Are you thinking of hiring a doula to be on-call for the big day? Postpartum Doulas provide non-medical physical and emotional assistance. And who increase popularity in delivery rooms and birthing centers.
Parents are increasingly turning to postpartum doulas. Postpartum doula help mothers during pregnancy and after childbirth. Postpartum doulas step when the baby is already born and remain for the first six weeks after birth. They teach the supposedly natural but challenging calming skills, bathing and breastfeeding babies, without any personal baggage.
Here are all the details of the postpartum doulas:
What Is a Postpartum Doula?
The postpartum doula is essentially a doula whose help extends to the post-labor period. A postpartum doula is somebody who helps mom:
- recover from birth,
- gives Mom time to bond with the baby by doing light housework,
- helping with essential maternity services,
- and helping to manage life with the newest addition to their family.
As anybody who brought a baby home can attest, bottles, plates, and laundry piled up in the blink of a (too sleepy) eye. And you can interfere with your happy moment with your new little love. Thus, postpartum doulas can play a vital role. Cause they new moms (and dads!) to adjust their home as seamlessly as possible.
What is postpartum?
Postpartum is the 12 weeks (3 months) after your baby’s birth when your body is healing. This duration also refers to as the “fourth trimester.” Just as there is an antepartum/prenatal period for 40 weeks, there is also a postpartum/ postnatal period for 12-weeks.
What does a postpartum doula do?
What a postpartum doula does vary from day to day. Because of the needs of the family change. Postpartum doulas do whatever it takes for a mother to love and care for her new infant. Education is a big part of their role.
Visits usually last 4+ hours and begin by debriefing a couple to identify places that need treatment. Each visit is based mainly on a set of priorities. In the early weeks, the primary priority is on the mother’s recovery and breastfeeding, while the last weeks include outings And household duties.
Here are a few examples of what a postpartum doula does during her visits:
- Providing help for the emotional adjustment of parenthood
- Support and assistance for breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, including pumping information;
- Latch and positioning which breastfeeding while teaching the partner how to help the breastfeeding mother;
- Helping you and your partner understand the cues of your child.
- Calming the baby – helping with a gassy and colicky baby and providing coping techniques
- Infant care demonstrations, such as diapering, bathing, trimming of nails, and swaddling.
- Baby-wearing
- support the treatment of older siblings and encouraging them to adjust to the new family member;
- Provide support for pet adjustment
- Light housekeeping, including dishes
- Doing errands and shopping
- small meals preparation for mothers and family members
- Providing support and referrals to the community
- Non-judgmental support for the families of the mother
- Home and nursery organization
- The laundry of the baby
- Postpartum mood disorder screening
- developing a nurturing and quiet environment for the family
- Care for the child while the mother and her husband wish to spend a special moment.
- Hands-on education for child care and mother care
- Preparation/cleaning of pump supplies or bottles
- Offering assistance for the physical recovery of the mother after childbirth
- Helping the mother to process the birth experience
How does a doula nurture parents into their roles?
Self-confidence has a huge impact on a person’s ability to approach any task, and parenting is no different. Educated and qualified doulas are taught to consider parents’ emotions and to build trust whenever possible. Doulas accomplish this through praise, approval, and a non-judgmental approach. The doula will also teach parents techniques. And also teach skills that will enhance their ability to connect with their babies. A calm child who grows well will make parents feel more positive in their abilities.
How’s a postpartum doula different from a baby nurse?
During the postpartum period, baby-nurses provide in-home care for newborns. They can be either registered nurses or laypeople. Some also work with children who have special needs. Whatever the main aim of a baby nurse is to take care of the infant’s needs.
On the other hand, postpartum doulas are mostly concentrated on the mother, the husband, and the whole family. While doulas provide care for babies, their main aim is to nurture the mother’s feelings. And give the parents a variety of expertise and child education.
Both roles are important—just it’s a matter of the sort of assistance you need.
How Do I Find a Postpartum Doula?
A postpartum doula is costly and not cost-effective for all. If it’s something you can afford or have friends and family who want to give it to you, I think it’s worth a lot. You may also add hours of a postpartum doula to some registries, a gift that your loved ones may be willing to send to you. If you’re your first mom or if you live far from home and need extra help, it’s a great gift to ask for.
If you want a postpartum doula but are still on the fence because you’re still pregnant, ask for advice in your city. Interview a handful of doulas to find someone you are secure with, who you trust, and who you want in your home in the most insecure days or weeks after birth. You’re also going to want to ask about the qualities you’re looking for. Do you want a calm, relaxing presence or someone who’s more chatty and energetic? But if you’re unsure, it’s nice to do the interview process early. When your baby comes, if you think you want help, you’re going to have a list ready to call.
Interview tips
While interviewing potential doulas, try asking:
- What do you like about being a doula postpartum?
- What services do you have during the postpartum period?
- How can you support my partner/family during the postpartum period?
- Are you available about the time of year when I’m due?
- What are the services included in your fee? What services pay extra?
- Do you have some postpartum mental health experience or training?
- What kind of experience do you have of baby feeding, like breastfeeding?
- Do you have any restrictions that I need to know about?
Don’t feel the need to hire the first doula you’re seeing. Consider the answers to the questions and the confidence you see in the person.
Although it’s a little woo-woo, you can also see how you and your partner feel. If you think some form of connection, lack of judgment, or excitement—these are good signs that you’ve found one.
The Bottom Line
a postpartum doula is not mandatory when you get your baby home. But they can make life a lot simpler. Speak to your health care provider about the tools you know to find a postpartum doula to see if it would help you.
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