The Postpartum Doula is there to support and gently lead families through the weeks after birth.
While their expertise is in newborn care, their primary role is maternal and family care. The Postpartum Doula’s job is one that varies day to day based on family’s changing needs. They act as a non-medical guide, companion and knowledgeable resource for families navigating life in the postpartum phase. The Doula supports and care for parents as they become confident and capable care providers.
Postpartum Doula Support Includes:
- Postpartum Maternal Care
- Newborn Care and Demonstration
- In-home Lactation Education and Hands-on Support
- Milk Storage & Pumping Information
- Bottle Feeding education
- Sibling Care & Support
- Infant and Toddler Development Information
- General Household Management
- Errand Running and Meal Preparation
- Community Referrals
Postpartum services are non-medical in nature. Support is tailored to meet your needs and visits can vary just one time for a few hours to several times a week for up to 6 months postpartum.
Lactation Support
We know that breastfeeding/chestfeeding is the most natural choice for both the birth person and child in terms of nutrition, health, and bonding. However, many new parents still find establishing a new breastfeeding/chestfeeding relationship challenging due to a loss of conventional wisdom and a lack of experienced role models in our communities.
Some of our doulas are trained through CAPPA as Lactation Educators and provide private, in-home breastfeeding/chestfeeding instruction both prenatally and postpartum. Although they provide lactation education at either time, we’ve found that breastfeeding/chestfeeding person learns and remembers lactation information best when they take a feeding class at the end of their pregnancy. We recommend a prenatal lactation class in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy with hands-on breastfeeding/chestfeeding support during the first 2 weeks postpartum for optimal feeding success.
Doulas for Multiples
When twins, triplets or greater are expected, it is extremely important for families to build their support system to help navigate the unique challenges of parenting multiples. Doulas can be essential to this network by providing training and support for the whole team during the immediate postpartum period and beyond. Doulas can help these families create simple routines that make life with multiples easier and saner. They give you many ideas for efficient ways to feed, bathe, dress and soothe more than one baby as well as organizational techniques to make life with multiples run smoother. Doulas also assist with breastfeeding/chestfeeding and/or bottle feeding multiples through education and in-home support. Multiples are truly a blessing, but do require extra support and usually more long term doula care than single babies.