Meet Jess, she knows the importance nutrition plays in both the health and comfort of a new mother, she has created a broth based meal business - Made for Mothers - to support and nurture women through their postpartum recovery. Her offering includes carefully curated Postpartum Packages with elixir broth cubes, collagen rich broths and restorative meals.

At our practitioner support circle, recently hosted within our Paddington Community Kitchen in celebration of the launch of our Orchard Street smoothie collaboration, we connected with Jess to talk to her about what and how she believes we can best nurture mothers in the fourth trimester.

How can new mothers best support themselves through such a life changing event?   

Education is definitely empowerment. And embrace and include your support group with your postpartum plan. Make sure they are empowered too! Reading and learning about other cultures and their way of recovering postpartum can be inspiring and often a good place to start. 

How can partners, family and close friends better support the new mother?   

Be on board with the new mothers postpartum plans. What sort of cocoon does she want to create? - such as how long does she want to stay at home? How many visitors does she want to have and how regular? Make sure they know the duties they can help with so she can feel completely focused on her recovery and bonding with her baby. Such as… planning food drops, laundry folding, house cleaning etc.  I would also say it is so important for them to celebrate a new mother (not just baby). It is an important and beautiful part of traditional postpartum care. 

How can we as a wider community better support new parents through this transition?  

Listening and offering a space for new mothers to feel comfortable to open up so that they feel supported. Birth circles are beautiful. I think mums and bubs classes were always a beautiful space for mothers to go and connect. I think reaching out when there’s a new mother and offering food drops or rosters to care for her are a wonderful thing. I suppose that last point is within an intimate community. But being aware as a wider community in case there’s a mother who doesn’t have a tight support group to care for her is worth noting too…. 

What was the most challenging thing you experienced as a new mother? 

Hmm. I think handling the emotion for my first bubs when her sister came onto the scene was challenging for me. And my emotions too. To have my first bubs suddenly become a big sister. I found that tough! 

What are your favourite herbs for the postpartum mother? 

I love nettle for its nutritive offering. I love ginger - so warming. And I always love chamomile for its calming qualities. I also love Oat straw for its benefits to the nervous system and thereby support for lactation.

Tell us more about the role of bone-broths and slow cooked meals in the post-partum healing journey. 

The journey of a woman's body from pregnancy to birth to postpartum is huge. Her nutrient stores are often depleted, there can be a lot of blood loss, her digestive fire is often weakened and she needs to then feed her baby while her body repairs the damage and strain to her connective tissue. Therefore the need for nutrient dense foods like collagen rich bone broths and easily digested and hearty slow cooked meals is vital. These foods will give a new mother the nutrients she needs and in a way that her body doesn't need to work so hard to absorb. Therefore she can use her energy for the other tasks she has on hand like looking after her baby and for her internal body to be mending. They will help her ignite her digestive fire and thereby keep her warm. I also think they are the most nurturing and comforting foods you can consume, perfect for postpartum recovery.

Discover more about Jess, here here

Learn more about our community kitchen and Paddington store here  | Learn more about the Nature Baby x Orchard St collaboration here