Hydration during pregnancy & postpartum
Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding, you’ve probably heard this a million times by now…”make sure you’re drinking enough water and staying hydrated!”
Sounds simple, but is it? Many people fall short of the hydration recommendations.
Let’s talk about what hydration really means, why it’s important, and some strategies to go about ensuring proper hydration on your motherhood journey.
What it is:
Hydration isn’t just about your water intake, but also your electrolyte intake! Think potassium (bananas, apricots), calcium (milk, yogurt), sodium (pickles!), and magnesium (spinach, pumpkin seeds). So, even if you’re drinking “a ton of water”, you might still technically be dehydrated! Possible signs of dehydration: headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, dry mouth, dark urine, fatigue).
Why it’s important:
During pregnancy, we see normal changes of increased blood volume and increased heart rates. This means higher fluid requirements. During the postpartum phase, we’re healing, we may feel fatigued, we have physical childcare demands, we might be constipated, and we might be breastfeeding. Now if we add exercise to this equation, our hydration is affected even more! This makes hydration imperative for safe and effective exercise performance. Proper hydration will help regulate body temp, prevent overheating, and aid in post-workout recovery.
Tips:
Start your workout already hydrated. Consume water and electrolytes at least 1-2 hours before exercise.
Hydrate during exercise. Aim for 7-10 ounces of fluids every 10-20 minutes
Hydrate after exercise: this is CRUCIAL for recovery. Aim to hydrate ASAP after a workout
General rule of thumb: aim for ~8oz of water every hour of the day, and even more if you’re breastfeeding (note: actual water recommendations are highly individualized…talk to your doctor)
Consider adding an electrolyte supplement to your water (remember, hydration = water PLUS electrolytes). Always talk to your doctor before starting any supplements.
Monitor urine color. We like clear and light, we don’t like cloudy and dark.
Caffeine and sugar have diuretic effects. The more you pee, the more you can dehydrate! (Check the ingredients in electrolyte supplements).
Get a water bottle you love. I don’t know about you, but I’m way more likely to stay on top of my water intake if it’s icy cold!
Start your day with a full glass of water (yes, even before that sip of coffee)!
Look for foods with high water content (fruits, vegetables, soups) - they count toward your hydration!
Additional considerations for breastfeeding:
Breastmilk is at least 80% water! This means we don’t only need to replace fluids lost through sweat during a workout, but we also need to replace electrolytes lost through lactation.
Because breastmilk is mostly water, when you’re feeding your baby, you are quite literally dehydrating yourself!
You might be wondering…will exercise decrease my milk supply? Nope! What might decrease milk supply is dehydration as a BYPRODUCT of exercise - not any particular exercise itself.
Note: these are general recommendations. Always reach out to your healthcare provider regarding nutrition advice, hydration, and any other medical concerns.