A postpartum doula is a non-medical professional that provides practical, emotional and informational support to parents following the birth of a baby.

Every postpartum doula’s offerings are slightly different, but they typically include:

• lightening your mental load so you can focus on your rest and recovery – e.g. in the form of light housework or running errands such as picking up groceries;

• keeping you well-fed with food that promotes your healing and breastfeeding;

• caring for your baby or older children while you sleep, shower or recharge;

• providing you with companionship and emotional support in whatever form you need (e.g. active listening or simply sharing a cup of tea!);

• providing evidence-based information about basic baby care and normal breastfeeding to help navigate parenting decisions; and

• helping connect you with other families, classes and support groups.

Ultimately, as your postpartum doula, my role is to help you navigate life after having a baby and recreate the magic of the ‘village support’ that we seem to have lost.

Well, firstly, because you will be experiencing significant changes – physical, hormonal and emotional – and quality support is key to helping you navigate these.

For example, the postpartum hormonal drop of estrogen and progesterone has been described (by Dr Aviva Romm) as “the single largest sudden hormone change in the shortest amount of time for any human being, at any point of their life cycle”!

Physically, your uterus will have a wound inside it where the placenta was attached - approximately 22cm in diameter – which will take weeks to heal.

Emotionally, you’ll be learning to take care of the needs of another human who is wholly dependent on you, and who can’t use words to communicate their needs. You may also be doing this while juggling the needs of your other child/ren.

What helps us navigate these physical, hormonal and emotional challenges? Warm food, rest, a lightened mental load – to name just a few things.

And what helps to put all of this within reach? A support system!

Think of postpartum support as an investment in your future physical, hormonal and emotional health – one that pays serious dividends.

Here’s another reason: because we aren’t designed to do this alone!

In Australia, postpartum care for parents is typically limited to observing the mother from a medical lens – e.g. monitoring vaginal blood loss, blood pressure, and body temperature.

This serves a purpose and has its place - but it only scratches the surface! There’s a whole lot else going on when you become a parent for the first time (or the second, third, or fourth time…).

Around the world, many cultures go beyond a purely medical outlook on ‘postpartum’ and provide new parents with a broader range of support – covering warmth, nutrition, rest and a lightened mental load. The Chinese tradition of “sitting the month”, the forty-day confinement period known as la cuarentena in many parts of Latin America and Malaysia’s forty-four day pantang protocol are just examples.

There’s a reason these types of village support exist – they recognise that in the weeks and months after becoming a first (or second, or third, or fourth…)-time parent, a period of rest and recovery is (or should be) a non-negotiable.

If support was available throughout your pregnancy, why should it end after you have given birth and a different (usually longer) set of challenges emerge?

It’s becoming clear to so many of us that the answer is – it shouldn’t!

For all the reasons discussed above, a postpartum doula would be great for:

• Parents who can’t call on family for support in the postpartum period;

• First-time parents, but equally second-time, third-time, fourth-time parents (you get the gist) – because you’ll still be tending to the needs of your newborn, whilst also juggling the demands of your other child/ren;

• Literally anyone who would like to be supported, fed and listened to in the weeks and months after they have given birth.

Ideally, every new parent without solid family+friend support would have access to a postpartum doula – and it’s my hope that one day, this will become the norm!

I do, depending on your circumstances. If a payment plan would help you access my support, get in touch and we’ll nut out the details.