And so food became an afterthought.

The first few weeks of postpartum were a blur. I was adjusting to life with a newborn, recovering from birth, breastfeeding around the clock and functioning on broken sleep. I knew becoming a mum would be a huge change, but I wasn't prepared for just how all-consuming those early weeks would feel. 

Food, despite being such a big part of my life, became an afterthought. There were days when I would look at the clock and realise I had barely eaten. I'd get hungry, but feeding the baby felt more urgent. By the time I had a free hand, I was exhausted. Cooking something felt like a huge task, even though I knew how much better I would feel afterwards.

I was incredibly lucky to have my parents staying with me for those first few weeks. Having someone else cook a meal, put food in front of me and simply say, "Eat," was such a gift.

It also made me realise something that I now think about often in my work with new mums: sometimes knowing what you should be eating is not the difficult part. The difficult part is actually finding the time, energy and capacity to eat it.

Eventually, I started to find my feet. I built a little more of a routine. I started spending time in the kitchen again, cooking some of my favourite foods and finding small ways to nourish myself. That was when I started to feel a little more like myself again. Because food was once again something I was doing for me.

What about nourishing the mother?

Pregnancy nutrition gets a lot of attention, and understandably so. But postpartum is another significant period of nutritional demand, particularly if you are breastfeeding.

Your body is recovering from pregnancy and birth while adapting to an enormous physical and emotional transition. If you're breastfeeding, you require additional energy and nutrients. Nutritional needs also don't suddenly disappear once the baby arrives. Iron, iodine, calcium, DHA, vitamin D, B12 and other nutrients still matter, and your individual needs will depend on factors such as your diet, pregnancy, breastfeeding, medical history and existing nutrient stores.

Nutrient deficiencies are relatively common during this period, particularly iron deficiency, and symptoms can sometimes be easy to dismiss as part of the postpartum experience. Exhaustion, low energy, feeling run down or struggling to recover can understandably be attributed to broken sleep and the demands of caring for a baby, but sometimes there is more going on.

This is one of the reasons I believe nutrition deserves to remain part of the postpartum conversation. Looking after yourself includes paying attention to how you are feeling, checking in with your healthcare team when something doesn't feel right, and making sure your own nutritional needs don't disappear amongst the demands of caring for your baby.

Give yourself permission to be on the priority list.

One of the biggest things I see, both personally and professionally, is how quickly a new mum's attention shifts towards making sure the baby's needs are met.

Is the baby fed?
Have they slept?
Are they warm enough?
Do they need a nappy change?
Is everything packed for the next outing?

Somewhere amongst all of that, mum can become an afterthought.

But looking after yourself isn't separate from looking after your baby. You are recovering, feeding, carrying, settling and caring for another human being. Having enough food, fluids and rest gives you more capacity to do all of those things.

I think this is where postpartum nutrition needs to be approached differently. It doesn't need to be another standard you can fail at. It needs to be practical.

The under-fuelling cycle is real.

One of the most common patterns I hear about is simply forgetting to eat. You wake up, feed the baby, settle the baby, change the baby, maybe finally have a shower, and suddenly it's lunchtime. Then the afternoon disappears and you're ravenous by dinner. When this happens repeatedly, it can become a frustrating cycle.

You're hungry and exhausted, but you also don't have the energy to cook. So you grab whatever is easiest, or wait until dinner, when you're too depleted to make the meal you'd actually like to eat.

Making food easy to see, easy to reach and easy to eat can take some of the mental load out of feeding yourself.

If you regularly forget to eat, try linking food with something you're already doing. For example, you might have a snack whenever you sit down to feed your baby, or eat breakfast after the baby's first morning feed. A phone alarm, a visual reminder on the fridge or a snack basket in the room where you spend the most time can also help.

Remembering to keep your fluids up is just as important, particularly if you're breastfeeding. Australian reference values suggest around 2.6 L of fluids per day for breastfeeding women, although your individual needs can vary depending on factors such as the weather and your activity levels.

I found having a large water bottle with me throughout the day really helpful. It meant I could easily see how much I had drunk, refill it when needed and avoid getting to the end of the day wondering where all my water had gone. Keeping it beside you when you're feeding your baby can also make it much easier to remember to drink.

