Your hormones after birth: what's really going on
Last week I joined a webinar on a woman's hormone journey, from our very first period right through to menopause, click here to listen. My slot was motherhood, and I had eight minutes. Eight minutes to cover the biggest hormonal shift of a woman's life. So here's the longer version, for whenever you have a quiet moment (or a baby asleep on your chest).
In my last post, Postnatal Nutrition for Your Mood, I shared everyday snacks and shortcuts for the fourth trimester. This time I want to go deeper into the why: what each of your hormones is doing after birth, which nutrients they rely on, and a few simple recipes to put it into practice.
I also want to talk about something I get asked about more and more, and that very little is written about, postnatal recovery when you have ADHD.
Pregnancy is the only time in life your hormones climb this high, and birth is the fastest they ever fall. If you've felt like a different person since your baby arrived, there's a reason. Every mum I sit across from has felt some version of it.
Meet the hormones running your fourth trimester
When your placenta is delivered, the main source of your pregnancy hormones leaves with it. Within days, oestrogen falls to a tiny fraction of its pregnancy peak. Here's who's doing what.
Oestrogen drops sharply within days of birth and stays low while you're breastfeeding. How it can feel: tearful, low, foggy, with dry skin or achy joints.
Progesterone falls alongside oestrogen. It has a naturally calming effect, so losing it can unsettle your sleep. How it can feel: on edge, with broken or restless sleep.
Prolactin stays high if you're breastfeeding, to make milk. It keeps oestrogen low and your periods away. How it can feel: thirsty, hungry, and cosy and sleepy during feeds.
Oxytocin is released with every feed, cuddle and skin-to-skin moment. It helps your womb shrink and your milk flow. How it can feel: warm and bonded, with sudden waves of thirst mid-feed.
Cortisol is your stress hormone. Broken nights, a crying baby and skipped meals all push it up. How it can feel: wired but tired, anxious, craving sugar.
Thyroid hormones control your energy and metabolism. In some women the thyroid becomes inflamed in the months after birth (postpartum thyroiditis). How it can feel: a racing heart or anxiety at first, then later exhaustion, weight changes or low mood.
There's one more shift that often catches mums off guard, when you stop breastfeeding. As prolactin falls and your cycle returns, some women feel a second wave of low mood or anxiety months after birth. It's real, and it's worth knowing about.
If exhaustion doesn't lift, or you notice a racing heart, feeling hot all the time, or a big change in weight, ask your GP to check your thyroid. A simple blood test can rule it in or out.
The nutrients your hormones are asking for
Hormones aren't made from thin air. Your body builds them from protein, fats, vitamins and minerals, and pregnancy and breastfeeding draw on exactly those stores. Research links low levels of iron, folate, B12, zinc and omega-3 with a higher risk of low mood after birth. Here's how they connect to the hormones above.
Iodine is the raw material for thyroid hormones. Breastfeeding raises your needs to around 200 mcg a day, and many UK mums fall short. Find it in: milk, yoghurt, cheese, eggs, and white fish like cod or haddock.
Selenium helps convert and protect thyroid hormones.
Find it in: 1–2 Brazil nuts a day (no more), eggs, fish and chicken.
Iron matters because low iron can feel like exhaustion and brain fog, and your thyroid needs iron to work properly.
Find it in: red meat, eggs, lentils, chickpeas, and dark leafy greens with a squeeze of lemon.
Magnesium helps calm your stress response and supports sleep.
Find it in: pumpkin seeds, almonds, oats, spinach, beans and 70% dark chocolate.
B12 and folate work as a team to make healthy blood and the brain chemicals linked to mood.
Find them in: eggs, meat, fish and dairy for B12; leafy greens, chickpeas, lentils and avocado for folate.
Zinc supports healing, immunity and the brain chemicals that steady your mood.
Find it in: pumpkin seeds, eggs, beef, chickpeas, cashews and shellfish.
Omega-3 calms inflammation and is used to build your baby's brain, so your own stores run down.
Find it in: salmon, sardines and mackerel (up to twice a week if breastfeeding), walnuts, chia and ground flax.
Protein and healthy fats are the building blocks for hormones and for repairing your body after birth.
Find them in: eggs, Greek yoghurt, chicken, fish, beans, olive oil and avocado.
