What is a Postpartum Doula?
If you’ve read the blog post “What is a Doula?” you may have some understanding of what a doula is and what tasks we may do. I briefly touched on postpartum doula work but I want to break down our purpose and benefits to new parents and their entire family.
What is a postpartum doula?
As a postpartum doula, my job is to provide support in all forms, emotional, physical, and informational. With my clients, the postpartum period is discussed just like the birth plan. We talk and discuss our options, who can make you a few meals throughout the week? Do you have anyone who could stop by and allow you and/or your partner a break? Do you have other children you may need a helping hand with? Who do you trust to unpack your birth with? These are all important topics that should be discussed before the birth of your baby. Luckily, these things fall under my scope of practice as a postpartum doula. More likely than not, when I’m hired as a birth doula, most parents select the Birth & Postpartum package as it’s an all in one deal!
Just like labor support, it can be done by anyone providing you continual support. The same could apply with postpartum support. The difference between your family or friends support and the support of your doula is, they know YOU intimately, doulas know birth and postpartum intimately. Your partner/friend/family has an important role as they know your likes, dislikes, triggers, comforts, etc. That helps me as your doula to make sure everything is going in the right direction, making sure you’re cared for in a way that’s most comfortable.
What does a postpartum doula do?
As your postpartum doula, I work with each family individually to find out your particular needs and where I can provide the most benefit. A Postpartum Doula provides evidenced based information on things such as infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from birth, mother – baby bonding, infant soothing, and basic newborn care. I am there to help your new family in those first days and weeks (even months) after bringing home your new baby. Some of the postpartum services that a doula will perform include:
Breastfeeding support
Help with the emotional and physical recovery after birth
Light housekeeping so that mom does not feel so overwhelmed
Running errands
Meal preparations
may provide information for the new mother's partner in order to assist in observation for signs of infection and/or postpartum depression.
Assistance with newborn care such as diapering, bathing, feeding and comforting
Baby soothing techniques
Sibling care
Referrals to local resources such as but not limited to parenting classes, pediatricians, lactation support and other parenting support groups
What postpartum doulas do not do:
As a doula I do not:
a housekeeper
medical practitioner
will not perform any clinical procedures, outside of weighing the baby and assisting with breastfeeding and breastfeeding education.
does not assess for recovery of vaginal tears or cesarean incision recovery of the mother although she may provide traditional methods of helping the mother recover from birth, whether cesarean or vaginal, and will observe for signs of infection and/or postpartum depression
educating the mother on signs and symptoms regarding these issues.
How to know if a postpartum doula is right for you
The postpartum period is such a sacred time and should be treated as such. This is a time of healing, bonding, and learning. How you recover and how you are cared for during this period is critical to the postpartum outcome. To ensure your healing period goes a little smoother; hire a doula so you don’t have to worry about cooking dinner, continuously trying to keep the house clean, or feeling like a burden when not knowing how to express your feelings. Whatever your postpartum needs may be I want to help create a safe space where the mother can feel free to be babied if need be. I offer several postpartum bundles which will all be customized to fit your individual needs.
I’m often asked my opinion on wether having a doula for birth or a doula for postpartum is better and my answer is always the same. That depends on what you feel you will benefit the most from, and that may be both. I suggest scheduling consultations for postpartum services (even if you’re a current client) because that meeting gives me an idea of what you may want your postpartum period to look like. Similarly to birth, we may not know exactly how it will unfold but we can create a plan that outlines areas you may need the most assistance. Your needs may change by the day or by the hour, and that’s ok because by then, I will hopefully have a good foundation of how best to support you.
In the end, who isn’t going to benefit from having to do once less chore, or run one less errand?! It’s all up to you and what will work best for your family.
If you or someone you know are in need of doula services, please fill out the form below!