Think about what will keep you going

When you're running on broken sleep, meals that provide a combination of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats and fibre can help provide more sustained energy throughout the day. Including these different components can also help slow the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, which can support steadier blood glucose levels and help you feel satisfied for longer. This can be particularly helpful during those early postpartum days when you might be going several hours between meals or find yourself reaching for food when you're already very hungry.

Think:

• Oats or chia seeds with yoghurt, fruit, nuts and seeds
• Eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado
• Slow cooker meat or chickpea curry with rice or quinoa
• Pasta with a tomato, lentil and vegetable sauce
• A toasted sandwich with cheese, tuna and salad
• Tofu or chicken stir-fry with noodles or rice

Look for ways to remove steps

This might be my biggest piece of postpartum nutrition advice: look for ways to remove steps.

• If grocery shopping feels impossible, use click and collect or delivery services.
• If chopping vegetables feels like too much, buy pre-cut or frozen vegetables.
• If you get to 6 pm and realise you haven't planned dinner, microwave rice or grain packets can form part of a nourishing meal.
• Tinned legumes, canned fish, eggs, tofu, hummus, yoghurt and cheese can all make it easier to add protein without much prep.
• And if you cook something that freezes well, make a double batch and freeze half. Future you will be very grateful.

I also loved having a little snack station at my bedside. I had a trolley with snacks on the top shelf and things like my pump and burp cloths on the other shelves. It meant that when I was breastfeeding or settling the baby, I didn't have to get up every time I was hungry.

Another strategy some mums find useful is making themselves a "lunchbox" at the beginning of the day. Fill it with easy, one-handed foods such as nuts, cheese and crackers, berries, vegetable sticks and hummus, bliss balls, a boiled egg or a yoghurt pouch. It can act as a visual reminder: this food is here for me.

Postpartum nutrition doesn't have to look perfect.

Looking back, I think the biggest lesson from my own postpartum experience was that nutrition knowledge and actually nourishing yourself are two very different things. I knew what a balanced meal looked like. I knew how to cook. I knew how important nutrition was. And I still struggled to eat properly in those first few weeks.

That experience has changed the way I think about postpartum nutrition in my work as a dietitian. I don't want to hand a new mum a list of foods she "should" be eating and send her on her way. I want to know what her days actually look like. Is she breastfeeding? Does she follow a particular dietary pattern? What was her birth experience? Is she exhausted? Is constipation making eating uncomfortable? Does she have time to cook? Does she have family support? Is she managing a newborn and a toddler? Is she eating enough simply to get through the day?

Because the best nutrition advice is the advice that can actually fit into someone's life.

And sometimes, you need more than nutrition advice. Postpartum recovery looks different for everyone. There is no single nutritional plan that applies to every new mum.

If you're feeling unusually tired, weak, dizzy, breathless, struggling with recovery, experiencing changes in your health or simply not feeling like yourself, it's worth speaking with your GP or healthcare team. Depending on your circumstances, blood tests may be appropriate to investigate things such as iron deficiency or other nutritional or medical concerns.

If a nutrient deficiency is identified, a dietitian can help you work out how to meet your nutritional needs through food and, where appropriate, supplementation.

And if you're finding it difficult to eat enough because you're overwhelmed, exhausted or simply can't see where food fits into your day, that is also something worth talking about.

You don't have to wait until things feel completely unmanageable to ask for help.

The thing I want to leave you with.

My daughter is now well beyond those hazy newborn days, but I still think about that version of myself standing in the kitchen, finally feeling a little more human again. I had spent so much time thinking about how I would nourish my baby. I had forgotten that I needed nourishing, too.

Postpartum nutrition doesn't need to be another thing to get "right". Sometimes it looks like a beautiful home-cooked meal. Sometimes it looks like toast eaten one-handed while breastfeeding. Sometimes it is a meal your mum cooked for you. Sometimes it is frozen vegetables, tinned beans and microwave rice thrown together at 7 pm. It all counts.

The postpartum season asks an enormous amount of you. Food is one small but meaningful way to give something back to yourself. And sometimes, caring for yourself starts with something as simple as sitting down, taking a breath and remembering to eat.

Mikayla.

Mikayla Pallot is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, Certified Fertility & Prenatal Dietitian and founder of Seed to Sprout Dietitian. She supports women and families through fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and early childhood nutrition, offering telehealth consultations Australia-wide. Find Mikayla at:‍

Seed To Sprout Dietitian

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