This Mother’s Day tune into some titles that offer insights on recognising the physical transformation, nutritional needs, and the often-unspoken struggle with postpartum depression that pregnant women and new mothers navigate.
Drawing from the expertise shared by and experiences of Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rujuta Diwekar, and Renese Yvette in their respective audiobooks and podcasts – ‘Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Pregnancy Bible’, ‘Pregnancy Notes’ and ‘The Postpartum Happiness Podcast- Support for Moms in Their First Year’ on Audible, here are a few actionable tips to guide and empower new mothers!
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Kareena Kapoor Khan in ‘Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Pregnancy Bible’ Shares Tips on Maintaining a Well-Balanced Diet & Skincare Routine
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A pregnant woman needs to pay attention to all her micronutrients, especially calcium, iron and vitamin B12.
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Calcium and iron are like love. You’ll find them in the most unexpected places. A few simple go-to options are millets and nuts, and all vegetables.
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Pick up the sabzis that have a local name and are available with your local vegetable vendor. Forget about kale and asparagus.
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Eat dahi every day even as chaas or raita and keep yourself hydrated with water, coconut water, lemonade, amla sharbat, kokum sharbat and so on.
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Use a concoction of almond oil and dahi on the body during pregnancy. Mix them well, about two spoons each and massage it gently on your thighs, tummy and breasts. It helps soften the skin and relax. You can use simple homemade dahi and cold-pressed almond oil as well.
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Rujuta Diwekar in ‘Pregnancy Notes’ Shares Advice on Foods to Consume and Avoid During Pregnancy
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Always begin the day with a fruit or dry fruit. Don’t consume chai or coffee first thing in the morning.
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Don’t use chai or coffee as a replacement for a meal and avoid having tea/coffee late at night, post a meal or dinner or when you step out to meet friends or go for a drive. All of the above are applicable to all kinds of tea.
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The thing to keep an eye out for is your urine. If it smells of tea, that means that one is overdoing it and must keep their caffeine intake within adequate limits during pregnancy.
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Items like chocolates, cupcakes, energy drinks, and cola with caffeine can lead to dehydration during pregnancy.
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Sugar is useful and helpful for the body but only in certain combinations. High amounts of it will leave one feeling drained out. If sugar is added to your chai, it is fine but if added to a Laddoo, Badam Halwa or Kheer, along with the origin, the quantity of sugar matters.
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The origin of a certain ingredient also matters. Sugar from sugarcane is good, but from corn or corn fructose syrup is not good.
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Biscuits, cookies, juices, cereal, flavoured milk and other such packaged health drinks are not good and should be avoided. One must decide whether what you are eating is actually healthy or it is just being marketed as that.
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Renese Yvette in ‘The Postpartum Happiness Podcast- Support for Moms in Their First Year’ Delves Into Post-partum Priorities and Mental Well-being
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As a new mother, you need to check in with yourself and make it a daily practice. Ask yourself at regular intervals – What are my thoughts?
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Try to understand your feelings. Ask yourself, what are my feelings? What have I been feeling lately? Your well-being is just as important as your baby’s.
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Document your feelings. You can journal about it, or we all have our phones on us so you can use the notes app on your phone and just make a little note for yourself.
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Create a scale from 1-10 with one side being negative feelings like stressed, sad, overwhelmed, angry, and frustrated, the middle can be neutral and on the other side, positive emotions such as happy, great and overjoyed. Use that scale for both your thoughts, be it negative or positive. At some point, if you are worried or depressed, going out for a walk or a change in environment will help.