Vitamin D is linked with mood and immunity. The NHS recommends 10 mcg a day, especially through autumn and winter. Find it in: a daily supplement, plus oily fish and eggs.
A note on supplements. Food comes first, but a good postnatal multivitamin can be a helpful safety net while you're surviving on very little sleep. Studies of single supplements for postnatal mood have shown mixed results, so more isn't always better. If you're plant-based, iodine and B12 need extra care: check your plant milk is fortified. And if you're worried about your iron or thyroid, ask your GP for a blood test before you supplement.
Blood sugar, your gut and water: the three quiet helpers
Steady blood sugar, calmer stress hormones
When you skip a meal or run on biscuits, your blood sugar dips. Your body's fix is to release cortisol and adrenaline to push it back up. That's the same rush you feel when you're anxious. So on top of broken sleep, a blood sugar dip can leave you shaky, snappy and foggy, or make anxious feelings louder.
The simplest fix is, give every meal and snack some protein. It slows the rollercoaster down. Toast becomes toast with peanut butter. A banana comes with a handful of almonds.
Your gut and your mood
Your gut and brain are in constant conversation, and your gut bacteria help make some of the chemicals that influence mood. Birth, antibiotics and a C-section can all knock those bacteria off balance, and constipation is very common in the early weeks.
Fermented foods: natural yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut. A spoonful a day is a great start.
Fibre and variety: oats, beans, lentils, fruit, veg, nuts and seeds. Each different plant feeds a different group of good bacteria, so aim for variety over quantity.
Water: more than you think
Breastfeeding raises your fluid needs, and oxytocin is the reason you get that sudden thirst as your milk lets down.
My rule: a glass of water every time your baby feeds. Keep a big bottle wherever you usually sit to feed.
A simple day on a plate
Breakfast: porridge made with milk, stirred with nut butter and topped with berries and pumpkin seeds
Mid-morning: Greek yoghurt with a spoonful of ground flax
Lunch: a jacket potato or toast with tinned sardines or baked beans and cheese, plus a handful of salad leaves
Afternoon: oatcakes with houmous, 1–2 Brazil nuts
Dinner: one of the recipes below, or a lentil bolognese from the freezer
Throughout: a glass of water with every feed
For more snack and shortcut ideas, my fourth trimester post has a whole list.
Postnatal recovery when you have ADHD
When I contributed to Mum, Interrupted: The ADHD Woman's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond by Sarah Marsh, it struck me how little practical support exists for ADHD mums once the baby arrives. Living in a neurodivergent household myself, I know how much harder "just eat regular meals" can be.
Why the hormone drop can hit harder
Oestrogen supports dopamine, the brain chemical involved in focus, motivation and reward, and dopamine is already harder to regulate in ADHD. That's why many women notice their ADHD symptoms shift around their period, and why some find pregnancy, with its high oestrogen, a surprisingly settled time.
Then birth arrives and oestrogen plummets. Many ADHD mums tell me their forgetfulness, overwhelm and emotional ups and downs suddenly feel much bigger. Add sleep deprivation, and perhaps a pause in medication during pregnancy or breastfeeding, and it's a lot.
The research backs this up. A 2023 Swedish study found that mums with ADHD were around five times more likely to be diagnosed with postnatal depression, and over five times more likely to have postnatal anxiety, than mums without ADHD. That isn't meant to frighten you. It's a reason to put support in place early.
Why eating well is harder with ADHD
Forgetting to eat. Hunger signals can be hard to notice at the best of times, and a newborn is the ultimate distraction.
Planning and prep. Meal planning relies on the executive function skills that ADHD and sleep loss both make harder.
Sensory sensitivities. Strong smells, mixed textures or "surprise" foods can be off-putting, so the same few safe foods become the default.
Impulsive grazing. When blood sugar crashes, the quickest dopamine hit is usually sugar.
Medication. Stimulant medication can blunt appetite, especially in the morning.
What actually helps
Tie food to feeds, not to hunger. Every time your baby feeds, you eat something too. Your baby becomes the reminder.
Make food visible. Out of sight really is out of mind. Keep a snack basket in clear view where you feed, and a fruit bowl on the counter.
Same-food rotations are fine. Choose three or four breakfasts and lunches you like and repeat them. Then add nutrition to them, rather than reinventing them. A spoonful of seeds in your usual yoghurt counts.
Use phone alarms for meals, water and supplements. Pair supplements with something you already do, like making your morning coffee.
