Hi, my name is Allison Schaaf. My own fertility journey, including five miscarriages, inspired me to create this website to help you navigate your own fertility path.
Here are the key takeaways I would share with you as a friend:
- After a miscarriage, it is important to nourish your body with healthy comforting foods.
- A pregnancy depletes the body of important nutrients so replenishing those nutrients postpartum (including after a pregnancy loss) is vital.
I also recommend you do your own research and work with your doctor. That is why I have coordinated these articles with the nitty-gritty details and links to research so you can make an informed decision on what works best for you… read on for more! And—don’t miss my Next Steps section at the bottom.
First 2 Weeks
One Month
3 Months
The Takeaway
Next Steps to Consider
A woman’s miscarriage is a deeply personal time of heartache and healing. As you nourish your spirit back to health, support your body’s recovery with wholesome nutrition.
Following a miscarriage, there is a shift and stabilization of pregnancy hormones that occurs. The exact amount of time for hormone levels to return to baseline differs for each woman. A woman’s healing timeline is influenced by how far she was in pregnancy when the miscarriage occurred.
As your hormones stabilize and your body heals, there are some key nutrients that will help the recovery process. Let’s further explore a healing timeline and what to eat after a miscarriage.
What to Eat After Miscarriage: A Healing Timeline
Each woman’s healing path is unique and healing times may be affected by how far along in a pregnancy the miscarriage occurs. For example, the hormone hCG rises quickly during pregnancy, doubling every 24 to 48 hours during the early stages, and peaks around week 16.1 Hormone levels during very early pregnancy may stabilize faster than a miscarriage further along. Despite this, focusing on nourishing foods as you heal will help your body recover.
The following timeline assumes that most physical injuries have the potential to be healed within a 12-week window. Your personal timeline may differ and you are encouraged to take the space you need in your healing process.
First 2 weeks
The first two weeks are a time of active recovery. Immediately following a miscarriage, many women experience heavy bleeding and may also be under medical management for the miscarriage.
During the initial stages of healing, a well-rounded diet can help nourish the body as it goes through this physical transformation. Pregnancy hormones including hCG, estrogen, and progesterone have the most dramatic decreases during this time.2 Wanting comfort foods during this time is understandable and there is a place for that, keep in mind that quality nutrition can help, not hinder healing.
We want to eliminate the overwhelm of figuring out what to eat by sharing our top three things to focus on during each time frame. Each set of recommendations builds on the previous recommendations until you feel fully recovered.
Nutrition Focus:
- Meat, eggs, fish, and shellfish provide valuable heme iron to offset any iron lost in bleeding. Liver is one of the richest sources of iron, as well as vitamins to promote healing. Non-heme iron sources include leafy green vegetables, beans, lentils, and fortified cereals.3
- Protein and collagen in foods like bone broth, meat and fish provide essential amino acids that help the body repair tissues.4
- Fiber foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables help ease digestive issues that often accompany hormone changes.5 Fiber can also help you from straining too hard during bowel movements, which is helpful during the initial stages of healing.
During this initial healing stage, home-cooked meals like chicken noodle soup or beef and vegetable stew comfort the spirit while nourishing the body. These meals can help you feel that sense of care and comfort while also providing quality nutrition to help you heal.
Along with good nutrition, drinking plenty of fluids is a vital part of the recovery process. Women should be drinking at least 2 liters of water (about 68 ounces) per day to offset fluid and blood loss during this time.6 Reduce sugary drinks and alcohol to focus on fluids that hydrate the body.
You may also consider still taking prenatal vitamins during this time, especially if you are considering trying to conceive again.7 Vitamins cannot correct deficiencies but can be nutritional insurance if you aren’t able to eat a wide variety of foods during this time.
One Month
The physical effects of a miscarriage may subside within the first month. It is also possible that ovulation and fertility can resume within a month.8 Though, this is not always the case and there is no set timeline for healing, especially if the miscarriage occurred further into the pregnancy.
As the body continues to recover, it is time to be more intentional with meal planning. The nutrients that are important for women during this time such as calcium, folate, and iron should be present in your daily diet.
At the one month mark, you can build on the recommendations provided for the first two weeks. The nutrition focus is now more detailed by focusing on specific nutrients and individual meals.
Nutrition Focus:
- Add a protein food at every meal. Meat, poultry and fish provide amino acids which heal the body’s tissues and also provide iron.
- Have 2 servings of calcium-rich foods since during pregnancy, calcium stores can become depleted.9 Foods like seeds (chia & sunflower), canned sardines & salmon (with bones), squashes, leafy greens, almonds, etc. Dairy is a good source of calcium, but is controversial if it is supportive of fertility or not, see this article for details.
- Put a plant on your plate at every meal. This simple phrase is a helpful way to remember to incorporate fruits and vegetables at each meal providing vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Three Months
Ovulation and menstruation return within the first 3 months for most women. Only you and your medical provider can determine when you are fully healed. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology acknowledges that there is no evidence to discourage trying to conceive again after early pregnancy loss, but this timeline may be longer based on your individual experience.10
It’s time to shift the nutrition focus to long term health and should you so desire, trying to conceive again. The nutrition focus for the first month is primarily focused on healing the body.
Moving forward, the nutrition focus includes adding essential nutrients for women’s health.
Nutrition Focus:
- Folic acid is a B vitamin that can help raise progesterone levels, promote ovulation, and is associated with positive pregnancy outcomes.11 Food sources of folic acid are leafy greens, liver, beans, nuts, whole grains, and some fruits.
- Magnesium is a mineral involved in the production of Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH), the hormone that signals the ovaries to produce an egg.12 Magnesium also helps promote a feeling of calm and can be found in chocolate, seeds, nuts, and oats.
- Eating a rainbow of foods is a helpful reminder that eating a variety of foods is essential to getting a range of vitamins and minerals. The colors in fruits and vegetables are reflective of the type of phytonutrients found in that food. Phytonutrients help reduce oxidative stress and a diet rich in phytonutrients is associated with good health and pregnancy outcomes.13
The Takeaway
Sound nutrition is a woman’s partner on her recovery path from a miscarriage. Though the range of symptoms a woman will experience after miscarriage will vary depending on how far along she was in the pregnancy, the nutrition recommendations are the same. Give your body the time and good nutrition it needs to support recovery.
Next Steps to Consider
- Looking for fertility meal inspiration? Try out 2 weeks free of fertility-friendly meal plans developed by dietitians to help save time, save money and feel better.
- Speak to your doctor, dietitian or other health care provider about the best nutrition plan to support your miscarriage recovery.
- If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed, you aren’t alone, check out our 6-week Moving Forward program to guide you on your fertility journey.
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References
Unfortunately it’s my fourth miscarriage occurred today , emotionally and physically feeling devastated though this article was very helpful for me