Nourished By Kimberley

Something I posted this week seemed to land for a lot of people, so I wanted to bring it here properly.

I had this moment recently where I thought about how wild it is that we live in a world where a woman can literally grow and birth an entire human being, and then feel like she needs to justify spending the first few weeks in bed. Like, apologise for it almost. Like rest is somehow the indulgent option.

And I just want to say, very clearly: it is not.

Here’s what I find fascinating. 

Across cultures and across centuries, there has always been a recognised period of rest after birth. In Latin America it’s called la cuarentena, around 40 days of recovery and protection. In China, zuo yuezi, “sitting the month.” In Colonial America and across Europe, the lying-in period, which could last from a fortnight to two months. These weren’t seen as luxuries. They were considered essential, for the mother, the baby, and the whole family.

And what did all of these traditions have in common? Women were fed. Women were supported. Women were not expected to be functional within days of doing one of the most physically demanding things a human body can do.

What changed?

The short answer is a lot, and not for the better. But what hasn’t changed is what your body actually needs after birth. That part is still very much the same.

The postpartum period is one of the most nutritionally demanding seasons of a woman’s life. Your body has just spent nine months growing a whole person, it’s navigating a dramatic hormonal shift, digestion is reorganising itself, tissues are healing, and if you’re breastfeeding, your nutrient requirements increase significantly across nearly every single area.

We’re talking protein for tissue repair, healthy fats to stabilise blood sugar and support breast milk, iron to replenish what was lost, vitamin A, choline, omega-3. This is not the moment to push through on adrenaline and biscuits.

And yet. That is often exactly what happens.

I’ve lived it and the women I work with tell me about it constantly. The pressure to be “back to normal” before your body has had any chance to recover is real, and it is doing real harm.

So if you’re in those early weeks and you’re struggling, I want you to know that what you’re feeling is not weakness. It is your body telling you something it very much needs you to hear.

Nourishing yourself in this season is so so important. 

And staying in bed while someone brings you warm soup and you feed your baby and do absolutely nothing else, it’s ancient, evidence-backed wisdom that we somehow decided to skip

You don’t have to earn your rest. You grew a human. You’ve done enough.