Nourished by Tamsin: Lifting the Load
- Tamsin Peskett-Hall
- 21 hours ago
- 6 min read
When you’re expecting a baby, your focus is naturally on your pregnancy and the upcoming labour and birth. But not many of us give a great deal of thought as to what will happen once the baby arrives – after all, it should come naturally shouldn’t it? Well... yes, our bodies are indeed made to nourish and nurture our newborns… but we are not meant to do it alone – we need a village around us!
From the beginning of time, people have been cared for and nurtured during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Traditionally mothers, aunts, sisters or even neighbours would be around to support a new family during and after a baby’s birth, but society has changed dramatically, losing much of that community dynamic.
There’s now an expectation that new parents should simply be able to cope, but this is an intense, life-changing transition (whether it’s your first baby or your fifth!) and some additional support can make all the difference between simply surviving and thriving, which can impact greatly on your confidence and mental health.
How a doula can help
Doulas are trained non-medical professionals, and have been around for centuries. But they are becoming a popular addition to parents’ birth teams in our modern-day world, providing more families with reassuring support and continuity of care than ever before. They are particularly valuable if you don’t have close family members or friends nearby to help in those early postpartum weeks.
Research shows that having a doula:
Increases the probability of spontaneous labour and physiological birth
Reduces the likelihood of an induction and the rates of medical interventions in your birth, including lowering the chances of having an unplanned caesarean
Shortens the length of labour
Significantly increases the chances of having a positive birth experience
Increases the likelihood of successfully initiating and establishing breastfeeding
Eases the transition into motherhood or new parenthood, including providing support for partners and family members
Feeding your baby; feeding you!
As all doulas do, I bring a variety of skills and life experience to my offerings, focussing particularly on supporting breastfeeding and on nourishing the new parents with delicious, nutritious food.
When I had my son (after a long journey with unexpected fertility challenges and a birth that didn’t go to plan) I was totally unprepared for the realities of the newborn stage. I desperately wanted to exclusively breastfeed but struggled to get it established and felt utterly overwhelmed. My partner often had to work long hours and travel for work, and without family nearby and with most of my friends living in London, I really could have done with the support of a doula. Someone to reassure me and boost my confidence as I navigated this new phase of life (as well as to feed me and hold the baby while I had a shower), but at that point I didn’t even know that doulas existed!
As my son got past the baby stage, I became very active in volunteering with the local NCT branch and loved being able to support new parents by acting as a listening ear and sounding board, signposting them to trustworthy resources. All in all, it was just a matter of
time before I would inevitably follow my natural calling to become a doula and infant feeding coach.
I’ve always been a foodie and have had a long creative career in food writing, editing and recipe creation. But nothing beats feeding people in person and my instinct to support and nurture has now grown into a batch cooking business, Nourished by Tamsin, where I come to you and rustle up a variety of recipes to fill the fridge and freezer. The service is open to anyone who doesn’t have the time, energy (or perhaps the inclination) to cook for themselves but still wants to enjoy home-cooked food. It can be a great boon to those recovering from an operation or illness, as well as to busy families.
But where it really comes into its own is for the newborn stage, when the new mother needs to be looked after so that she can recuperate and concentrate fully on her baby (and on getting breastfeeding established if that is her goal).
Postpartum is the most tender and sensitive time and is usually both the breaking and the making of us as parents. Good food nourishes, cherishes and sustains, as well as aiding the healing and recovery process after birth and supporting breastmilk production.
Hop on the meal train
The fourth trimester is a time when night and day blur into one and any kind of normal routine goes out of the window, including mealtimes. Your baby can and will wake and eat at all hours around the clock, and you may not wear ‘proper’ clothes for days or even weeks.
At this time, you want easy-to-eat food that comforts and nourishes, and you may also be trying to appease eager-to-visit friends and family! So why not turn that to your advantage and ask visitors to bring food? Nothing says “I’ve got you” like a home-cooked meal for new parents, when getting to the shops or considering what to cook feels impossibly hard.
If you haven’t meal-prepped for the freezer in the run-up to birth, and your budget doesn’t stretch to a batch cooking session (although gift vouchers towards a kitchen cook session make a great practical baby shower or new baby gift, especially for friends and family who live at a distance), then why not ask someone to set up a meal train for you? If you’ve not heard of this before, it’s simply an organised, scheduled way for friends to bring meals for you and your family, so that you always have good food but aren’t overwhelmed with 5 lasagnes on the same day!
A coordinator can create a WhatsApp group and set up a Google spreadsheet to allocate and schedule when people will drop off a meal to your door (without any expectation of meeting the new baby). Or they can simply set up a specific Meal Train page (including meal preferences, allergies and ideal drop-off times) and then share the link with friends, family and neighbours so that they can sign up to provide meals. And anyone can join in, even non-cooks who can spoil you with the foods that you’ve had to avoid during pregnancy, like a sushi spread or a platter of pâté, cured meats and soft cheeses plus a crusty baguette!
Perfect postpartum foods to feel nourished
So, what should you be eating? Think mug and bowl foods that you can sip from a cup or easily eat with one hand; soups, broths and stews are ideal and can easily incorporate protein, slow-release carbs, healthy fats and fibre all in one satisfying dish, while also including extra liquid that helps with hydration (and avoiding constipation). Food doesn’t have to be complicated, and something like a slow-cooked casserole with chicken, veg and pulses ticks all those boxes and is easy to freeze and reheat.
Traditional wisdom suggests that cold foods and drinks should be minimised in the earliest days after birth, as foods that warm you from the inside out help with healing and regenerating. Warm, creamy and soft foods are comforting and easy to digest after the exertions of birth, such as a big pot of dhal enriched with coconut milk, or a creamy rice pudding with stewed fruits. These foods may sound rich, but your body has grown a whole human being and early post-partum is not the time to be focusing on losing the ‘baby weight’; instead, you need to nurture yourself and aid your recovery. Hydration is vital to replenish liquids lost in birth and to help your body create a whole new kind of liquid food – breast milk. Have a water bottle close by to sip from regularly and try nourishing bone broth or herbal teas (ginger, fennel or chamomile are particularly good).
Forget the regular routine of breakfast, lunch and dinner and instead feed your need, which may well mean more frequent smaller meals or snacks, such as grabbing a couple of energy balls or warming through a home-made muffin packed with oats, seeds and cheese to avoid the hunger surges while you’re feeding your baby.
And remember, you should concentrate on resting and recuperating; anyone can do the dishes, put on a load of washing or mop the floor – just ask your village when they visit!
Some lovely ideas for nourishing yourself after giving birth, from Tamsin, thank you Tamsin! If you'd like to find out more about Tamsin's offerings come and see her on Saturday 31st May!
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