Supplements for New Moms

For the past five years, my body has either carried life or nourished a child. I never cease to be amazed by the body or how strong it is. That said, if you’ve just given birth or are breastfeeding your child, it’s important to make sure you’re eating well and supplement your diet so you don’t end up with any deficiencies. You’re starting your fourth semester, so it’s normal that your attention and care are focused on your baby, but don’t forget that your body has undergone some major changes and needs to heal. Here’s what I take every day to ensure my body stays strong:

1. Baby & Me vitamins from MegaFood. A product made from vegetarian whole foods that’s great during pregnancy and after for moms who breastfeed.
2. B12 in spray format from Garden of Life. It’s especially important to take as a supplement if you’re vegan since vitamin B12 is not found in vegan foods. It’s a type of micro-organism that lives in the soil that once was found in harvested food; however today, the soil is so washed out that it no longer contains any. You can’t rely on the vitamin B12 added to plant-based milks either since they’re not the best source and don’t provide an adequate dose. Don’t worry about your newborn, your milk will provide what he or she needs.
3. Vitamin D3. In the ideal world, we would be able to enjoy the sun 365 days a year, but that’s not our reality. There’s no doubt then that we are definitely not exposed to enough natural vitamin D throughout most winter months. I take 1000 IU in spray format (Garden of Life). This product, which comes from lichen, is 100% vegan.
4. Raspberry leaf tea. This tea is often recommended to decrease heavy periods or to promote fertility, but we forget to mention that it also helps strengthen the uterus post-partum. It tastes good served either hot or iced.
5. Good digestion and regular elimination are important and remain the foundation for good health, regardless of your age. But don’t forget that if you’re breastfeeding and you baby is colicky, probiotics may help. My son suffered from some colic, but once I increased my dose of probiotics, he seemed to benefit.
6. DHA (omegas). Since the reserve we have goes down following delivery (since most is transferred to your beast milk), I make sure to eat various omega-rich foods including flax seeds and chia seeds, but I also take a DHA source supplement extracted from algae.

So in a nutshell that’s my daily supplement cocktail. I’ll let you know more about supplements for kids another time! Cheers to all you supermoms! Audrey Sckoropad