All about postpartum doulas
One of the most common responses I get when I tell people I’m a postpartum doula is, “you’re a what?” Many people have never heard the word ‘postpartum’ before, nor ‘doula’, so put them together and it sounds like I’m speaking another language!
Luckily the value of postpartum doulas is gaining attention. If you’re currently pregnant or postpartum, I’m sure you’ve heard of the importance of having as much support as possible after you’ve given birth. A postpartum doula can be a foundational part of your village as the parent of a new baby. If you’d like to learn more about what a postpartum doula is, what a postpartum doula does, and how a postpartum doula can help, keep reading.
In this blog post…
What is a postpartum doula?
What does a postpartum doula do?
What does a postpartum doula not do?
Why should you hire a postpartum doula?
What is the difference between a birth doula and a postpartum doula?
How long should you hire a postpartum doula for?
What should I look for in a postpartum doula?
What is a postpartum doula?
A postpartum doula is someone who offers educational, emotional, and practical support to help families have a smoother transition to life with a new baby.
What does a postpartum doula do?
There are 3 main types of support that postpartum doulas offer: educational, emotional, and practical support. Postpartum doulas also help to connect families with other professionals that could be helpful. Some postpartum doulas will specialise to be really good at one type of support, for example, in nutrition, lactation, or newborn care. Other postpartum doulas aim to provide flexible support to meet whatever needs you might have.
Educational support
Educational support might include information about:
Newborn care
Newborn behaviour & development
Postpartum recovery
Medical care options
Bonding & attachment
Parenting styles
Lactation, including breastfeeding techniques, pumping, and lactation problems
Other infant feeding techniques, including bottle feeding, combination feeding and formula feeding
Information might be offered in the style of a class, through handouts, or simply just answering your questions as they come up. Your postpartum doula might also direct you to other resources. Postpartum doulas can also summarise evidence to help you understand more complex topics. This can help with the decision making process, which leads us to…
Emotional support
Emotional support might includes:
Supporting your decision making process
Helping you to process your birth story
Using listening skills to support your emotional transition throughout the postpartum transition
Validating your emotions
Providing tools for emotional support
Noticing signs of postpartum mental health problems and knowing when further support may be needed
Keeping you company
Postpartum doulas offer emotional support not only to the mother, but also the father, older children, and even grandparents! Postpartum doulas understand that welcoming a new baby can be an emotional transition for the whole family.
Practical support
Practical support could look like:
Cooking, grocery shopping and/or meal planning
Help with budgeting
Caring for older children
Caring for baby while you sleep or practice self-care
Light housework such as tidying, loading/unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry, or vacuuming
Arranging breastfeeding pillows
… and much more! I think the best thing about postpartum doulas is their ability to be flexible and adapt to the unique needs of each family they work with. Do you need me to help unpack your hospital bag? Sure! Need me to water the plants? You got it. Pharmacy run? No problem.
Overnight support
Some doulas also offer overnight support. With overnight support, they will take care of baby so you can get some sleep (waking you to breastfeed, if needed). They might even use that time to tidy the house or do meal prep, so you wake up to a clean house and a fridge full of food.
What does a postpartum doula not do?
Whilst postpartum doulas offer a wide range of support, there are certain things they will not do. A postpartum doula works within boundaries appropriate to their role. For example they might provide emotional support by using listening skills, but they will not provide psychotherapy. They might load your dishwasher, but they aren’t scrubbing pots and pans from the dinner party you hosted last night. They can, however, refer you to a psychotherapist or a cleaning service. Every doula’s boundaries can be different. Discussing your needs and their boundaries ahead of time can help to prevent any disappointments or miscommunications. If you are unsure, it’s always okay to ask - it’s your doula’s responsibility to uphold their own boundaries.
Postpartum doulas do not give advice. Whilst they can offer information and tools support your decision making process, they are not there to tell you what to do.
Postpartum doulas are not medical practitioners (unless they are otherwise trained as medical practitioners). A postpartum doula will cannot perform medical procedures, or give medical advice, prescriptions, or diagnoses. A postpartum doula works within their scope of practice. For example, a postpartum doula can give information about symptoms, but cannot make a diagnosis. A postpartum doula can provide information about drugs, but cannot prescribe them.
