Three Support Roles of a Postpartum Doula

In this blog, we will be going into detail about the three ways in which, a postpartum doula supports parents in the early days and months of the postpartum period.

Postpartum doulas offer physical, educational, and emotional support to their clients. Each type of support can greatly impact the client's adjustment to postpartum and comes along with it's own set of duties for a postpartum doula.

PHYSICAL SUPPORT

This type of support is hands on in some way. The client may be recovering from a cesarean, complicated delivery, tearing, or general discomfort from birth and need a little extra help getting comfortable and also being able to get that much needed rest.

This brings us to another hands on task for a postpartum doula: newborn care! Because a postpartum doula is trained in caring for a newborn, the parents can take a break to eat, shower, do self care, spend some time together etc. while the doula takes over. After all, happy parents usually equals a happier baby!

A postpartum doula can also take over with an older sibling, allowing the client to fully focus on care and bonding with the littlest one. Or maybe the client would like to spend some time with their older child while the doula takes over with the baby. Whichever, the client can feel less stressed about dividing their time with their children.

A postpartum doula's main goal is to serve and support the client so they are feeling their absolute best. If house chores are interfering with their mood or contentment, the doula can help with some light housekeeping to take some of the stress load off of the client. Dish washing, cleaning baby bottles/pump parts, laundry, and light meal prep are just some examples.

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT

Educational support can be vital for some clients who love knowing their options before making decisions and also great if something arises that the parents have questions about. Postpartum doulas hold a lot of well-rounded knowledge on the topics of newborns, newborn care, soothing techniques, parenting, feeding, sleeping, and what is or isn't in the scope of "normal" for the client and baby.

Postpartum doulas are trained in PMADs (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders) too. With the knowledge on this important mental health subject, the doula can spot the signs and symptoms if the client starts to experience depression, anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, or psychosis. Thanks to this in-depth training, these can often be caught early and the client can turn to their doula for information on where they can go to get help with a diagnosis and treatment, if need be.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Last but definitely not least, emotional support is provided to the client. In fact, this may be the most important type of support. Many parents claim they wish they had more of this support after their baby arrives. Having a newborn in general, can be emotionally taxing sometimes. Throw in the ups and downs with hormones and it can really be a lot. Having someone to be able to share these feelings with and vent to can make all of the difference!

A postpartum doula isn't just for the heavy emotional stuff, they can be the friend that you laugh and have a good time with as well. While a doula definitely doesn't replace family or friends, if the client doesn't have a lot of them nearby/available, this can be a cherry on top to having a postpartum doula. Connection is important. When a client has someone they can trust and relate to, it all feels a lot less lonely.

Words of affirmation can go a long way with clients as well. This can give the client more confidence in parenting their newborn and ease the common worries that come up for most parents. Hearing "you're doing a great job" is sometimes just the reassurance new parents need.

INDIVIDUAL CARE

With all of that said, each client is tailored to individually when it comes to care and support, as no one client is exactly the same in what they need postpartum. Some clients will want more of one kind of support or may need a balance of all three! Regardless, your postpartum doula will meet you where you are, hear your individual concerns and desires, treat you with respect, and support you unbiasedly.