What does a postpartum doula do?
Many people expecting a new baby or in birth work know essentially what a birth doula is and what they do. But you may be wondering; what is a postpartum doula? What is their function, and do I need one?
In this article I am going to provide the answers. What services do postpartum doulas offer? How do they differ from a nanny? How much does a postpartum doula cost? Where can I find one, and how do I choose the right fit for me and my family?
A postpartum doula provides assistance and support to birth parents in the first several weeks following birth, called the “fourth trimester”. They can provide emotional support, infant care, and postpartum resources. Largely they provide anything the birthing parent needs to ease the transition of bringing home a newborn.
Services a Postpartum Doula Offers
A postpartum doula can be almost anything that you need them to be. Their objective is to make life with a newborn and the transition home easier, more successful and more comfortable for birthing parents and their families.
Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding
Many postpartum doulas are willing to help with feedings. Bottle feedings, bottle cleaning, breast pump assistance and breastfeeding strategies are common services offered by postpartum doulas.
If you are in need of additional support with breastfeeding many postpartum doulas are experienced in providing assistance in this area. They can offer different positions, strategies and suggestions for how and when to nurse your baby. They can be a voice of encouragement and a listening ear if and when breastfeeding becomes overwhelming. If it is outside their qualifications they can connect you with a lactation consultant (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant IBCLC).
If your baby is bottle fed, with expressed milk or formula, a postpartum doula is ready to take on feedings, and/or clean your bottles as needed during their time with you. Your doula can also help clean breast pumps and make sure that everything is sanitized and ready for your next use.
Recovery
After giving birth, the birthing body is in need of rest and recovery. Bringing a human into the world is no small feat, and the toll it takes on a body is significant. No matter how you gave birth, there is an amount of healing that your body needs to do. Your postpartum doula is there to facilitate this recovery and encourage you to rest and take care of yourself. It’s easy for new parents to get lost in taking care of and providing for their newborn. But self care is equally as important and vital to allow you, your baby and your growing family to thrive.
Your doula can provide you with much needed rest. Overnight postpartum doulas can take over night feeds if you are choosing to bottle feed. This allows for more regulated sleep schedules, which lends to less stress, and richer bonding time with your baby during the day. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, an overnight postpartum doula can be there for moral and emotional support. Calming a fussy baby and helping with changing diapers in the middle of the night can be invaluable for a new parent, especially when recovering from cesarean section births.
Reminders to hydrate and feed yourself are sometimes necessary in the whirlwind first weeks home with a new baby. Help with meal planning or cooking are common services provided by postpartum doulas. Some are versed in naturopathy and can provide recipes to promote milk production for nursing parents, or reduce swelling in healing bodies.
Birth Parent and Infant Care
Caring for a new birth parent and caring for a newborn baby is a big part of being a postpartum doula. Birth parents will often need emotional support and encouragement just as much as the physical support that a postpartum doula has to offer. Those first days and weeks can be overwhelming, lonely and frantic in the same ways that they are magical, beautiful and full of love. Having someone to talk to, solve problems, share triumphs, and lean on emotionally and physically can be a great blessing.
Newborn babies can be surprisingly demanding, considering they cannot yet speak. Different cries can mean different things; dirty diaper, feeding time, sleepiness, and uncomfortability sound different from cry to cry, baby to baby. A postpartum doula can help you decipher your baby’s cries, and help you identify and tend to their needs. Swaddling is an art, and some babies like to be swaddled differently than others. Gas is a big reason why many babies become fussy, and a postpartum doula will often be armed with many different tried and true strategies for relieving gas pains and bloating in infants.
Bonding
Taking special time to bond with your baby is an essential part of your postpartum journey. Sometimes it takes a little longer to find that special connection, and this can be sad or feel upsetting for birth parents. A postpartum doula can eliminate distractions and create an environment that encourages and promotes this important connection. This will create a trust and a bond between infant and parent. Building this connection brings confidence and pride, and can make the challenges of newborn days a little easier.
Niche Specialties
Some postpartum doulas have specialty areas that they focus on that may require different fields of study and qualifications. Cesarean section recovery, care of multiples, NICU support, and adoption are some specialties handled by postpartum doulas.
C-section
Cesarean section recovery usually means that you are unable to lift a certain amount of weight. You may be unable to move as quickly or stretch in certain ways. Allowing rest for your stitches or staples to heal and recognizing signs that you should call your physician are ways that a postpartum doula can support your recovery period. This is usually in addition to their other services like caring for baby and helping with feedings.
