Nourishing The Fourth Trimester by Leila from Village For Mama
I absolutely love the idea of the fourth trimester. More often than not, we refer to the period of time following the birth of a baby as the ‘Postpartum Period’. This is actually a term used in Western medicine to indicate the amount of time it takes for a mother’s hormone levels and uterus to return to their non-pregnant state. This is typically 6 weeks and then despite it taking a whole 9 months to grow a baby, new mothers are expected to ‘bounce back’ and move on.
The fourth trimester is the three months following the birth of a baby and I love this window because it gives new mothers more time. Originally it referred to the development of the baby, the time when newborns adjust to life outside the womb. Now it is more commonly used to refer to a mother’s transition into motherhood, when both mother and baby are as vulnerable as one another. A season of slow recovery and discovery, a sacred time requiring love, support, and nourishment. A time where the new mother also needs to be mothered.
We place so much emphasis on the three trimesters of pregnancy and birth and then, that’s it, we’re done, we are mothers now. But the truth is, we are only just getting started on the marathon of motherhood. And that marathon was never meant to be run alone.
The health of the future is dependant on a mother’s wellbeing, and so nourishing the fourth trimester is just as essential as nourishing a mama through her pre-conception and pregnancy. We know that it takes a village to raise a child, but sadly we are living in a time where most mothers are left to do it all alone.
From the moment a woman falls pregnant, her body selflessly priorities the needs of her growing baby. Not to mention the entire new organ, the placenta, her body grows to support and nourish new life. As a result, most new mothers are left depleted and exhausted just as they enter this new phase of their life. It is estimated that new parents lose an average of 1500 hours of sleep in their first year as parents. And a breastfeeding mother spends approximately 1800 hours feeding in the first year. If a mother is not meeting her daily nutrient requirements, her body will continue to prioritise her baby and will mobilise her own stores to make sure her breastmilk is nutritionally complete. This is nearly two years of a woman’s life where her body is no longer her own, and prioritises the needs of another first and foremost.
Everyone wants to hold the baby, but who will hold the mother? Not all new mothers have access to or can afford a postpartum doula or a food delivery service. Nearly all new mothers have friends, family, neighbours and/or colleagues. And all new mothers deserve support and nourishment during their fourth trimester.
Delivering food to a new mother is one of the most supportive and loving things you can do for her. Asking your friends and family to deliver you food is one of the best ways to gather your support network. The perfect way to build your modern village. People love knowing what they can do to help and sometimes they don’t know what to do, so they default to delivering you some flowers, cuddling the baby, and showering you both with compliments. All lovely sentiments but they fail to truly meet the needs of a new mother.
Nourishing food is one of the most important elements of recovering post-birth. Not only does nutrient-dense food promote healing, but it also provides energy for the long days and nights, helps to rebalance hormones and support the production of breast milk. Most traditional cultures placed a huge emphasis on supporting and nourishing the mother after she had her baby and this is something that we truly need to incorporate into our modern western world. Most cultures save the best quality produce and meat for the new mother as they have a deep respect and understanding for nourishing and replenishing a woman post-birth. They prioritise warm, soft, and easily digestible meals and place a heavy emphasis on broths and healing herbs and spices. It is essential for a new mother to enjoy balanced meals with carbohydrates for energy and milk supply, protein for repairing and rebuilding tissue and muscle, and healthy fats for stabilising blood sugar, balancing hormones and nourishing breast milk. This is not the time to fixate on losing baby weight, bouncing back or any of the other absurd pressures we and society place on a new mother. Nourishment in the form of food, hydration, rest, and support should be the foundation for mothering a new mother.
Our modern western world has never been more connected yet physically disconnected. We crave human connection and support and positive friendships have a profound effect on our physical and mental health. Through gathering a modern village, new mothers can rely on the support network they need to carry them through their fourth trimester. Allowing them the time and space they need to heal and recover, replenish and restore, rest and relish.
Surrendering to three months of slow, gentle, supported transformation will significantly impact the health and vitality of a woman and her journey through motherhood. The six-week postpartum period does not provide women with the window of time they deserve or need to regain their vitality. Nourishing the fourth trimester is a wonderful place to begin, to honour the mother and the health of future generations.
Leila and Maddy from Village For Mama created this delicious vegan sweet potato, mushroom and miso pie for us!! We are so excited for you to try it… we may have been unable to wait and already whipped it up on the weekend and can safely tell you it’s NEXT-LEVEL-DELICIOUS!!!!! Click on the button below to download and follow the links in Leila’s bio below to find out more about the amazingness that is Village For Mama and get a cheeky discount on their incredible new book!
Leila Armour is a holistic nutrition consultant, postpartum doula and mother living on the east coast of Australia. She is the founder of village for mama and recent author of the postpartum recipe book ‘village for mama’. The book has been designed to help modern mamas, gather their village and organise homemade meal giving. Each book comes with 30 recipe gift cards with a pre-written letter on the back which kindly explains the importance of this special time and the role that loved ones play in assisting the new mother. Helping new mamas experience and magical well-nourished and supported fourth trimester. Learn more about village for mama at www.villageformama.com and follow Leila on Instagram @villageformama
If you would like a copy of her book, Leila is kindly offering our Your Yen Mama mamas 15% off with the code ‘yourzenmamas’ at checkout.