What Your Cravings Might Be Trying to Tell You After Birth
By Team Fitmoms
Updated on 20 Jun 2025
Not all cravings are about hunger. Sometimes, postpartum cravings signal something deeper.
After giving birth, a new mother’s body is doing a lot. While it is healing and adjusting from the 9 months of pregnancy and the physical trauma endured during childbirth, it is also producing food for another human. In the middle of all of this, new mothers experience cravings that are hard to understand and harder to manage. Out of nowhere, you suddenly want to eat pickles and mayonnaise together, even if you're not a fan of the idea. So why do these cravings arise? And what are they trying to tell you? These cravings can feel random or even a little confusing, but they’re often your body’s way of communicating. Understanding what’s behind them can help you feel more connected to yourself during a time that often feels anything but predictable.
Understanding Postpartum Cravings
After giving birth, cravings are very common. They tend to feel stronger than before and can appear at any time of day or night. Here are some common reasons why these cravings occur:
Hormonal shifts
- Hormones don't just immediately disappear after giving birth. A certain hormone called prolactin, which helps in lactation, makes it harder for the brain to recognize when you are full. This is why you feel hungry even after being full and end up overeating and craving certain foods.
Physical recovery after labor or surgery
- You just gave birth. Whether you opted for a C-section or a natural birth, your body went through tissue trauma, among other things. Healing from childbirth takes energy. Cravings can signal that your body needs fuel to repair and restore itself.
Emotional highs and lows
- Nine months of pregnancy, the stressful and draining process of childbirth, and the changes post-delivery bring a lot of emotional and mental turmoil to the new mother. You feel so much, so quickly, while your body is still recovering, and you have a newborn to care for. Sometimes, food can become a source of comfort. Many mothers find food the best and easiest way to comfort themselves amidst all the chaos.
Intense postpartum cravings often point to emotional fatigue or the need for quick energy. Listen to the message before judging the craving.
Sleep deprivation
- Sleep is the first thing thrown out the window when you have a newborn at home. They don’t have fixed sleep schedules like adults do. Parents, especially breastfeeding mothers, often have to wake up multiple times during the night to tend to their child. This results in them being heavily sleep deprived. Lack of sleep can mess with the hormones that control hunger, making you feel hungrier and crave high-energy foods.
Changes in appetite from breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding can lead to intense food cravings. The reason behind this is simple. Producing milk takes energy, and your body needs more nutrients and hydration. An additional 300 to 500 calories can be burned each day while breastfeeding. Your body may react by making you feel more hungry than normal since it is working harder than usual. Your body is just doing what it has to do, even though the sudden hunger may feel intense.
What your cravings might mean: Craving Decoded
Now that we understand that different cravings can mean different things, let's decode what your cravings are saying.
Sweet Cravings
- If you are constantly reaching out for that milk chocolate or candy floss, it might be due to low energy or lack of sleep. When the body feels low on energy, it craves glucose. Your body's craving for sugar might be its way of asking for more nutrients and energy. So when you crave sugar, you don’t necessarily need a milk chocolate. You can instead opt for an apple that will satisfy your sugar craving, but be much healthier than packaged chocolate.
Salty Cravings
- Craving salty food items like chips, salted nuts, or salted crackers might be your body's way of asking for more hydration or electrolytes. Nursing frequently, sweating excessively, or just adjusting to a new routine can cause your salt balance to be off. The next time you crave chips, consider drinking water instead. Chances are, you just need hydration, not sodium.
Carb Cravings
- If you keep wanting to have bread, pasta, or other starchy foods, then you are craving carbs. Your body craves carbs when it is stressed or exhausted. Carbohydrates help you feel good, which is why your body craves them when it's not feeling so good, like when it is sleep deprived, overwhelmed, or stressed. Your body might just be trying to find a quick way to relax. Instead of falling for those heavily processed carbs, opt for a banana or an egg instead. They still give you that comfort while giving your body a little extra nourishment.
Sometimes, cravings aren’t just about the food; they’re about pausing, refuelling, and reconnecting with yourself.
Constant Snacking
- Sometimes you don’t crave a particular thing, but everything all at once. No matter what you have, you just keep wanting to keep munching on it. It feels like you are never full, not even after a meal. That could be your body’s way of keeping up with all the energy it's burning. Especially when breastfeeding or recovering from delivery, your body uses more energy than usual. If your portion size has increased, it might be trying to make up for all that energy by keeping you constantly hungry. It may also be a sign that your meals aren’t satisfying enough, or that your hunger cues are influenced by fatigue or emotional changes.
We recommend consulting a professional instead of reaching a conclusion on your own. Every person’s cravings are different and might mean different things to different individuals.
Conclusion
Cravings are a part of motherhood. But they are not random. They hold secrets about what your body needs. By looking at them closely, you can better understand yourself and your body. It can help you align and get in tune with yourself. If your cravings disrupt your diet, you can consult a postpartum nutritionist for help. Know this: your body is doing its best to care for you when you are focused on the newborn. So, every once in a while, take some time out for yourself. Treat yourself, try to understand yourself and most importantly, be kind to yourself and your cravings.
