At Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing we specialise in assisting new mums and their babies to stay healthy, strong and well-nourished throughout the crucial postpartum and breastfeeding period.

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Breastfeeding NUTRITION

Mums & bubs yoga

Breast-feeding nutrition can be confusing. How much should you eat? What should you avoid? How might your diet affect your baby? And what about your needs as a new mum?

If you're breast-feeding, you're giving your crucial baby nutrients that will promote his or her growth and health. You might have questions, however, about what foods and drinks are best for you, and how your diet might affect your breast milk and your baby.
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In a postpartum nutrition consultation, you and our dietitian Casey have an opportunity to talk about what to do to make sure you’re making the most nutritious milk for your baby and also how to make sure that you’re getting enough nourishment during the critical few months after birth.

Some of the topics you may cover in your postnatal / breastfeeding nutrition consultation:​​​
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• What happens to the body during breastfeeding
• How nutritional requirements for a woman differ when pregnant, trying to conceive, and breastfeeding
• How to be prepared for the increased hunger that comes with breastfeeding
• How the quality of the food you eat relates to the quality of your breastmilk
• How to be prepared for healthy options when you’re breastfeeding
• What breastmilk made of and how it changes to meet the requirements of the age and gender of your child
• How different kinds of breastmilk impact babies
• Details about important nutrients when breastfeeding, such as Choline and Vitamin D
• What to do if you're having trouble producing enough breastmilk
• How Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine can help make your postpartum recovery and breastmilk production smoother and easier
• Debunking the concept of a “pre-pregnancy body” and other myths about breastfeeding
• Navigating the postpartum period with an eating disorder, weight concern, changing body shape and/or body image issues
• How nutrition can impact postpartum depression, and what steps to take if you experience it
• When to call a lactation consultant

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Whether you’ve recently had your first baby or your fifth, you're breastfeeding a toddler while pregnant, or you're tandem feeding, you can book an appointment with our team dietitian Casey to assess what you are feeding yourself and your child/children and learn how to optimise nutrition for both you and your baby or toddler.

​Casey is an expert in antenatal nutrition, a mother of 2, and is passionate about helping you optimise your and your child's nutrition and wellbeing at this special time. ​

Casey is also trained in dealing with fussy eaters and 'overweight' children, and can help you with any challenges you're facing feeding babies, toddlers and young children.

Postnatal or postpartum yoga uses movement, balance and relaxation to allow your body to recover from pregnancy and birth. It helps to heal the body and mind, and repair tissues that may have been traumatised during birth.

The best part? You can bring your baby along! No need to organise a babysitter or worry about timing breastfeeding around class. Rest assured you can breastfeed baby in class at any time - we positively encourage it!

​This type of yoga is designed for mums with their babies and so incorporates the little ones into the practice, either using yoga asanas to keep the babies entertained, or holding the babies as part of the yoga itself.

The class is designed to nurture new mums and provide a safe environment for them to heal and repair their bodies, to talk about their experiences of birth and as a new mum, and safely allow them to reconnect with their bodies and their babies.

The benefits of mums and bubs (postnatal) yoga include:

• Restores hormonal balance
• Realignment of the spine
• Promotes stamina and strength needed in the postpartum period
• Minimises the effects of holding and feeding a baby (relieves stiffness in the shoulders and upper back)
• Provides rest and relaxation, balancing the nervous system
• Helps reduce anxiety and depression, and can relieve or prevent postnatal depression
• Toning the deep abdominal muscles to "close the body" after birth
• Helps knits back together separated abdominal muscles i.e. diastasis recti
• Strengthens pelvic floor muscles
• Strengthens abdominal and back muscles for core strength
• Improves blood circulation, stimulating cell growth and repair
• Helps a woman to re-inhabit her body
• Aids bonding between mother and baby
• Interaction and connection with other mums
• Emotional healing after a difficult pregnancy or birth.

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The classes are suitable from 6 weeks after birth (8 weeks after a caesarean birth) and promote postnatal healing to aid recovery from labour, birth and pregnancy. Classes are suitable for complete beginners and are gentle enough for caesarean recovery.

Casey is a qualified prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher who can skilfully guide you through postnatal yoga that caters to your unique needs. Classes offered from mid-2018.