Hand over the planning. Ask a partner or friend to do the shopping list, or use a weekly online shop saved as a favourite.
Prioritise the dopamine helpers. Protein at breakfast, iron-rich foods, omega-3, zinc and magnesium all feed into how your brain makes and uses dopamine. Your body needs iron to turn the protein you eat into dopamine.
Talk to your doctor or perinatal team about your ADHD medication plan before and after birth, especially if you're breastfeeding. Don't change or stop medication without advice.
If you're an ADHD mum reading this and nodding along: the hardest part isn't knowing what to eat, it's the doing. That's not a willpower problem. It's a system problem, and systems can be built.
Three simple recipes for tired new mums
When creating recipes for new mums, it must not take more than ten minutes of hands-on time, or needs two hands to eat, it won't happen. These three won't let you down.
1. Hormone-helper overnight oats
Makes 1 jar · 5 minutes the night before
40g rolled oats
150ml milk (or a fortified plant milk)
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt or kefir
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 Brazil nut, chopped
A handful of frozen berries
Stir everything except the berries in a jar. Pop the berries on top, lid on, fridge overnight. Eat straight from the jar with one hand.
Why it helps: iodine from the milk and yoghurt, selenium from the Brazil nut, magnesium and zinc from the seeds, omega-3 from the chia and flax, and live bacteria for your gut.
2. One-handed spinach and cheese egg muffins
Makes 12 · 10 minutes prep, 20 minutes in the oven · freezes well
8 eggs
2 handfuls of spinach (fresh or frozen and defrosted), chopped
75g grated cheddar
1 pepper, finely chopped, or a handful of frozen sweetcorn
Salt and pepper
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 12-hole muffin tin or use silicone cases. Whisk the eggs, stir in everything else and divide between the holes. Bake for 18–20 minutes until set. Keep in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze and reheat for 60 seconds in the microwave.
Why it helps: eggs are a great all-rounder for new mums, with protein, iodine, B12, selenium and choline. Spinach adds folate and magnesium.
3. Freezer-friendly red lentil and spinach dahl
Serves 4 · 30 minutes, mostly simmering · batch cook and freeze
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (or a bag of frozen chopped onion)
2 garlic cloves and a thumb of ginger, grated (or 2 tsp of each from a jar)
2 tsp mild curry powder and 1 tsp turmeric
250g red lentils, rinsed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin coconut milk
400ml stock
2 big handfuls of spinach
A squeeze of lemon
Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and spices for 1 minute. Add the lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick. Stir in the spinach until wilted, then add the lemon. Serve with rice, naan or a dollop of yoghurt. Freeze in single portions.
Why it helps: lentils give you iron, folate, magnesium and fibre. The lemon's vitamin C helps you absorb the iron. Add a spoonful of yoghurt for iodine.
Tip: this is the perfect recipe to give a friend who asks, "What can I bring?"
When to ask for more help
Food supports your recovery, but it works alongside medical care, never instead of it.
If low mood or anxiety lasts longer than two weeks, or you feel unable to cope, talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor. Postnatal depression affects more than 1 in 10 mums, and treatment works.
If you have ADHD, let your midwife, health visitor or GP know, even if it's not in your notes. It helps them look out for you.
If you or someone close to you notices confusion, paranoia, or seeing or hearing things, call 999 or go to A&E. This can be a sign of postpartum psychosis, which is rare but needs urgent care.
Other support: PANDAS Foundation, Mind, and NHS Talking Therapies, which you can refer yourself to.
A final word
Your body has just done something extraordinary, and your hormones are still finding their feet. Rebuilding isn't indulgent. It's the foundation everything else rests on: your energy, your patience, your sense of being you again.
Start with one thing. A jar of overnight oats in the fridge tonight. A glass of water at the next feed. That one step is enough for this week.
Postnatal support isn't a luxury. Your needs matter, full stop.
Would you like some support?
I'm Louise, a BANT-registered nutritional therapist trained in pregnancy and postnatal nutrition with the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, and a parent who truly gets it. I contributed to Mum, Interrupted and specialise in supporting neurodivergent families. I work with mums across Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, and online anywhere in the UK.
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This blog is for general information and isn't a substitute for advice from your GP, midwife, health visitor or prescriber. Always check with a health professional before starting supplements or changing medication.