Wife relapse after giving birth

[handsoap]

Hello, can anyone give me advice.

My wife has just given birth 2 months ago to our second son and it struggling a lot mentally. She has had her history of mental health issues since she was 13, (PTSD, anxiety and eating disorders)
i would like to know or gather some advice off of any other sufferers that have young children too.

i’m not necessarily a mother but a father of 2 young children with a beautiful wife. She’s had a rough few years with her mental health and is currently on the road to getting better with her ptsd and anxiety (hoping this time it helps her more than the other times) but she has of course gained some pregnancy weight and is struggling with her eating habits again (restricting food a lot and very poor body image, and possibly more that i don’t know about she is very quiet about a lot of the stuff she goes through unfortunately)

she is breastfeeding our newborn and i am also worried about her milk supply possibly dropping as she isn’t eating much at all. When i leave for work i know she doesn’t eat anything, which is very upsetting of course

does anyone know what i could do to best support her? and if i should suggest getting any formula for our son. (he has been gaining weight fine, it’s just a worry for me)

Also to add. She suffered with PND after our first was born, which again makes me worried. She has an amazing support off her MH team and midwife but she doesn't mention her eating habits either.

I’m sorry you are going through this. This must be tough. I would suggest getting support from your assigned midwife or health visitor if you aren’t already?

Make sure she’s taking a high quality breastfeeding vitamin. Can you support her by making breakfast before you start work- something like a healthy smoothie with protein (flaxseed, chia, nut butters etc). This would support her weight loss whilst providing lots of nutrients.

Thank you.. We are receiving support but not for her eating as she doesn't think she needs help because in her eyes she is 'too fat' and doesn't want help.

Would her not eating affect her supply eventually? i have seen online it isn't good to 'diet' while breastfeeding but can't find any coloration with calories and breastfeeding.

The baby tends to get fed first- as long as she’s drinking enough she’ll keep making milk.

Don’t ‘support’ her by undermining breastfeeding.
Support her by having good quality food around, not eating and drinking crap in front of her, and not talking about what she should or shouldn’t eat.

Create a supportive environment where it’s easier to eat healthily.
Listen to her.
That’s all.

Thanks for your advice. I didn't mean to come across as undermining breastfeeding, she is doing a brilliant job and BF our first for 18 months.

I don't want her to feel like she is not giving our son enough milk as she worries about it a lot, (which makes me worried too) and wanted to know if that could happen.

As PP said as long as she’s drinking enough there will be enough milk. I was really ill for 24 hours whilst bf and couldn’t keep any food or water down and I still had enough milk to feed.