The Best Postnatal Vitamins to Help You Thrive As a New Mom
What REALLY works, according to a nurse-midwife.
BigThink
In America, we’ve done a less than stellar job focusing on and supporting maternal health. While this is a full-stop statement, it’s particularly true during the postpartum period. So often, women have their babies and quickly (re: instantaneously) lose sight of how important it is to continue to take care of themselves. It doesn’t help that we live in a toxic bounce-back culture where paid maternity leave is a rare privilege that depends on the benevolence of your employer. And while finding the best postnatal vitamin won’t solve these problems, it can support your journey to recovery and thriving post-baby.
Featured image by Teal Thomsen.
1 of 16
Subscribe
Get the goods.
Gatherings, food, design, wellness, and more—it's the newsletter you'll actually want to read.
Thanks for Signing Up!
Oops!
Looks like you’re already signed up or your email address is invalid.
Oops!
Looks like you unsubscribed before click here to resubscribe.
Amidst the lack of sleep, incessant cries, and the newness of it all, it’s easy to throw all of yourself into your baby and forget the importance of self-care. But thankfully, society’s views and expectations of new mothers are shifting for the better. More and more, women are sharing their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experiences, and new media and social attention is being given to maternal health and wellness in general. The tide seems to be turning in the right direction!
While we can’t blame an exhausted, sleep-deprived, milk-drenched mama for forgetting to make space and time to nourish and fill her cup, let this serve as a reminder: it’s important to continue to tune in to your health! Below, I’m sharing how finding the best postnatal vitamin can support your journey to recovery and help you thrive.
2 of 16
How Postnatal Vitamins Work
In an ideal world, we would all eat a balanced diet that fulfills each and every nutritional requirement for ourselves and our little one. Of course, that’s hard to do, (mamas hardly have time to shower!). Therefore daily vitamins help us balance our nutrient intake to maintain steady levels of supportive nutrition, vitamins, and minerals, especially during a taxing season of our lives.
Postnatal vitamins differ from prenatal vitamins in a few ways. They are specially tailored to nourish post-birth bodies and their little ones by:
Supporting the overall increased nourishment requirements for breastfeeding or pumping mothers.Containing targeted vitamins (like choline, DHEA, and iron) that support infant brain and eye development.Helping women’s bodies recover from the naturally stressful event of birth by restoring vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C and magnesium levels. Boosting vitamin D levels to prevent osteoporosis later in life.Offering energy support by bumping up baseline levels of B vitamins to help convert food to energy more readily. 3 of 16
The Best Postnatal Vitamin: What to Consider
Price and Quality
These two criteria often go hand in hand. However, that doesn’t mean you need to find the most expensive vitamin to get great quality. If you’re on a budget, there are still plenty of great options out there.
Absorption
Generally speaking, our bodies absorb nutrients from actual food better than any processed version of a nutrient. In your search for the best post-natal vitamin, look for vitamins and minerals from actual food sources! It’s always a good idea to do your research on what helps vitamins and minerals be more bio-available. Trust me, it’s education that will serve you for life!
How do you want to take it
Some people are just not pill swallowers, but don’t worry—the market’s shifted in your favor. I’ve personally found that if a vitamin tastes like a gummy, I’m more motivated to remember to take it every day. Think about what works best for you and narrow down your options. Postnatal vitamins are available as capsules, tablets, gummies, or a chewable formula.
Prenatal Vs. Postnatal Vitamins
What’s the difference? The truth is that, oftentimes, the nutrition requirements aren’t all that different for pre- and post-baby and there aren’t many postnatal vitamins on the market. The major benefit of postnatal vitamins is that some contain herbs and supplements to support breastfeeding or mental health while most prenatal vitamins do not.
4 of 16
