Postpartum Doulas ~ Creating Your Village

I was Earth Mama, Goddess, Baby Whisperer, Breastfeeding Guru with my first two children. Easily conceived, uneventful pregnancies, home births, perfect latchers and those lovely girls came safely before their estimated due dates.

Bless their thoughtful little hearts.

Eight years later, I experienced the exact opposite. Struggles to stay pregnant, terrible anxiety on the health of my baby, symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), hospital birth, his latch was fierce, fast and shallow and if I didn’t time it right he would just nip the end of my bleeding nipple. He did not come fashionably early either.

I had a fast hospital birth and amazing nurses. My baby boy was healthy and my pubic bone was happy. The days meshed into months and I soon felt isolated and the furthest I’ve ever been from Earth Mama, Goddess, Baby Whisperer, Breastfeeding Guru.

If I knew about postpartum doulas and hired one, I strongly believe my first year would have looked different. 

Would I of still had bad days? Absolutely.
Would I still of had Hemi, a giant hemorrhoid that was so big my husband and I had to name it? Most definitely.
Would I still of had flat nipples that were hard for my son to latch on to. Yes.
Would I still have a household to run and two other children to care for? Yep.

I can’t control all those things but the difference would have been additional support.

I would have had support. Lots of non-judgmental support, informational support, household support and someone to ease the daily burdens so I didn’t always have to run on empty.

What my day would have looked like with a postpartum doula:

My postpartum doula would have entered my house, washed her hands then found me either on the couch or on my bed. She would ask me if I had breakfast and if I would like some tea. After bringing me the best peanut butter toast I have ever eaten, she would ask me how I was feeling and how she could help. I would breastfeed my son and she would see right away what needed to be tweaked to support a deep latch. She would see that my nipple type may be part of the issue and offer suggestions. She may agree with me that I had a suspected oversupply issue so she would offer some tips or get me in contact with a Lactation Consultant.

After getting us settled into a good latch, she would refill my tea, and carry on doing her doula magic around my house. After a bit, she would hold my baby that never wanted to be put down and I would do the dreaded journey to the bathroom to deal with Hemi the Hemorrhoid. This time I would tend to it with two hands instead of one. I then would hop into a long hot shower knowing my son was being held close and if he cried she would do the sway & bounce around the kitchen because that’s what he liked. Before leaving my house she would get us settled in with snacks and drinks in easy reach for me and say, “All you have to do is preheat the oven to 350 and pop the dinner in the oven.”

My days didn’t look like this but they could of! Even once a week would have been so helpful and welcomed.

Postpartum support looks different in every family and in each visit. Please review my Postpartum Doula Package to get a full detail of this service.