Top 7 Healing Drinks and Teas for Postpartum
Drinks are underrated and under-discussed when it comes to how to meet your nutrient needs in postpartum and how to to support not only your postpartum healing after birth but your nutrient repletion, gut health, hydration and stress levels as a new mom.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with getting in healthy postpartum meals, why not start with a healing postpartum drink or tea?
Now is the time to adjust your expectations, and fit in postpartum nutrition strategies that feel doable for you, depending on what your energy levels are in this moment.
I really like talking to my postpartum nutrition clients about drinks because they are often easier to add to your day in the demands of life with a baby at home compared to meals, they help you get and stay hydrated (which can be so tough to stay on top of, especially with breastfeeding!), and they can become a self-care ritual that supports your nervous system and stress levels.
Read on to learn about the best nutritious drinks for postpartum recovery, whether you want to support your physical healing after birth, your postpartum nutrient repletion, your gut health, or your postpartum mental health.
Healing drinks for postpartum recovery
When we talk about what healing meals to make to stock your freezer for postpartum, or what foods to prioritize to support your healing after birth, there are a few key foundations that stand out.
Ideal nutrition after birth is focused on liquid-heavy, soft, easy to digest and nutrient dense foods, which is why meals like soups and stews are recommended the most.
These principles don’t just apply to meals, but to drinks too! Warm drinks full of essential minerals and vitamins, healing herbs, digestive aids, and comforting broths are a perfect addition to your postpartum recovery and wellbeing. From broths, to nutritious healing milks, to the best herbal teas for postpartum, these drinks fit your postpartum nutrition needs perfectly.
Healing drinks for postpartum nutrient repletion
In the months and even years after you have a baby, your body is slowly adding back key nutrients to your nutrient bank account. It gets kinda low after we spend spend spend over 9 months of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding! Building a baby is a serious expense - and not just when it comes to money!
Being low in key nutrients is an impactful reason why we sometimes don’t feel like our best selves in postpartum and suffer with exhaustion, poor sleep, low mood, low libido, and more.
Adding in a functional drink or two to your day can help you to add in a solid dose of nutrients, without the effort, time, and energy that’s usually required when making a meal.
Plus, healing postpartum drinks also help you to hit your hydration goals - which can be hard to do, especially if you’re breastfeeding!
Healing drinks for postpartum gut health
If you’re experiencing gut changes or complaints in your postpartum life, you’re not alone! Things like constipation, IBS-like symptoms, discomfort, and heartburn are common in postpartum.
Research has documented that your gut microbes can actually change in this phase of life, due in large part to the sleep deprivation and lack of nutrient dense diet that many of us experience, plus things like breast infections and postpartum complications that can alter the types of bacteria that are thriving in our gut.
Your postpartum gut health can impact how you feel in all aspects of your life, including both your physical and your mental health.
Healing drinks for postpartum can support your postpartum microbiome by providing needed hydration as well as prebiotic, probiotic, and postbiotic foods including bone broth, chia seeds, loaded plant smoothies, and healing herbs and spices.
Most healing postpartum drinks are warm liquids, which can have a beneficial influence on digestion, constipation, and comfort.
Healing drinks for postpartum mental health
Because the gut-brain connection is very real and your nutrient status contributes significantly to your mental health, all of the healing postpartum drinks mentioned below support your mental health, too.
Specifically, a group of herbs called Nervines can more powerfully support your nervous system, helping to decrease postpartum stress and anxiety and increase feelings of calm and peace. Nervine herbs are amazing choices for postpartum healing teas, tonics, and even as a base for juices, smoothies, lattes, and broths.
Here’s are the 7 best healing postpartum drinks to add to your day:
Broths, including bone broth and veggie broths
Broths created by simmering nutritious ingredients over a long period of time are a super liquid when it comes to postpartum healing drinks. Bone broth, which we talk about a lot in postpartum nutrition, is a hydrating natural electrolyte beverage that is a great source of essential minerals, proteins like collagen and glycine, and even some important fat. All of the things you need lots of in postpartum!
Veggie broths can be supportive too, especially if you add in mineral rich ingredients like seaweeds, turmeric, ginger, and goji berries.
For more on broths, download the Essential Bone Broth Guide here.
Nutritive herbal teas
Did you know that herbal teas are packed full of some of the most important vitamins and minerals for postpartum? Many ideal postpartum herbal teas are anti-inflammatory, high in antioxidants, and are sources of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, potassium, selenium, zinc, and B vitamins.
Herbal teas highest in these key postpartum nutrients include nettles, raspberry leaf, alfalfa, oat straw, and rooibos. These nutritive herbal teas for postpartum can be purchased separetely, either at your local health food store, or in bulk. I love combining these herbs in a large glass jar to make my own at-home (and budget-friendly) postpartum healing herbal tea mix.
Nervine herbal teas
Nervines are a group of herbs that support your nervous system and can be a support to reduce stress, overwhelm, and anxiety. Nervine herbal teas are a great self-care ritual that combines a warm, comforting drink with herbal support for feeling calm and relaxed. Some amazing nervine herbal teas for postpartum include camomile, lemon balm, lavender, and oat straw.
Warming Spiced Milks
In many cultures, milks infused with healing herbs and spices are a central component of early postpartum care. Warm milks, especially at night, are also prominent in the Ayurvedic postpartum nourishment tradition to support healing, energy, repletion, and sleep. A base of milk provides rich minerals in addition to needed protein, energy, and fat, and the added herbs and spices offer anti-inflammatory support, healing support, and mood support.
Simmering milk with herbs and spices like ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and even supportive fats like ghee make an incredibly nourishing drink or liquid snack.
The Golden Milk Latte is a delicious and comforting example of this type of healing drink.
Healing Tea Lattes
To combine the nourishing potential of nutritive or nervine herbal teas, healing and digestive spices, and warm milk, healing tea lattes are an amazingly healing drink for postpartum.
To make a healing postpartum tea latte, start by preparing tea with a healing herb like camomile and then add a hearty dose of warm milk infused with spices like cardamom.
There's so many options here, including using bone broth in place of the tea, and stirring collagen in for protein, or ghee or melted coconut oil in for needed fats.
Postpartum Smoothies
Smoothies get a bad rap in some postpartum nutrition circles because they are traditionally served cold, which goes against the gold standard of warm meals and drinks for postpartum.
But guess what? Smoothies actually don’t have to be cold - they can be room temperature or even warm, and include digestion friendly postpartum superfoods like baked sweet potato, stewed fruits, milk, spices, and even bone broth!
No matter how you prefer your smoothies, they can be a great, time and energy friendly way to get in fibre-rich fruits and vegetables, which tend to fall out of many postpartum mothers' diets because of the overwhelm, lack of support, and exhaustion we experience during postpartum.
Chia seed drinks
One of the most important ways to be nourished well in postpartum is to be hydrated well. Proper hydration influences your heathy postpartum healing, your postpartum mental health, your digestion, and even your body temperature and sleep (hello night sweats!).
Chia seeds are incredibly hydrating, in addition to being a powerful source of key postpartum nutrients like protein, fibre, and omega-3 fats. Because they absorb 10x their weight in liquid, chia seeds are one of the most truly hydrating foods you can eat.
Chia seeds can be added to smoothies or to any drink or liquid you’re enjoying. My personal favourite is to include chia seeds in room temperature water with lemon and a bit of honey. Stir until the chia seeds gel, and enjoy.
If you’re ready to start adding healing postpartum drinks to your day and optimize your recovery, energy, and body, you can find recipes for all of these types of healing postpartum drinks in The Ultimate Postpartum Nutrition Guide.