Hi, I’m Emily. A doula and emotional health practitioner. I write weekly around the transitions of motherhood, sharing recipes, stories and reflections on what it means to thrive in our emotional worlds. My hope is that you’d feel safe, seen and held in this space. Subscribe for free posts or join the Golden Nurture community to have access to paid posts. Thank you for being here!
Me being me, I have already started to dream up what I would like my own postpartum journey to look like. I have loved learning about the postpartum traditions from around the world and what it could look like for me to glean wisdom from those that have gone before me. A friend inspired me to create this little round up of ideas/items that I would gather for postpartum, but I also wanted to open this up to other mums who have already been through this season and have rich wisdom to share on how to tend to ourselves through this tender and precious time. If you feel led to share, please do comment and add some things that you loved having on hand during postpartum and maybe some things that in hindsight, you wish you had done/gathered.
Herbs
After Ease tincture - I have heard so many amazing things about this. For use 24 hours after birth to support you as your uterus contracts back to a smaller size now baby is in your arms. Super important to not used right after birth as it can interfere with the birth of the placenta and regulating bleeding post-birth.
Postpartum restorative tonic from Milk Moon - so much goodness in this one. Nutrient dense, blood building herbs for deep nourishment. Milk Moon also have a range of tinctures specifically for the postpartum period. I’ve tried their nervous system and immune tincture which I loved.
I’d stock up on some nettle, oatstraw, red raspberry leaf, calendula, rose and hibiscus from Mountain Rose Herbs. This is where I buy by bulk herbs, which are always amazing quality. These are some of my favourite herbs for any time as they are so nutrient rich and can be used for many different things like tea, infusions, a bath soak, sitz bath or steam. Nettle and oatstraw are amazing nervines that support nervous system health, calendula is beautiful for wound healing, hibiscus is a delicious mineral rich tea (tastes so good brewed as a sun tea with a squeeze of lime!), rose and red raspberry leaf have an affinity for the feminine.
Arnica - a homeopathic remedy for relieving muscle pain, stiffness, swelling and bruising.
Books
The OG postpartum book - The First Forty Days by Heng Ou. This book is full of traditional postpartum wisdom and inspiration on how to weave that into our modern lives. Also lots of recipes to make ahead of time for those early days post-birth.
Maiden to Mother by Sarah Durham Wilson
The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care
Any fun book from the library that you would enjoy while resting!
Food
My approach for postpartum food would be nutrient dense, warm, simple, comforting meals. I would focus on mineral rich hydration, lots of protein dense snacks and hearty main meals. I would also not forgot my love for baked goods and would make sure to bring in these moments of delight and pleasure into my routine. Perhaps a warming chai with a spiced carrot cake muffin, or a cinnamon hot chocolate with a slice of fresh sourdough spread with raw almond butter and a drizzle of honey.
Postpartum food should be easy to digest, warm and nutrient dense, which means lots of fats. Warmth is so important during this time to keep digestion going smoothly. In Eastern traditions cold food is thought to ‘stagnate’ the digestion so if I want to eat something like yoghurt or a smoothie, I’d make sure it comes to room temperature before consuming. Warm and soft (easy to digest) foods allows the body to absorb as much nutrition as possible and warming ingredients often used in postpartum food (think ginger, cinnamon, cloves etc) help to support circulation. This is so important because during pregnancy, blood volume doubles and after birth the reduction of warm, circulating blood means the body needs some support to recapture the heat.
To prepare for the first couple of weeks I would plan to made double batches of meals that freeze easily and also invite friends and family to cook some meals for us. I have seen many friends use Meal Train to set up a support system for this and I would definitely consider doing that! I’ve also heard of inviting friends over for a night of food preparation, so each person could work on preparing a meal to freeze, which sounds so fun and also very practical.
I’d focus on foods and beverages like:
Oatmeal with egg yolk (spouted and soaked)
Protein rich breakfasts - eggs, chicken sausage, sourdugh, fruit, room temperature yoghurt
Soup
Stews
Cottage/Shepherds pie
Congee
Bowls with a grain, protein, veggie and extras like black sesame seeds, nuts, sauerkraut
Curries
Warming raw milk drinks
Herbal teas and adrenal cocktails (coconut water, salt and vitamin c source)
Bolognese with ground beef with beef liver
Bison sweet potato chilli
Coconut rice pudding
Do you have any meals that you loved to eat during those first couple of weeks postpartum?
Environment
Salt lamps for night time nursing! I would get a dimming one so that we wouldn’t be exposed to bright lights in the middlee of the night. I also think that they are beautiful and bring so much cosiness to a space.
We’ve had our air doctor for years now and LOVE it. We keep it in our bedroom so that we’re breathing in clean air all night.
Walter and Greenfield water filter for clean water.
This shower filter
I recently got a sheepskin rug and I am truly obsessed. It feels so luxurious and soft to walk on and just looks beautiful too. I got mine from Etsy and it was super affordable. I feel like the little things like a lovely rug, flowers on the bedside table, pretty art on the walls, plants to bring in a feeling of freshness and lots of beeswax candles all create a feeling of warmth, safety and delight in my space. As I’d be spending more time at home, I think it’s an act of kindness for yourself to create a beautiful, peaceful space to be in and look at.
Nursing
Nipple & baby balm from Primally Pure
Lactation tea from Mama Bear Supply Co
Nursing pads and haakaa
I’ve done less researching for this area, so if you have any suggestions, please leave them below!
Other
Socks from Le Bon Shoppe! As warmth is so important for postpartum, I’d stock up on some of the dreamy socks from this store. They have so many options and the colours are so beatiful. Sometimes it’s the little things that can bring so much pleasure and comfort. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the meridians of the body flow through the feet. So cold feet = cold womb space. Warmth is really important for healing and also supports the nervous system to feel safe and calm.
I also love these slippers from Quince that I got this last Christmas, they are so cosy and warm. Again, wonderful for keeping feet and womb warm.
Creating a web of support - whether it’s a lactation consultant, acupuncturist, massage therapist, coach or some other support that you enjoy, I think that it is essential to go into the postpartum season feeling held and supported by those around you. This goes beyond family and friends to include practitioners that can support your body in the way it’s needing. In St Pete, FL there is Thank You Mama and in Redding, CA Arukah Wellness who offer incredible support for Mums and women throughout their motherhood journey.
Specifically for acupuncture, I have loved going to a commuity practice because it is so accessible and affordable. A private session would be around $150/hr but community acupuncture ranges from $20-40 based on what you can pay. It has been one of my favourite things over the last few years and I will definitely be continuing receiving this care into pregnancy/postpartum.
Magnesium salt flakes for warm baths and foot soaks.
A hot water bottle!
Good quality sea salt to add to filtered water for minerals.
I hope this list is helpful and I am so excited to see what other thoughts and wisdom get added in the comments. I’ll update this post when I feel the need to or if I find something that sparks my interest ✨ my hope is that you would feel deeply supported and nourished as you embark on this wild, beautiful and sacred journey of motherhood.
Sending you love!
Em x
Love all of these em! We love our salt lamp for nighttime ✨