The postpartum confinement period is a crucial time for mothers to recover physically, as they have weaker constitutions and need to be extra careful with daily life details and dietary arrangements. Modern mothers are increasingly valuing scientifically observing postpartum confinement by promoting postpartum health recovery through proper diet and moderate exercise. Below is a detailed 42-day postpartum meal guide for mothers to refer to.
First week postpartum: The focus during this stage is on draining fluids, reducing swelling, and promoting lochia discharge. Due to the fragile digestive system of postpartum women and poor appetite, the diet should be light and easily digestible, starting with regulating the spleen and stomach. Additionally, foods that help promote blood circulation and resolve stasis, such as about 100g of pig liver daily, can be consumed to nourish the blood. Specific meal plans include: drinking biochemistry soup before breakfast and having pig liver chestnut millet congee for breakfast; drinking biochemistry soup before lunch and having pig liver coix seed rice for lunch, with chicken silk millet soup in the afternoon; drinking biochemistry soup before dinner and having vegetarian stew or eight treasure porridge for dinner, with red bean soup as an evening snack.
Second week postpartum: This week focuses on protecting the liver and kidneys and increasing breast milk secretion. The diet should include moderate amounts of animal-derived foods, combined with fruits and vegetables to promote nutrient absorption from meat. Simultaneously, dietary therapy methods can be used to stimulate breast milk production. Breakfast includes salad oil pig stomach, vegetables, and sweet glutinous rice porridge; lunch consists of dried longans stewed with pig heart, vegetables, and coix seed rice, with pig trotter peanut soup or oil rice in the afternoon; dinner includes crucian carp tofu soup, Eucommia ulmoides pig stomach, and vegetarian stew, with red bean soup as an evening snack.
Third and fourth weeks postpartum: At this point, the mother’s body has partially recovered, lochia has mostly ceased, and breast milk secretion has increased. The dietary goal is to further tonify qi and nourish blood, accelerate physical recovery, and explore beauty through dietary therapy. Breakfast options include sesame oil chicken, black sesame coix seed porridge, and fruits; lunch is beef, vegetables, and snakehead fish mushroom radish soup; dinner consists of fish soup, vegetables, and coix seed rice, with a special preparation of shiitake mushroom glutinous rice in the evening.
Days 30-42 postpartum: In the final stage, the focus shifts to body shape recovery, utilizing scientifically controlled fat intake through postpartum meals to aid in weight loss. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks revolve around various nutritious porridges, soups, and balanced combinations of meats and vegetables, such as fresh fish soup, pig stomach soup, various grain porridge, and rich vegetable and meat combinations, with jujube swallow’s nest prepared as nourishment in the evening.
In summary, postpartum diet directly impacts the mother’s recovery and the infant’s nutrition, emphasizing balanced nutrition, avoiding greasy and spicy foods, scientific postpartum confinement, starting with good dietary practices.
