Foods To Help You Prepare For Labour And Birth
A nutrient-dense, wholefoods diet will help to ensure you have a normal, full-term pregnancy and a healthy baby. The same diet can also dramatically affect the ease and duration of your labour.
Continuing to eat well and building up your nutrient stores throughout these final weeks of pregnancy will be hugely beneficial to you and your baby.
Keep reading to learn what nutrients are critical during this stage of your pregnancy, how eating a diet rich in these will benefit you and your baby during birth and beyond, and get recipes which will keep you hydrated and energised during labour.
What foods are important during this final stage of pregnancy?
Your intake of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, glycine and zinc are particularly important during the third trimester. Protein and glycine are essential for your baby's growth, the immune system and for building energy stores in preparation for labour and the fourth trimester.
Omega-3s are essential to fuel your baby's ongoing brain development. Adequate amounts of zinc may result in more efficient contractions and labour, reduce the likelihood of postnatal depression, help you heal and recover more quickly after birth, and offer protection against cracked nipples if you breastfeed.
At this late stage of pregnancy, your protein requirement increases to around 50g (2oz) per day and zinc to 20mg per day. Good sources of protein include chicken and fish, eggs, beans, chickpeas, nut or seed butter, natural yoghurt. Zinc-rich foods include green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, lentils, almonds and lamb.
The production of birth hormones, such as beta-endorphin, oxytocin and prolactin, which stimulate the stages of labour and breastfeeding, is dependent on the vitamins and minerals found in your diet. These hormones require adequate amounts of Vitamin C in the last month of pregnancy — good sources are citrus fruits, kiwi fruits, green leafy vegetables and pumpkin. These birth hormones also require copper, zinc and calcium found in green leafy vegetables, bone broths, dairy products, lamb and beef; as well as B vitamins.
The minerals iron and magnesium found in red meat, green leafy vegetables, lentils and nuts are active components of the body's production of natural hormones called endorphins. Endorphins are your body's natural pain relievers and will be released in higher amounts during labour. How well your cells respond to prolactin, oxytocin and endorphins depends on sulphur-containing amino acids which are found in egg yolks, meat, organ meat and broths (see our Bone Broth recipe here).
During the final weeks of your pregnancy, calcium, magnesium and potassium are necessary for Braxton-Hicks, or practice contractions, to be efficient in thinning out and dilating the cervix before true labour begins.
Building up your Vitamin K stores prior to giving birth is also important. This fat-soluble nutrient is essential for effective blood clotting for you and your baby. You can find vitamin K in kale, parsley, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, brown rice, egg yolks and nettle tea. Eating a diet rich in vitamin K and drinking two cups of nettle tea for the last six weeks of your pregnancy may reduce the need for your baby to have a Vitamin K injection. You may wish to speak with your health care provider about this.
Adequate nutrition is also essential for bonding and breastfeeding to proceed smoothly.
The recipes we've shared, and will continue to share during your final weeks of pregnancy, are designed to deliver these essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. What you've been eating throughout your pregnancy, and what you eat in the coming weeks can help to support and enhance the birth experience for you and your baby.
What about food during labour?
For many women, the labour process may initiate a 'clearing' from the digestive tract. This may result in being sick or having diarrhoea, and is a natural preparation for birth. However, this can dehydrate your body so sip small amounts of filtered water to replenish water stores. You can also mix up these hydrating labour drinks to give you energy and keep you hydrated throughout labour and birth.
Eat light snacks during labour to support your energy levels. Good snacks are:
Banana
Natural yoghurt
Handful of dried fruit
Grapes
Nuts and seeds
Of course, the foods eaten during labour vary from one woman to another. Listen to your body, have a variety of snacks on hand, and delegate the job of keeping you fuelled and hydrated to a member of your support team.