Multiples
Care of multiples is a big task, especially for a new birth parent in those first days and weeks after birth. A postpartum doula will help to prevent burnout by offering an extra set of hands at a time when you need it the most. One infant needs a diaper change, while another needs a nap,and perhaps yet another needs to be burped? Your postpartum doula is by your side, making sure that you and your babies have all the help you could need.
NICU
Having a baby in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit or NICU can be a great source of anxiety and even trauma for parents. NICU doulas can provide services that make managing the stress or having your baby in the NICU less overwhelming. Premature infant care, strategies for bonding, skin-to-skin options, and a plan for when baby comes home are some of the ways that a NICU doula can help parents cope with such circumstances. They also provide coping strategies to emotionally recover from difficult births.
Adoption
Adoptive parents can also benefit greatly from hiring a postpartum doula. There is a great amount of emotional build up and planning that goes into preparing to bring home your adoptive baby. Adoption doulas help new families by informing them about feeding choices (including breast milk options as well as formula options), and support infant-parent bonding. As well as addressing specific challenges that face newborn adoptive parents.
Partner and Sibling Support
Bringing home a newborn to a partner or sibling can present challenges of its own. Some partners may be unable to take parental leave to have time to support their birthing partner and welcome their new baby home. Families with older siblings will need to put in an effort to prepare their child or children for the arrival of their new sibling. Postpartum doulas can facilitate this transition and adjustment by providing emotional support and care for the families as a whole, as well as the birthing parent and newborn.
Postpartum doulas are sometimes willing to provide support by offering childcare for older siblings. This being said, postpartum doulas are not nannies. They are well educated and trained to specifically provide postnatal care to mothers and infants. Depending on the doula, they may be perfectly willing to provide childcare, or they may refer you to a reliable nannying service that they trust.
Postpartum Resources and Referrals
Postpartum doulas should also have a list of referrals to professionals that specialize in postpartum care and support. While a doula is a great resource for your emotional and physical support in the home for the weeks following birth, they are not qualified to provide clinical or medical care. A postpartum doula can provide you with a list of counselors who specialize in postpartum depression (PPD), lactation consultants or breastfeeding support groups, new-mommy groups to provide socialization, and any niche references that they know of.
Postpartum doulas are versed in the signs and symptoms of postpartum anxiety and mood disorders. While they cannot diagnose, they can provide you with resources and support. Confide in them if you feel you are struggling.
Light Housework
Many postpartum doulas are willing to do light housework to create a more relaxing environment and relieve stress. This also provides time and space for birth parents and babies to bond. Laundry, dishes, sweeping and mopping, and organizing are common ways that a postpartum doula can support birth parents and their families.
But as previously mentioned postpartum doulas are not housekeepers. If a doula’s postpartum duties are needed elsewhere and housework can be outsourced to a cleaning agency they may offer to assist you in your search to find the services you’re looking for.
Should I Hire a Postpartum Doula?
The support and care that postpartum doulas provide can prove to be so valuable in the days and weeks that follow the birth of your child. It has proven to reduce instances of postpartum depression and improve parent-infant bonding and confidence in feeding choices and abilities. If you are a single parent, a first time parent, have a busy household, expect a challenging delivery or if you just know that you will need that extra support that a postpartum doula provides then you should absolutely go ahead and hire one.
The Right Postpartum Doula for Me
Earlier in this article I went into detail about specialties and services that postpartum doulas provide. When interviewing your doula make sure that they are confident and experienced in providing the services you are looking for. Many postpartum doulas are certified, and you can often find your doula through certification programs (such as DONA).
Your doula will be coming into your home, and providing care for you and your infant almost immediately postpartum. This is a sensitive time. You will want a doula that evokes a sense of ease and comfort.
Cost
Postpartum doulas can charge anywhere from $25 – $75 dollars an hour. The rate can depend on their experience and specialty services that they offer and your location. You can hire them for overnight or daily shifts. Together you can decide if you want or need a few days of postpartum doula support or several weeks.
Summary
The days and weeks after giving birth to your child are intense and powerfully beautiful. The adjustment to bringing home a newborn provides unique challenges that you do not have to face alone. Having the help and support of a postpartum doula can make your postpartum experience more manageable, and enjoyable. That extra source of comfort and confidence in your parenting abilities is a great way to begin life with your newborn.