One thing that’s not talked about after giving birth is depletion. Being pregnant is like running a 40-week marathon. It takes a HUGE toll on the body. Our bodies are incredible in that they can handle the demands placed upon them to grow a healthy baby but that does not go without taking essential nutrients from you to give to your baby. Exactly why prenatal vitamins, supplementation, and a healthy diet are so important – not just for the baby but also for you, mama.
After birth, your doctors will ask if you have signs of postpartum depression. But just because you aren’t experiencing depression, doesn’t mean your feelings of complete exhaustion, baby brain, loneliness, anxiety, and the emotional highs and lows aren’t valid. This is all very normal, but no one talks about it. This is what depletion feels like. Your body has taken everything from you to give to your baby. This happens throughout your pregnancy and throughout postpartum as you’re breastfeeding.
I don’t want you to suffer like I did through sleepless nights, uncontrollable anxiety, the stress that came with getting back to work too soon, the pressure to get back down to my post-baby weight, and the fear of judgment for having to supplement with formula. It was not easy and I felt all alone because everyone on social media seemed to have it all together. What was wrong with me?
It turns out, that close to 90% of moms at some point – newborn, toddler, or young child, suffer from these symptoms. BUT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT. You’re expected to be happy and smile through the utter exhaustion, despite all of your deprivation.
The good news is, you don’t have to suffer. Once we uncover what your deficiencies are, we can restore them so that most if not all of these symptoms start to fade away. This is why nutrition and supplementation is so vital both during and after pregnancy.
Why is nutrition alone not enough to get all of the key nutrients? Because our soil has been stripped of its nutrients and it’s not getting replenished. Therefore, our fruits and veggies have become much less nutrient-dense than they once were. Don’t get me wrong, organic fruits and veggies still contain essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants needed to keep our bodies at a baseline. However, when we become deficient (due to pregnancy) we need more of these nutrients for us to truly restore. This means that we need healthy, strategic supplementation to get back to our baseline. Once we’re back, supplementation likely may no longer be needed.
Some of the key nutrients you need during this time are –
Iron – iron is so important and most women don’t get enough. This is a key micronutrient for our energy, protection against oxidation (which causes free radicals and leads to disease, and cancer), and helps our liver with proper detoxification. Iron makes hemoglobin, which is the molecule that brings oxygen to your blood cells. The reason most women are deficient is because our bodies can only absorb 18% of iron we get from animal sources (read red meat), and only 10% from plant sources. Therefore it is essential, especially during pregnancy, postpartum, and menstruation to get enough and why supplementation is often needed.
Vitamin D3 – this is foundational for your body’s absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc. It helps to control inflammation, strengthen bones, and is essential for helping nearly every cell in your body get work done. During pregnancy, vitamin D3 is essential for supporting healthy fetal growth and has been shown to reduce risk of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes. Your growing baby needs vitamin D to develop strong bones, teeth, kidneys, heart, and nervous system. Vitamin D is especially important postnatal to boost mood, keep your immune system strong, and support healthy blood sugar metabolism.
Vitamin B12 – vitamin B12 builds, repairs, and detoxes the body. It also supports a healthy immune system and protects our DNA from damage. Postpartum, it’s essential to help restore and repair your body, to boost your energy production, and keep you healthy while you’re sleep-deprived. During pregnancy, B12 is vital in the growth and development of your baby. High levels of copper with low levels of B12 can be a contributing factor in what’s causing brain fog.
OMEGA 3 – most of us have a higher OMEGA 6 to OMEGA 3 ratio, leading to inflammation. Even if you’re like me and eat wild-caught salmon 2x per week and organic olive oil 2x per day, you are likely to still not be getting enough OMEGA 3s. OMEGA 3s are the building blocks of brain development for your baby and your brain postnatal. What I didn’t realize until after both of my pregnancies was that if you’re not making enough OMEGA 3s for your baby, your body won’t let your baby go without and will start to pull from stores in your brain to give to your baby. Yes, baby brain is real and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
Zinc – often overlooked, zinc is a key player in your body’s overall functioning. Zinc is especially important during postpartum. A zinc deficiency during postpartum can be a risk factor for postpartum depression. Zinc is important for digestive health, strengthening immunity, making the brain’s chemical messengers (neurotransmitters), hormone regulation, and synthesizing DNA.
Magnesium – the ‘Mama Mineral’. Making sure every bodily function gets done properly. Magnesium plays a role in almost every cell in your body. It supports your energy production, muscle movement, and recovery, nerve function, improves sleep and enhances relaxation, stabilizes blood sugar, supports the production of DHEA, supports bone health, and much more. If your magnesium levels are low, you’ll experience brain fog, muscle tension and cramps, poor sleep and fatigue, and poor concentration to name a few.
In addition to nutrition and supplementation where you need it to help restore your body, sleep is imperative to a healthy baby and a healthy mama. During pregnancy, your body is working overtime to grow a tiny human – you need a LOT of rest. It’s completely normal to feel more tired and want to sleep more. This is the time to listen to your body, take it easy, and go to bed earlier or nap during the day (if you can!). Sleep is the time when you’re body is restoring and repairing itself. In addition to nutrition and supplementation, this is the single most important thing you can do for yourself and your baby. Sleep deprivation has been associated with longer labor times, premature birth, and a higher level of pain during labor and delivery.
After pregnancy, you, unfortunately, won’t have the luxury of getting much sleep. So get it in where you can! I struggled with this because I have a complex about getting up early and when it’s a sunny day, I want to be outside getting fresh air. But I’ve come to learn that sleep is much more important than anything else. It’s foundational to your health. Because your sleep with a newborn is interrupted every 20 – 60 minutes, to 2 – 3 hours (if you’re lucky), in the beginning, your body is not able to heal and repair itself as effectively. This leads to even further depletion and has a significant impact on your mental health and well-being. So make sure you can get sleep as often as you can, whenever you can – I know this is much easier said than done! And it will get better but in the first several weeks, this should be a top priority.
Once you’re feeling up to it and your body has started to heal (it’s always best to consult your doctor first), movement is an essential part of combatting these symptoms and starting to feel like your pre-baby self again. Getting outside for a walk is one of the best things you can do! You will feel so much better and be in a much better mental state. It can help with your post-delivery soreness. Stretching or very gentle yin yoga also feels amazing. You’ll be sitting and hunched over the majority of the time (holding your baby, nursing, etc.), and likely very stiff after all your body has endured, so some light stretching will feel amazing.
Even if just for 10 minutes 3 times a week, some kind of gentle movement will help you feel better both physically and mentally. It will also help to stimulate your lymphatic system to flush out toxins, allowing your body to heal and restore faster.
Make sure you are not pushing your body too hard, it’s already working overtime to heal you don’t need to put more stress on it.
When you start combining a healthy diet, proper supplementation, sleep, and movement you will be astonished at how much better you feel. You don’t have to live with brain fog, anxiety, low energy, moodiness, indecision, and pain. I truly want to help you feel better and don’t want you to suffer like I did.
If you’re looking to go deeper and understand what YOUR specific deficiencies and toxicities are, we can do lab testing. Based on your data, we can customize a protocol to eliminate any “guess” work and start restoring your deficiencies and eliminate your toxins.
Jenn Wyman: Creating Wellness Habits 
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