Chapter 1: The Recovery Pathway Congratulations! If you've picked up this cookbook, you're likely preparing for the arrival of your baby, or perhaps you've recently welcomed your little one into the world. What a remarkable accomplishment. Your body has completed some miraculous feats to get you to this point, and while your little miracle rightly deserves all of your attention when they arrive, we also want to ensure that YOU, the extraordinary mama, are well-taken care of. Before we dive into what to focus on nutritionally to fuel your postpartum recovery, it's important to recognize the incredible journey your body undertook to grow and deliver a baby. In this chapter, we'll touch on the transformational changes your body goes through during pregnancy, the exceptionally physically demanding feat of labor and delivery, and the lengthy recovery process. Pregnancy First, let's start with the nine-month journey during which your body provided all the building blocks to grow a human being. Stop for a moment and think about that - virtually everything (except for a sperm carrying DNA) came from your body! Every facet of your baby's being, from the tips of their tiny toes to the crown of their head, was crafted from the nutrients within you. It's no wonder many nutrient requirements, including protein, folate, and iron increase significantly during this time. Even the water within your baby's body originated from yours! It's truly a remarkable realization. And if you choose to breastfeed exclusively, this incredible connection continues. Throughout pregnancy, your body undergoes a multitude of physical changes to support the growth of a new human. It's a period where you grow an entirely new organ - the placenta - an incredible feat that occurs at no other stage of life. These extensive changes starting from conception, impact various systems within your body, and it's essential to highlight them as many directly influence the nutritional requirements during pregnancy and the postpartum recovery period. Excerpted from The Postpartum Nutrition Cookbook: Nourishing Foods for New Moms in the First 40 Days and Beyond by Diana Licalzi, Ashley Reaver All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