Postpartum doulas will not speak to medical professionals on your behalf. Whilst some postpartum doulas accompany their clients to appointments, the doula’s focus will be on helping you to feel calm and confident in advocating for yourself, understanding what the doctors are saying, and supporting you emotionally - or helping to take care of your baby! The furthest extent of communication a postpartum doula would have with your care providers is in making referrals and (with your permission) providing some details of why they are referring you. This would not be extensive, comprehensive, or substitute for you following up on the referral.
Why should you hire a postpartum doula?
Postpartum doulas can be particularly helpful for certain families, such as:
Parents who want to focus on bonding with their baby and the mother’s recovery during the postpartum period. Having help with practical tasks like cooking and cleaning allows parents to focus on cuddling their baby and getting rest.
First time parents, who might not have much experience with newborn care and may struggle more with adapting to broken sleep patterns.
Families with older children, who may need additional help with caring for and entertaining older children.
Families without lots of extended family close by, who may not have enough help with practical tasks such as cooking, cleaning, or caring for baby while parents catch up on sleep.
Single parents, who might need someone to share the physical and emotional load with.
Families with babies born by caesarean, who may need additional help as the birthing parent recovers from the major abdominal surgery associated with a c-section delivery.
Parents experiencing mental health difficulties, or with a history of mental health problems, who may benefit from extra emotional and practical support.
Parents with lots of questions, who would benefit from having a professional to provide answers and information.
What is the difference between a birth doula and a postpartum doula?
Birth doula vs. postpartum doula
A birth doula supports families through the childbirth process, with their main role being to attend the labor and delivery. A postpartum doula supports families throughout the postpartum stage. A postpartum doula might begin working with families during pregnancy to educate them about with to expect during postpartum. However, the main role of a postpartum doula is to help families after baby’s arrival. Postpartum doulas might even offer support up until the baby’s first birthday.
How long should you hire a postpartum doula for?
How long you hire a postpartum doula will depend on your needs and financial capabilities. Typical timeframes are two weeks, six weeks, or 3 months. Many postpartum doulas offer packages so you can book them for a specific time period. Other postpartum doulas work on an ad-hoc basis, so you hire them as needed. And many postpartum doulas offer both ad-hoc visits and packages! The advantage of a postpartum doula package is that they are usually discounted, and you know in advance how much support you’ll have. Ad-hoc visits can be helpful for unexpected circumstances, if you just need to discuss some specific questions or concerns, or let’s be real - if you are desperate for a nap.
What should I look for in a postpartum doula?
Here are some things to consider when hiring a postpartum doula…
Financial investment
Their certifications
Their specialties
Their policy on reserving due dates
Their location
Whether they offer any virtual support
Whether you can text and/or email them
What packages they offer and what they include
Ad-hoc rates
The most important thing to consider when hiring a postpartum doula is what your needs are. Are you hoping to breastfeed and would benefit with someone who has qualifications in lactation? Are you concerned about the baby blues or postpartum mental health and would benefit from someone who has additional training in counselling skills or perinatal mental health? Would you like someone who has an understanding of your cultural or spiritual background? Do you like a ‘matter of fact’ approach, or a more empathetic approach? Are you looking for someone who can offer additional services, such as yoga or Reiki?
Interviewing postpartum doulas to get to know them and their unique personality and services can be a good way to figure out if they’ll meet your needs and just generally be a good fit. It’s important to feel comfortable and at ease with your postpartum doula, who will be supporting you through one of the most vulnerable transitions of your life.
What else would you like to know?
Thank you for reading this blog post about postpartum doulas. There’s so much more I could share about postpartum doulas, and I will! Subscribe to my email list to stay updated with more posts about postpartum, breastfeeding, and babies. You can also find me on Instagram and DM me there with any questions you have about postpartum doulas - your question might even be featured in an upcoming blog post!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ceridwen is a postpartum doula and lactation counsellor based in the Cayman Islands. She offers personalised, evidence-based information to help pregnant families prepare for their baby’s arrival. After birth, she helps postpartum families to feel calm, confident, and cared for, with a focus on lactation and mental health.
Learn more about Ceridwen here.
