What is a postpartum doula?

 A postpartum doula is a support person for the new mother and her family after the birth of a baby. The doula assists with integrating the new family by providing emotional, informational and hands on support in the mother’s home during the “fourth trimester.”

What does a postpartum doula do?

A postpartum doula is different than a mothers helper (who helps a lot around the home) or baby nurse (who gives a lot of hands on help with the baby) in the sense that a postpartum doula is there to mother the mother. A doula spends a lot of time listening and asking questions, offering emotional support to the family. She builds confidence in the parents by demonstrating newborn care and encouraging the parents in their capabilities of newborn care. She can teach skills like baby wearing and baby massage. She offers informational support, not just her option, on questions pertaining to co-sleeping or other newborn care issues. A doula’s goal is to work herself out of a job by empowering the parents to take on the full responsibility of parenting a newborn with the confidence and knowledge needed. A doula is an extra set of hands for when you need them most, but a good doula will teach you how to manage without her.

What isn’t a postpartum doula for?

A postpartum doula isn’t a housekeeper, though she’ll help out around the home. She also isn’t a baby nurse, though she will assist with newborn care here and there. She is not a baby sitter for older siblings either, though she can help them adjust to the new arrival. A postpartum doula should not be a crutch for a new family; she should not be an enabler to needing constant hired help, a new family should not learn to depend on their doula. The beginning is hard and sometimes a family has no one to show them the ropes. A doula is a temporary relief person who will orient a new family to their new situation and help them adjust to the new responsibilities while offering an extra set of hands for awhile.

What is the span of a postpartum period?

Ideally a postpartum doula should work with a family within the first month; this is when they need the most support in learning and adjusting. Sometimes a family does not realize the support they need until the second month, and a doula will work with them then, to help them regain confidence and order to their home/family. Other families, perhaps with special needs situations, will need a doula through the third month. But a postpartum period does end after month three.

Are there doulas who do more housekeeping and infant care than others do?

There are some postpartum doulas that define their role differently than the certifying organizations do. This is for several simple reasons, in our area there is a shortage of baby nurses and so if a family wants a baby nurse, often a postpartum doula is there only choice. There are also doulas who want to work full time and are therefore willing to take on varying job titles under her role as doula, because it fits their business best that way. But there are also doula’s who “screen” the families that inquire after their services in order to find out what kind of support they need and then perhaps refer them out if its a poor fit. This can be because these doulas  just work part time, and need to keep their schedule open for families that need the special support a doula can give. It is also because doulas sometimes feel there are families overpaying by paying a specially trained doula to be a mother’s helper or housekeeper and therefore the doula may refer parents to other kinds of helpers/caregivers. What is important is that the family finds the kind of help that they need and the right support person to give it.