Why does the post birth toast taste so good? Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau
Bridget Van Der Burg still remembers the piece of toast she ate following the birth of her first baby three years ago. Her last meal was 12 hours earlier but it had all come up when she was car sick on her way to the hospital.
"It's easy to eat and I'm pretty sure I had jam on it so I appreciated the sweetness," Van Der Burg says.
"I was happy as a clam."
New Zealand mothers are apparently fiercely protective of their traditional tea and toast that is offered to many after they've birthed a baby. Hospitals in Wellington felt the full force of that love when they announced that tea and toast were off the menu in maternity wards.
The backlash was so strong that the national government intervened to ensure new mums could still have their toast with tea or milo. But it begs the question, why is toast after birth - often made from a cheap, basic white bread - such a loved part of the New Zealand birth experience.
"I just remember viscerally that first cup of milky tea and vegemite on toast after we delivered our first baby at Wellington Hospital and I remember being so grateful for that toast, it was like a gourmet meal, and looking at the nurse who delivered it as if she was a saint," finance minister Nicola Willis told RNZ's First Up.
She called nixing the tea and toast a "mad" decision.
Violet Clapham, a midwifery advisor at the New Zealand College of Midwives, called tea and toast after birth "an act of caring." Tea could stand in for any hot drink whether that be Milo or coffee, she said.
"[Mothers] just say it is the best toast they've ever had and it just hits the spot. They are enjoying being able to relax and they have their baby in their arms and they are just celebrating the birth with food and drink which is a very common way that humans celebrate."
A three course meal would take too long to organise. It would also require knives and forks, which are not conducive when your hands are tied up with holding or feeding a new baby, Clapham said.
Health NZ said it initially dropped toast for more nutritious post-birth meal.
Dietician Sarah-Jane Simpson from Auckland Family Nutrition directs her patients towards a post-birth feed that has protein as well as fibre "to help you with that postpartum poo and most importantly not messy when you are breastfeeding," she said in an earlier Instagram post, suggesting fruit and nuts balls or cheese and wholegrain cracker as easy snack options.
Dietician Sarah-Jane Simpson from Auckland Family Nutrition. Photo: I Do Photography
However, a white toast was not going to hurt, she said, referring to the saga in Wellington as "toast-gate."
"Tea and toast provides a quick source of carbohydrates that is generally well tolerated and accepted by most people," Simpson wrote in another Instagram post.
Following "toast gate," Simpson asked her Instagram followers what they loved to eat post-birth. Sushi, dried apples and scroggin mix were some replies, but many confirmed their love of toast and Milo with one mother describing it as like "a warm hug".
Birthcare is a maternity hospital that also provides a hotel-like space to recuperate for mums who have given birth at nearby Auckland Hospital. It's the toasties at Birthcare that seem to have developed a cult following, said general manager Christine Biggs.
"The toasties are very popular and it is word of mouth, I am sure," she said. "They say 'My friends stayed here and they loved the toastie in the middle of the night'."
Christine Biggs from Birthcare. Photo: Supplied
About 350 toasties were made for the 200 plus mums who came through Birthcare last month. The centre has a chef during the day, but mums who arrive throughout the night can only have toasties.
The toasties often get singled out on Birthcare's exit surveys that mums fill out. Some comments from June include:
"Food is amazing (esp toasties)", "Excellent night time ham and cheese toasties", "Loved the late night toasted sandwich service".
Biggs trained as an obstetric nurse more than 40 years ago. Tea and toast was on the menu back then for new mums and those recovering from surgery.
And it is likely not just a Kiwi thing. Mums from England, Scotland and the US have recently posted about their post-birth toast experience on TikTok.
"The tea and toast hit differently after giving birth," new mum Charlotte said while sitting in a hospital bed holding a baby.
"Spectacular. Give me 14 of them right now," Rosie said, using a meme to describe her toast experience.
"Epic," "exquisite," "perfect" and "a reward" were some other descriptions used across TikTok posts.
