In Today's Issue:
- The absurd origins of postpartum calorie recommendations (hint: based entirely on male bodies)
- What mothers actually need (you won't believe this!)
- Why "bouncing back" is keeping 80% of mothers depleted
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You've heard it. Every postpartum mother has heard it.
"Just add 300-500 extra calories if you're breastfeeding."
That's it. That's the entire nutritional guidance most mothers receive for recovering from pregnancy, healing from birth, producing milk, and surviving on fragmented sleep.
It's not just inadequate. It's absurd. It's dangerous. And it's keeping 80% of postpartum mothers nutritionally depleted.
Listen: The Truth About Postpartum Calorie Needs →
Where This Myth Came From
The recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) were first established in 1941.
Based almost entirely on studies conducted on young, healthy men. Not women. Zero percent were women.
Women were excluded from metabolic and nutrient studies because our physiology was "too complicated" or "too unstable" to produce clean data.
So men decided to study only men's bodies. Then they simply scaled that number down for "smaller humans" when it came to women.
No separate studies. No accounting for menstrual cycles, pregnancy, lactation, or any biological realities that make female physiology radically different.
When it comes to postpartum? Essentially no data. No specific repletion protocols. No micronutrient tracking. No hormone support.
Based on educated guesses made by men who never experienced pregnancy, never produced milk, never bled out on a delivery table, never rebuilt their bodies after creating life.
It's absurd.
What's Actually Happening Postpartum
By the end of pregnancy, most mothers are already depleted—reserves low, not deficient enough to cause immediate problems, but low.
Then birth: blood loss (500ml+ even in "normal" deliveries). Massive iron loss. C-sections lose even more.
Now the body needs to:
- Heal tissues (uterus contracting from watermelon to pear size, cervix closing, tears/incisions healing, abdominal wall reknitting)
- Rebuild blood volume (requires iron, B12, folate, B6, copper, protein—incredibly energy intensive)
- Recalibrate hormones (estrogen/progesterone plummet, prolactin/oxytocin surge, thyroid goes haywire, adrenals work overtime)
- Produce milk (24-32 oz daily containing proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins, minerals, antibodies)
- Support nervous system (heightened alertness, neurotransmitter production ramped up)
- Maintain basic functions (heart, lungs, liver detoxifying MORE than during pregnancy)
- Respond to chronic stress (sleep deprivation, constant vigilance, physical demands, emotional adjustment)
Add it all up. How much energy do these processes actually require?
1100-1600 EXTRA calories per day.
Not 300-500. More than TRIPLE that amount.
What Science Actually Says
Here's what's particularly enraging: Science knows this.
But they're accommodating women for weight loss. Take that in.
They literally say in the studies they're focusing on weight loss during the most nutritionally demanding period of a woman's entire life.
Go Google it yourself.
Here's a few references to get you started (copy/paste):
https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/53.3.612
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2642618/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3619301
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14081549
https://www.fao.org/4/y5686e/y5686e0b.htm
The Real Cost of This Myth
When mothers follow the 300-500 calorie recommendation, they stay depleted.
80% of postpartum women are deficient in key nutrients.
These aren't just numbers. These are mothers experiencing:
- Exhaustion
- Hair loss
- Mood disorders
- Constant illness
- Brain fog
- Joint pain
Then being told "it's just normal postpartum."
It's not normal. It's systematic undernourishment.
Milk production burns approximately 500-700 calories per day.
But when a mother is nutritionally depleted, her body will continue producing milk because biologically, baby's survival is prioritized.
At enormous cost to the mother.
The body pulls nutrients from the mother's bones, teeth, hair, organs, tissues to put into breast milk.
This is why we see dramatic hair loss, dental problems, bone density issues, chronic fatigue.
Their bodies are literally cannibalizing themselves to feed their babies.
And we're telling them to add 300-500 calories and calling it good.
Get the Complete Framework on What Mothers Actually Need →
The 300-500 calorie recommendation needs to die.
It's not based on postpartum physiology. It's not adequate for recovery and lactation demands. And it's keeping mothers depleted, struggling, and unable to actually lose weight long-term.
Mothers don't need a calorie number. They need comprehensive nutritional support that addresses individual depletion, supports healing and milk production, and honors the massive physiological demands of this period.
Stay fierce, stay rooted,
Maranda Bower
CEO & Founder of Postpartum University®
www.PostpartumU.com
