Benefits of a Postpartum Doula
It wasn’t until I had had my first child and felt this missing element in my postpartum journey that I had even heard of the phenomenon of Postpartum Doulas. In the weeks following my daughter’s birth, I felt this deep longing for mothering support, an elder, someone to really nurture me. My partner was adjusting to being a dad and my family was adjusting to the new addition. I think this role would have once been filled by the ‘village’ of elders and wise women who would have surrounded and cared for new mums during this period of time. This breakdown of village and community life is perhaps what has led to the rise in postpartum doulas.
A postpartum doula is a non-medical professional who is there to support the mother and family during the delicate time after your baby is born. It is worth noting that they aren’t a replacement for medical support or medical advice and they aren’t childcare. The support offered by a postpartum doula is emotional, physical, and informational but the core element is to ‘mother the mother’. The role of the postpartum doula is multidimensional and flexible depending on the mother and family’s needs. What a postpartum doula does for one family will differ for another family. A skilled postpartum doula is able to tailor their assistance and support depending on the needs and environment. Some mothers may need support with lactation and feeding be it breast or bottle, others may need help with cooking meals and preparing nutritious snacks, household chores, running errands, helping siblings adjust, helping the mother find time to look after herself, listening to the mother’s concerns and worries and finding the right support for the mother. Postpartum doulas can help new mums understand what they are going through physical and emotionally in the fourth trimester. They can help plan for best postpartum recovery practices and talk through the hormone changes and the ‘baby blues’, watch out for early signs of postpartum depression and anxiety and encourage mothers to seek help if necessary. By easing these initial stressors a postpartum doula is able to successfully help the mother and family adjust to this new season of life.
Finding the right postpartum doula for your family is important. During those first few weeks, it is essential that the mother and family are surrounded by people with whom they feel comfortable. Finding the right doula is a mixture of finding a friend and a therapist. You want to feel comfortable, warm, and relaxed but you also want to be able to trust them and their knowledge to be able to take care of the things you might feel overwhelmed with. I would suggest meeting with a few and trusting your gut as to which postpartum doula is the best fit for your family. The average price of a postpartum doula in the US is between $20-50 an hour. With the breakdown of the village, mothers have lost access to those who would have mothered them during this period of time. Investing in a postpartum doula can help gain back this invaluable support.
