Postpartum Foods: What to Eat After Giving Birth
From China’s “doing the month” to Korea’s seaweed soup, new mothers around the world are fed warm broth. Here’s how to make it work in real life, one-handed.
In this guide
In the weeks after giving birth, food has a funny way of becoming an afterthought. You’re feeding someone else around the clock, sleep comes in scraps, and lunch is whatever you can eat with one hand while the other holds a baby. Yet this is exactly the time your body is asking for more.
Across much of the world, that has always been understood. New mothers are fed, deliberately and generously, with warm, nourishing food. And at the heart of that food, again and again, is broth.
The postpartum tradition the UK forgot
In China, the first month after birth is known as zuo yuezi, or “doing the month”. New mothers rest at home and are brought warming dishes: slow-simmered chicken soups, ginger, and rich broths. In Korea, mothers are served miyeok-guk, a seaweed soup cooked in beef broth, often daily for weeks after birth. It’s so tied to motherhood that Koreans still eat it on their birthdays, to honour the mothers who made it for them. In Hong Kong and across Southeast Asia, families make ginger and vinegar stews and long-boiled soups for the new mother.
| Where | Tradition | What new mums are given |
|---|---|---|
| China | Zuo yuezi, “doing the month” | Slow-simmered chicken soups, ginger, rich broths |
| Korea | Miyeok-guk | Seaweed soup in beef broth, often daily for weeks |
| Hong Kong and Southeast Asia | Confinement cooking | Ginger and vinegar stews, long-boiled soups |
| The UK | — | A lasagne and good luck |
The details vary, but the idea is the same everywhere: warm, easy-to-take food, rich in protein, that a new mother can sip without having to cook it herself. In the UK, we tend to hand new parents a lasagne and wish them luck.
What your body needs after birth
The NHS is clear that you don’t need a special diet while breastfeeding: a varied, balanced diet is the goal, with protein foods like eggs, fish, beans and lean meat, plus plenty of fluids. But the numbers tell you something important. UK guidelines suggest breastfeeding women need around 11g more protein a day while their baby is under six months, and around 8g more after that. That’s on top of what you needed before.
Extra protein needed each day
Protein contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass, and after nine months of pregnancy and a birth, your body has plenty of work to do. The difficulty isn’t knowing that you need it. It’s finding the time, the hands and the energy to actually eat it.
Why the usual advice doesn’t fit real life
Most postpartum food lists assume you have time to cook. Salmon with quinoa. Lentil stews. Homemade bone broth simmered for 16 hours. All lovely ideas, and all completely unrealistic when you’re three weeks in and haven’t finished a cup of tea since the birth.
Ask yourself honestly: how many of your meals this week were eaten sitting down? How many were toast, a biscuit or the last of a toddler’s fish fingers? There’s no judgement in that. It’s simply what early parenthood looks like. Which is exactly why the food that helps most is the food that asks the least of you.
Broth: the original new-mum food, made easy
Bone broth is everything those postpartum traditions were reaching for. It’s warm, it’s gentle, it can be sipped from a mug with one hand, and it brings real protein with it. The only thing that has ever stood in the way is the 16 hours of simmering.
That’s the part we’ve done for you. Our broths are slow-simmered for up to 16 hours, then gently dried into a powder. You add a tablespoon to hot water and stir. That’s it. One tablespoon of Pure Beef gives you 9.6g of protein, which is close to the extra 11g a breastfeeding mum is advised to add each day, in a single mug.
Easy ways to use broth in the fourth trimester
- The night-feed mug. Keep a pouch of Beef Marrow by the kettle. A warm, savoury mug in the small hours is far kinder than another biscuit.
- The one-handed lunch. Stir Chicken + Veg into hot water for a soup-style mug you can drink while feeding or rocking.
- In your morning coffee or tea. Pure Beef has a neutral flavour, so a spoonful in your coffee adds protein without tasting of anything.
- Congee, the classic. Rice simmered slowly in Chicken + Veg until soft and silky is one of the oldest postpartum comfort foods there is. Make a big pot and reheat it all week.
- A gift that actually helps. If you’re visiting new parents, a pouch of broth and a mug is more useful than another babygrow.
What to look for in a broth for new mums
Not all broths are made the same. When you’re feeding a baby, you want to know exactly what you’re putting into your body. Check the label for:
- Real broth, not flavourings. Many stock cubes and “broth” products are mostly salt, sugar and flavour enhancers, with very little protein.
- Protein per serving. If the label doesn’t make it easy to find, that tells you something.
- No fillers. Maltodextrin, cornstarch and gums bulk out a product without adding nourishment.
- Where the meat comes from. Our beef is grass-fed and pasture-raised, and our chicken is free-range.
No salt is added to our Pure Beef and Chicken + Veg broths, and every batch is tested before it reaches you.
Frequently asked questions
Is bone broth safe while breastfeeding?
Broth has been a traditional food for new mothers for centuries, and it’s simply a food, like soup. As with anything, enjoy it as part of a varied diet, and speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP if you have any specific dietary concerns.
How much broth should I have?
One or two mugs a day is an easy, realistic amount. There’s more on this in our guide to how much bone broth to have a day.
Can I have it during pregnancy too?
Yes, broth is a food and can be part of a balanced diet in pregnancy. UK guidelines suggest around 6g extra protein a day during pregnancy, and a mug of broth is a simple way to add some.
Which broth should I start with?
If you want the most protein with the least effort, start with Pure Beef. If you want something warming and savoury to sip, Beef Marrow is rich and deep, and Chicken + Veg tastes like a proper homemade chicken soup.
The bottom line
The postpartum traditions of China, Korea and Hong Kong got something right: new mothers need warm, nourishing food that someone else has made. Broth was the answer then, and it still is. The only difference now is that it takes ten seconds instead of sixteen hours.
Mix and match any pouches and save up to 15%.
Related reading
- Bone broth benefits: why it deserves a place in your diet
- High-protein breakfast ideas without eggs
- 10-minute broth ramen (The Broth Kitchen)
Sources & further reading
Mentioned in this guide
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