6 Minute English / Food for new mums

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Georgie.

And I m Beth. Leaving home, getting married, and a parent dying are three of the most important experiences in many people s lives. But perhaps the most defining moment in some women s lives is the miracle of birth , in other words, having a baby.

Throughout pregnancy a lot of care and attention is given to expecting mums. But as soon as the baby is born, this attention moves to the new-born baby, making sure they are healthy, warm and safe.

We talk a lot about baby nutrition, but what the mother eats can be just as important, especially the first meal after the intense effort of giving birth, whether it s chicken soup, a glass of champagne, or a good old cuppa tea. In this programme, we re talking about what women eat and drink in the first few weeks after having a baby. And, as usual, we ll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first I have a question for you, Beth. A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, but when does an unborn baby s stomach start to grow in the mother s womb? Is it:

a) at 3 weeks?b) at 5 weeks? or,c) at 8 weeks?

I ll say the baby's tummy starts to grow at about five weeks.

OK, Beth, we ll find out if that's the correct answer later in the programme. Giving birth is not called labour for nothing it s hard work, leaving the new mum physically and emotionally exhausted, and in need of food that s nourishing, for both herself and her baby. Here s Allison Oman Lawi, deputy director of nutrition to the United Nations World Food Programme, explaining more to BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain:

Allison Oman LawiA woman who is breastfeeding and during that postpartum time, the first six months, she could need up to 650 additional calories a day which actually is quite a bit more than she even needed in addition during pregnancy.