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What is a Postpartum Doula?

Just as a birth doula supports the mother during birth, a postpartum doula supports the family during the first days and weeks after bringing a baby home. (For more information on what to expect during the postpartum period, click here.)

The tasks perfomed often change depending on your needs on a particular day. I nurture the whole family, providing:

-newborn care and soothing techniques,

-help with older siblings,

-evidence-based information on newborn feeding and growth, 

-assistance in emotional and physical recovery from childbirth,

-light housekeeping and meal preparation, 

-and most importantly, time to rest and recover and bond with your baby.

 

 

Through praise, acceptance, and a non-judgmental approach, I will encourage you to become self-empowered, and to confidently embrace your new role. 

Why Hire a Postpartum Doula
  1. You may not have as much support at home as you would like. Maybe your family lives far away, or maybe your partner is on call, or works long hours. A postpartum doula can fill in so you get the help you need.
  2. The support of a postpartum doula has been shown to decrease feelings of baby blues and to reduce the risk of postpartum depression.
  3. Your body needs time to recover after birth, particularly if you've had a cesarean or episiotomy, or if your birth experience was traumatic in another way. A postpartum doula's support is invaluable in these circumstances. She does not offer medical advice, but is knowledgeable on certain comfort measures and can suggest comfortable breastfeeding positions. She's also there to listen and help you process your birth, whether it was everything you imagined or not.
  4. She is there to help not only mom and baby, but the partner and other children, as well. This is a major life transition and partners are also dealing with sleep deprivation and other stresses, both emotional and financial. A postpartum doula can help everyone in the family to ease into their new roles.
  5. A postpartum doula provides gentle encouragement and non-judgemental support so you can confidently care for your baby in the way that feels right to you. 
  6. For something so natural, breastfeeding can be surprisingly hard! Having the in-home help of someone knowlegeable on the subject increases breastfeeding success and duration. Should you choose to bottle-feed, you will be fully supported in that decision as well.
  7. You can relax and more fully enjoy this precious time, knowing that you will have help with daily chores like cooking, laundry, running errands, and doing dishes.
  8. Your needs as a human being will be taken care of! Eating well, drinking enough fluids, and sleeping are vital to your well-being, but are too often neglected. A postpartum doula will ensure these needs are met. And while your doula cares for baby, you can even take a long, hot shower! 
  9. Doulas have a plethora of references available to you, from pediatricians and lactation consultants, to mom's groups and storytimes in the area.
  10. You Deserve It! 

The guys who fear becoming fathers don’t understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. The end product of child raising is not the child but the parent. —Frank Pittman

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