If you think that postpartum doulas offer support to the birthing person and baby, you are correct! AND we offer support to the entire family and household systems. This includes partners, siblings, and some foundational household logistics.
Nighttime doulas support the sleep of everyone in the home, and as you know, sleep impacts everything, including mental health and wellness. They also take notes and leave information about infant sleep for the family to process the next day. Daytime doulas help problem-solve and work through the inevitable challenges that arise in adjusting to the new family member.
Whether they are supporting you at night or during the day, doulas work to empower you and your growing family by sharing knowledge and connecting with you in individualized ways. In other words, postpartum doulas help decrease stress and increase ease for the whole family.
What Does a Postpartum Doula Do?
We want to share just some of the invaluable ways postpartum doulas can support you and your family as you welcome a new baby into the home. A postpartum doula can:
- Help you create a postpartum support plan.
- Support you in communicating needs and boundaries with your family, friends, and community.
- Listen to your concerns, needs, wishes. Witness you as you process your birth, healing, and growth with a new family member.
- Offer tips, advice, feedback, and evidence-based information to answer your questions and concerns.
- Model and teach different baby care techniques, including feeding, swaddling, bathing, and diapering.
- Protect your sleep by offering care to the newborn and/or siblings during the night and/or naps.
- Bring baby to you for feedings such that you get as much sleep before and after the feedings as possible.
- Cook meals and/or prepare snacks for the family.
- Brainstorm solutions to systems that aren’t working or are feeling overwhelming– i.e. dishes, baby laundry, pump/feeding supplies.
- Make referrals to other birth professionals including but not limited to lactation consultants, physical therapists, psychotherapists, and support groups.
- Offer recommendations for products that can support the family’s most pressing needs.
Also, check out our blog that covers 24-hours in the life of a nighttime postpartum doula here.
Who Benefits from a Postpartum Doula?
In short, ANYONE! Because a family is a system, the health and wellness of one person impacts the health and wellness of all members of the system. Postpartum doulas show up prepared to lovingly observe the whole system– what’s working, what’s not working, where there’s ease, and where there’s tension. They help bridge the gaps and tend to the system as a whole.
First time parents who hire postpartum doulas often comment about how good it feels to have a go-to support for any and all questions and concerns. Not only do we offer an extra set of hands, we also listen with compassion and patience. Furthermore, we offer nonjudgmental and evidence-based information to support growing families as they adapt and adjust to life with their new baby. The best doulas receive and process a family’s needs and refer them to additional services when their needs or requests fall outside of our scope of practice.
Parents who are welcoming a sibling into the family are typically prepared for at least a little bit of chaos. A postpartum doula offers a sense of calm and can help the family navigate the many and varied needs during this transition.
In our last blog, we wrote about physical healing, and you’ll notice that grounding into your support system is a key part of healing. Thus, all birthing people and their families could benefit from the hands-on care a postpartum doula can provide.
ABG is Here for You
Your postpartum experience matters deeply to us at Austin Baby Guru. We are here to support you in planning for and navigating your postpartum experience. Please reach out if you’d like to explore ways that we may be able to help your family as you prepare for and navigate this next big transition.
*Photo credit: Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash
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