Postnatal
Postnatal Nutrition
Realistic food for the fourth trimester, whether you breastfeed or formula feed, built around tired days and one free hand.
NZ$29.99Buy
Postnatal courses for life with a new pēpi
Practical help with meals, broken nights, feeding and your relationship in the weeks after birth, alongside your LMC midwife and your Plunket or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse.
- 5 courses
- Tools in every course
- Certificate included
After the birth, your LMC midwife keeps visiting for around four to six weeks. Care for your baby then moves to a Well Child Tamariki Ora provider, such as Whānau Āwhina Plunket or a Kaupapa Māori or Pacific provider, who offers free health and development checks until your child starts school. Enrol your baby with a general practice early, so the six-week check and immunisations are easy to book. PlunketLine is free on 0800 933 922, any time of day or night.
Your own needs matter too. If you are breastfeeding, New Zealand advice is to keep taking iodine and to eat from the same four food groups, with water as your main drink. Not drinking alcohol is the safest choice while breastfeeding. For safe sleep, put your baby on their back in their own bed, such as a bassinet, wahakura or pēpi-pod, in a smokefree home and car.
Our postnatal courses, prepared by Dr Aqsa Mukhtiar, PhD in Nutrition, give you easy meal plans, one-handed snacks, a night-shift rota, checklists for the early weeks and prompts for staying connected as a couple. They support, and never replace, the care from your midwife, nurse and GP.
All postnatal courses
Postnatal
Nutrition While Breastfeeding
Nourish yourself while you feed your baby, without strict rules or special foods, with checkers for caffeine and alcohol.
NZ$29.99Buy
Postnatal
Sleep for New Parents
Get through the newborn nights as a team, with a rest planner, a parent sleep log and a baby safe sleep checklist.
NZ$29.99Buy
Postnatal
Relationship After Having a Baby
Simple tools for new parents to stay a team, including a check for both partners on whether it is more than the baby blues.
NZ$34.99Buy
Postnatal
First 6 Weeks With Baby
A calm companion for the first six weeks, with a feed, nappy and sleep log, a red-flag checker and a visitors plan.
NZ$34.99Buy
Choosing a postnatal course
- First 6 Weeks With Baby walks you through the early weeks with a week-by-week checklist, a feed, nappy and sleep log, a visitors plan and a red-flag checker for you and baby.
- Postnatal Nutrition focuses on your recovery, with easy meals, freezer cooking and a one-handed snack list.
- Nutrition While Breastfeeding covers eating well, iodine, fluids, caffeine and alcohol while you breastfeed.
- Sleep for New Parents helps you share night feeds, nap when you can and follow safe sleep advice.
- Relationship After Having a Baby gives couples short check-ins, a fair way to split chores and a plan for cooling down arguments.
What the postnatal tools do
- Week-by-week checklist and visitors plan: what to sort each week and how to set limits kindly with whānau and friends.
- Feed, nappy and sleep log: handy to show your midwife, Plunket nurse or GP.
- Six-week check prep sheet: questions about your baby and your own recovery, written down in advance.
- Breastfeeding plate guide and hydration tracker: the food groups and a simple daily drinks check.
- Night-shift rota and safe sleep checklist: share the nights and check your baby's sleep space.
When to get help quickly
Call 111 if your baby is struggling to breathe, turns blue or grey, is floppy or hard to wake, or has a seizure. Call 111 for yourself if you have chest pain or sudden breathlessness.
Contact your midwife, GP or Healthline (0800 611 116) the same day if:
- your baby has a temperature of 38°C or more and is under 3 months old, feeds poorly or has fewer wet nappies
- your baby's skin or eyes are getting more yellow
- you have heavy bleeding, a fever, a painful or swollen calf, or a red, painful wound or breast
- you have felt low, anxious or not yourself for more than two weeks, or have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
Free call or text 1737 to talk to a trained counsellor at any time.
Postnatal courses: your questions
When does my midwife's care end?
LMC midwife care usually continues until around four to six weeks after the birth. Your midwife then transfers your baby's care to a Well Child Tamariki Ora provider of your choice.
What is Well Child Tamariki Ora?
It is New Zealand's free programme of health and development checks for tamariki from a few weeks old until about age five. Plunket and other providers deliver it, and it includes the free B4 School Check at age four.
Do I still need iodine while breastfeeding?
Yes. New Zealand advice is to keep taking an iodine tablet while you breastfeed. Check with your GP first if you have a thyroid condition.
Is it normal to feel teary after the birth?
Many people feel emotional in the first days, often called the baby blues. If low mood or anxiety lasts more than two weeks, or feels overwhelming, talk to your midwife, Plunket nurse or GP.
Where should my baby sleep?
On their back, in their own safe sleep space such as a bassinet, wahakura or pēpi-pod, with their face clear, in a smokefree home. The safe sleep checklist goes through each step.
Can I start dieting after the birth?
The courses focus on regular, nourishing meals rather than restricting food, especially while you are recovering or breastfeeding. Talk to your GP if you have questions about your weight.
Official sources
Make the first weeks a little easier
Fill in the visitors plan and the night-shift rota before the tiredness sets in; future you will be grateful.