The focus tends to be on all things concerning the pregnancy and the big finale which is the day you give birth to your baby.

You’ve bought the travel system, the car seat and the teeny tiny clothes but it is difficult to even attempt to relate to anything that comes after the birth. For this reason, you may not be giving your post-partum healing a great deal of thought.

It really helps to have some things in place to help you make the transition from pregnancy to motherhood. It is a time of great change hormonally, emotionally and physically.

One of the things you can do is try to ensure that you are fuelling yourself with healthy food and drinks after you have given birth. Foods can have an ability to help the body heal and recover after trauma and for a lot of women, pregnancy can be quite traumatic physically.

Here are five foods that can help a woman heal after birth.

Protein-rich foods play a really important role for a woman post-partum. It helps the body with so many processes concerned with hormones, the nervous system and enzymes. Aim to get several portions of Protein every single day, especially when you are breastfeeding and need the extra reserve and energy source. Beans are an excellent source of protein as is red meat, chicken, seafood and eggs.

Dairy is rich in Calcium and Calcium helps us to maintain a healthy heart as well as strengthening our bones. If you don’t have a love for milk, cheese and yoghurt you can turn to foods like leafy green vegetables and soy-based products. Calcium is important in general but especially post-partum for a woman.  

3. Red meat, lentils and green vegetables
These are all foods that have a high iron content and Iron is extremely important post-partum due to the blood lost during the birthing process. In fact, you may have been taking an Iron supplement during pregnancy to help build a reserve.

Soups are a quick and easy way to get all of the above into your diet without taking too much time or effort. The warmth of a soup can also help the body with circulation which may be a struggle after you have given birth. Another positive is that you can batch cook and freeze soups using leftovers.

Coconut oil and Olive oil are great for helping your brain function better and become energised. They raise the good cholesterol in your body and work really well drizzled over a salad or to cook your vegetables/proteins. Try to stay away from saturated fats and sugars as they can actually slow down the healing process and affect your blood sugars and energy levels in a negative way.