool. It nestles into your uterine wall when you first become pregnant, and connects to the baby by the umbilical cord. As it grows it becomes a sort of spaceship/frisbee shape that is covered in veins and arteries.

Why Does the Baby Need a Placenta?

Well, the baby is floating in a capsule of liquid called amniotic fluid - so it can’t breathe or consume food or water. The placenta is a sort of distribution centre that receives and delivers everything that is needed by the baby.

How Does the Placenta Work?

The placenta collects blood from the mother that holds oxygen, nutrients, stem cells,  antibodies and all the good stuff and then delivers it all to the baby through the two umbilical arteries which are in the umbilical cord. The baby’s waste products and carbon dioxide make the reverse travel from the baby through the umbilical vein to the placenta, and then out into the mother’s bloodstream to be removed in her urine. The umbilical cord is wrapped in a super thick coating called Wharton’s Jelly that keeps everything safe on the delivery track.

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Here you can see the 2 arteries (red) delivering all the good stuff, and the one vein (blue) taking the waste away from the babe and into the placenta to be expelled by mama.

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What Happens Once My Baby is Born?

Once the baby is born, the placenta is still holding about a third of the baby’s blood - this will be delivered to the baby if the cord isn’t cut immediately. This is part of the reason many mums are choosing to delay cord clamping at least a few minutes after birth if possible, or to delay cutting the cord until it has run completely white. This also helps with delivering the placenta.

I Have to Give Birth Again?

Yes, you read correctly - after you have just done the most amazing thing and birthed your baby, you will need to give birth to your baby’s placenta. Lots of mums don’t realise this - but don’t worry - it doesn’t have any bones, so it will come out with a lot less effort. The most uncomfortable part is probably when a midwife or obstetrician feels your tummy to make sure the placenta is on its way out.

Here’s a pic of one of my placentas post-birth. See the blood vessels branching out over the placenta?

What Happens Once the Placenta is Out?

If in a hospital, the staff will treat it as biohazard waste, but some mums ask to keep their placenta for encapsulation or to plant it under a tree somewhere special. It’s completely your call what you do with your baby’s placenta, but at the very least have a good look at it! It is the first masterpiece you and your baby worked on together and a true wonder. Your midwife will be able to show you the arteries and veins that we have talked about.

The placenta is a truly epic organ - a temporary organ that keeps a human alive and growing - from a mere group of cells to a fully functioning baby ready for the world. The amazingness of this organ shows how your body knows exactly what to do to grow and nourish your baby, and can give you the confidence that your body will then know what to do when it comes to bringing your baby earthside. Bask in its glory!

Britt xx

Resources:

The Midwives’ Cauldron Podcast: Placentas & Cord Blood

The Khan Academy “Meet the Placenta” Course

My name is Brittney Blakeney and I am a Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum Doula, with an emphasis on education and preparation for your birth experience as a woman and mother. My job is to give you the most up to date research so that you can make decisions with confidence, and to give you the tools, techniques and encouragement to feel calm, safe and supported during your pregnancy, birth and postpartum journey. I aim to create villages around women to ensure they feel strong, supported and listened to as they transition to their new role. If you don’t want to miss out on any new morsels of info, subscribe to my newsletter (coming soon) to get the latest blogs. I am based NOR in Perth, and can be contacted by email at doula@brittneyblakeney.com.au or head to my Insta to send a direct message. Click here for some more bloggy goodness.