The biggest nutrition lessons I learnt from pregnancy & postpartum
Four years ago, I was a health loving high school PE teacher and a qualified health coach. I thought I knew a thing or two about nutrition. But when I got pregnant, I quickly realized how little I actually knew about pregnancy nutrition and how shitty the advice out there really was.
A miscarriage, a second pregnancy, and four years since my first birth… I’ve learned a LOT. Now, as someone who’s spent years studying pregnancy, postpartum, and baby nutrition with Oh Baby School of Nutrition, coaching countless mums, and raising two kids myself—here’s what you actually need to know.
1. Your prenatal supplement matters, A LOT
At my first doctor’s appointment, I was told, “Just grab whatever’s cheapest, as long as it has folic acid.” 🤦♀️
🚨 Let’s be clear: most prenatal vitamins are horrible for you. They contain synthetic ingredients that your body can’t absorb properly and miss key nutrients your body desperately needs.
💊 Key takeaway:
Prenatal vitamins aren’t just for pregnancy they’re essential for at least six weeks postpartum or as long as you’re breastfeeding.
Look for high-quality, bioavailable nutrients.
2. Folic acid vs. activated folate! Not the same thing
Doctors will tell you to take folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. They’re kinda right but they’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle.
Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate. Your body has to convert it before using it, and about 60% of people have a genetic mutation (MTHFR) that makes that conversion shitty or impossible.
👶 Baby benefits: Supports neural tube development, reduces risk of cleft lip/tongue ties, and is essential for DNA synthesis.
🤰 Mum benefits: Lowers the risk of anemia, pre-eclampsia, and placental abruption.
✅ What to do instead: Choose activated folate (labeled as methyltetrahydrofolate, L-Methylfolate, MTHF, or 5-MTHF) and eat folate-rich foods like liver, beans, lentils, strawberries, broccoli, and sunflower seeds.
3. Making two meals will burn you TF out
You think you’ll cook a separate meal for your kids and yourself. I give you two weeks before you’re exhausted, eating cold leftovers, and skipping meals.
The solution? One meal for the whole family.
Yes, your kid will complain. No, that doesn’t mean you should default to toast and nuggets. If your kids won’t eat it, you won’t eat well either.
(PS: I teach this inside Beyond The Hot Mess Mum 1:1 Coaching and The Radiant Mum Reset because it’s that important.)
4. Your body gives zero shits about you
Your baby takes whatever nutrients they need from your stores. If you’re not replenishing, you’ll be left depleted AF.
Key nutrients that take a hit:
🧠 Omegas → Taken from your brain = hello, mum brain (95% of mums are deficient).
🦴 Calcium → Taken from your bones = higher osteoporosis risk.
🦋 Zinc → 40-50% of postpartum mums are deficient = thyroid issues.
💥 Magnesium → Deficiency = headaches, cramps, migraines (that your doctor says are "just normal").
5. What you do in pregnancy affects your postpartum (and beyond)
You are literally building a human. If you’re undernourished in pregnancy, you’ll be undernourished postpartum—and it takes 7-10 years to fully replenish the nutrients your baby took from you.
Postpartum depletion is real AF. It takes 2 years to recover from birth if you’re nourished. Most mums aren’t.
6. Iron – The nutrient 20% of women start pregnancy deficient in
Iron is critical in pregnancy because:
✔️ Blood volume increases by 40-50% in the second trimester.
✔️ Baby builds their iron stores in the third trimester to last 6 months postpartum.
✔️ Birth = blood loss, and most women never fully replenish.
🚨 Most iron supplements are shit (ferrous sulfate and ferrous fumarate cause constipation and nausea).
Low iron = fatigue, dizziness, hair loss, restless legs, hypothyroidism… sound familiar?
How to actually absorb iron from food
✅ Pair iron with Vitamin C (boosts absorption!). Best sources: Camu camu, capsicum, broccoli, strawberries, kiwi.
❌ Avoid iron with caffeine (coffee blocks absorption—wait at least an hour!).
❌ Don’t pair iron with calcium (they compete for absorption). No cheese + burgers if you want that iron boost.
🍳 Cook with cast iron pans (increases iron in food up to 29x!).
🌰 Soak nuts, beans, grains, and seeds (removes phytic acid that blocks absorption).
7. And some non-nutrition lessons you NEED to know
Matrescence hits after every pregnancy, not just the first
Matrescence is the transition into motherhood it’s like puberty, but for mums. And it happens after every single birth.
👀 Things that might shift:
What you love/hate
Your career interests
Your friendships
Your sense of self
After my first baby, it hit me HARD. After my second? Holy FUCK. It hit even harder.
Your nervous system controls everything
No amount of kale smoothies or workouts will fix exhaustion if your nervous system is fried.
🚨 Signs you need nervous system support:
❌ Always feeling like you can’t take a deep breath
❌ Snapping at your kids over small things
❌ Everyday sounds (TV, kids playing) feel like too much
❌ Forgetting why you walked into a room
❌ Chronic headaches, tight shoulders, body buzzing
❌ Feeling exhausted no matter how much sleep you get
This is the real work resetting your nervous system and getting out of survival mode.
Ready to level up your nutrition, mama?
👶 Pregnant? Grab my Pregnancy Nutrition & Exercise eBook HERE
