The postpartum brain is depleted, hard-working and worth feeding well.
After birth, hormones crash, blood (and iron) is lost, sleep collapses, and the baby has spent months drawing down the mother's DHA and other stores. That's a depleted brain being asked to do one of the hardest jobs there is — no wonder nutrition matters so much. Nutrient depletion is a recognized risk factor for postpartum depression.
Postpartum digestion is often sensitive and energy is low. Warm, soft, cooked foods are easier to absorb and gentler on the system — which is why cultures worldwide feed new mothers soups, broths and porridges rather than cold or raw meals.
Chef Emily Montague built her recovery course around exactly these postpartum mood foods — warming, done-for-you meal plans and recovery teas for both vaginal and cesarean recovery — so the new-mother brain gets what it needs without the mother having to cook. Pair good food with rest, support and professional care for the fullest recovery.
Warm, easy-to-digest foods rich in iron (soups, stews, greens), omega-3s (fatty fish), vitamin D, B12, folate and zinc, plus blood-building recovery teas. These support the depleted postpartum brain alongside rest, support and professional care.
Postpartum digestion is often sensitive and energy is low, so warm, soft, cooked foods (soups, broths, porridges) are easier to absorb and gentler on the system — which is why postpartum food traditions worldwide favor them.
Emily is a chef, mother of five and postpartum-recovery educator who revives the 2,000-year-old zuo yuezi ("sitting month") tradition for modern mothers. Her signature, food-first method helps women rebuild after birth and ease postpartum depression — and she now certifies doulas and midwives to cook it for their own clients.
The Sitting Month recovery course turns these postpartum mood foods into warming, done-for-you meal plans and recovery teas.
See the recovery course