During my first pregnancy, I was in school, and preparing my body for labor and recovery was not at the top of my list. I thought I was fine and just trusted that everything would go smoothly. BUT, I do honestly feel that if I did my best to prepare my body for labor and postpartum recovery my labor might have gone faster and postpartum recovery would have been smoother. Labor with my first lasted about 30 hours and I also really struggled during the recovery period with different issues like losing my milk supply, postpartum anxiety, and lots of hair loss that began during pregnancy and did not stop until recently.
There is a lot of information out there on how to prepare your body for labor and prevent tearing but I want to go further and share how I am also preparing my body for the postpartum recovery period as well.
I know that the postpartum period will still be an adjustment for my body with the hormonal shift, breastfeeding, and sleep deprivation. However, you can definitely prepare your body to have an easier transition by making sure it is fueled and well-balanced with the right nutrition. Here I am sharing the 9 things I am doing to prepare for labor and postpartum.
Disclaimer: these are things that I am doing personally after doing my own research and talking to my OB. I am not any kind of professional so please do your own research and talk to your OB if you want to implement any of these tips.
** This post contains affiliate links which means that I make a small commission off a sale if an item is purchased (at no extra cost to you). This does not affect what items I recommend, and I am only listing items that I truly believe are the best.
1. Moving
We know how beneficial it is to keep up our fitness while being pregnant (safely of course), and that it is something that can help our bodies to lose weight after giving birth. My focus is just to move my body every day during this pregnancy, whether it’s going for a walk with my toddler, cleaning around the house, doing a simple workout, etc. The idea is just to make sure I get some physical activity every day and it does not have to be any type of specific workout.
I feel like this is pretty easy to do with a toddler since I am chasing him around every day anyway, and going on walks is something we do for the both of us.
2. Testing Nutrient Levels and Taking a Prenatal (plus extra iron supplement)
Something that I did when I got pregnant was testing my vitamins and minerals, as well as my iron/ferritin and thyroid function. I found out that I was really low on iron and so now I am taking a prenatal as well as another iron supplement on top of that. (I plan on getting my iron level re-checked in a couple of months and eventually tapering off the additional iron supplement.)
Not only does the baby take some of the iron during pregnancy but we also lose a lot of it during birth and so I want to make sure that my body is at a good level because it can really affect you during the postpartum period if you are low in iron (fatigue, hair loss, mood swings, etc).
I think it is super important to get your blood checked for different vitamins and minerals so you can know if you need any additional nutrients on top of your prenatal because it might not be enough (like in my case).
This is the prenatal I am taking:
3. Eating Nourishing Foods
It is really tempting to just eat whatever you want when you are pregnant. You’re eating for two, right?! At least that’s what my appetite feels like these days (currently in my second trimester). I really just want a juicy burger with fries, and maybe some ice cream after.
During my first pregnancy, I did not really pay attention to what I ate. I was in school and with the stress of schoolwork plus doing clinical I did not have the motivation or self-discipline to eat healthily. It took some time but that all caught up to me. I started feeling so fatigued, moody, dizzy (low blood pressure), and had extensive hair loss even when it should have started to grow back. All these symptoms made me examine what I was eating which was mostly refined carbs. I was always on the go and it was just the easiest thing to eat for me, being a mom of a newborn and in school.
However, NOW I am doing things differently because it really makes an impact on life as a new mom and recovery after giving birth. I am making it a priority to eat foods that are clean fuel for my body and will allow it to persevere through times of stress.
These are the things that I am focusing on to make sure I am eating well:
-Protein
-Healthy fats
-Blood-building foods (red meats, dark leafy greens, eggs, nuts, red peppers, etc)
-Vitamin C
-Gut healing foods
-Variety of colorful foods
-Anti-inflammatory foods
Being pregnant has motivated me to become healthier because I am going to be a mom of two boys now! I want to make sure that I am operating at an optimal level because being a mom is HARD WORK and requires ENERGY.
I have already noticed a difference in my cravings, my energy levels, and even my hair which has finally stopped falling out (I lost hair during my first pregnancy and was losing hair during this pregnancy as well).
4. Probiotics
It’s quite fascinating learning how important gut health is. It affects everything! It’s also really important for newborns and can help them if they happen to be colicky or fussy. Since I am planning to breastfeed, I want to make sure that I am taking care of my gut environment so that when the time comes to breastfeed, I can pass on the probiotics to my newborn.
Probiotics help with reducing the risks of pregnancy and delivery complications, eczema in infants, as well as anxiety and depression.
Instead of taking a probiotic, I am currently focusing on making sure I eat gut-healthy foods such as fruits and veggies with fiber, bone broth, and collagen. I am also consciously eating food that is high in probiotics every day which is either kefir, kimchee, or sauerkraut for me.
5. Six Dates a Day
Okay, so I was a little skeptical that eating dates every day can help you have easier labor, and lots of people say it is an old wives’ tale. You should do some research for this yourself, BUT there were studies done that showed that women who ate 6 dates a day during the third trimester were more dilated and had a shorter first stage of labor than women who did not.
For me, it is worth a try! ALSO, dates have many other benefits that are really good for pregnant women such as potassium, vitamin K (which your baby does not have much of when born), fatty acids, and calcium! Such a good way to satisfy the sweet tooth too!
6. Perennial Massage
This is something we have all heard about and with this pregnancy, I am trying to be more consistent with perennial massages. During my first delivery, I did have a second-degree tear and so I am doing everything I can to try and avoid that if I can. It doesn’t have to be long, just a couple of minutes a day.
** SIDE NOTE: Something that can also help prevent second and third-degree tearing is asking for a warm compress during the final stage of labor!
7. Magnesium
With both of my pregnancies, I have been waking up at night with really bad leg cramps. They are SO PAINFUL! So, I have been taking these Magnesium Calm gummies to help with that and I am happy to say that I no longer have those leg cramps anymore!
However, not only does magnesium help if you get painful leg cramps but it also reduces the risk of preterm labor and pregnancy complications. It’s also great for the nervous system and can help with anxiety and depression which many women experience after giving birth, and I want to make sure I am doing everything I can on my part to reduce the risk of experiencing PPD.
I would definitely recommend doing your own research and talking to your OB or midwife about taking magnesium if you feel like this could be something that could help you!
8. Omega 3’s
Omega 3’s are essential for many body functions, including brain health for mom and baby. They are also anti-inflammatory which helps regulate hormones. This is important since after giving birth hormones are all over the place!
Instead of taking a supplement though, I am making sure that I am eating different foods each day that are good sources of Omega-3. The things I like to eat are salmon, sardines, flaxseeds, and chia seeds (in my smoothies).
9. Spinning babies
Okay, so this is for the labor and delivery part but if you have not heard about Spinning Babies I DEFINITELY recommend checking out YouTube videos about it. It’s pretty much different movements and positions you can do to help get baby in the perfect position for labor.
There have been many testimonials of women who shared how it made their labor much faster. I am learning the different movements so that I can do them while I am in labor too to hopefully help the labor go a little quicker than with my first.
Thank you for stopping by! I hope this post inspires you to find ways you can nourish and prepare your body for labor and postpartum recovery because I believe in the importance of doing so. I am definitely going to be sharing my labor and postpartum experience and will compare it to my first, so stay tuned!
