Olympia Doula Care is now welcoming clients for May 2011 & beyond. I welcome your calls & emails to talk about your postpartum care!
Expecting a baby? I hope you’ll consider hiring a postpartum doula to help.
Welcome to Olympia Doula Care, aka OlyDoula!
I offer compassionate postpartum doula care to families in Thurston, Mason, Pierce and Lewis counties (Washington State).
Postpartum care is an investment you can make in your family so that you can concentrate your precious energy on bonding with your beautiful new baby.
What is a postpartum doula?
She is a supportive helper who is professionally trained to provide in-home support to the mother upon welcoming a new baby into the family.
What does a postpartum doula do?*
She works for families who have a new baby (or babies) in their home. This includes both first-time parents and those who have children already. It includes adoptive and birth families.
She non-judgmentally “mothers the mother” and helps the family in a time of transition. This includes sibling care.
For the “newborn mother” she supports recovery from birth, breastfeeding, physical and emotional changes, and postpartum mood disorders. She makes sure the mother is fed, well hydrated, rested and comfortable.
She provides information on and helps with non-medical newborn care, including feeding, diapering, sleep, carriers, bonding, and developmental dynamics.
For the household, she provides light housekeeping, food preparation, household organization and errands.
The postpartum doula provides referrals, such as pediatricians, parent educators, therapists, bodywork practitioners, and breastfeeding/lactation support. She is NOT a medical care provider or therapist herself, however.
Where and when do postpartum doulas work?
Postpartum care is provided in the family’s home.
Postpartum doulas are often hired before baby is born. The doula can help develop a postpartum plan, organize the home, set up for home birth, or prepare the household for the trip to the hospital/place of adoption.
Other times, postpartum doulas are hired once baby’s arrived when the family realizes they need some help. When dad/partner returns to work and extended family has left, families need support from a doula.
Some families need care for the first 2-3 weeks, others want support throughout the “fourth trimester” (baby’s first 3-4 months). Mothers experiencing postpartum mood disorders, who had birth complications, or have no/little support from a partner may need care for a longer period – up to a year. Nevertheless, the doula’s ultimate goal is to work herself out of a job by fostering the family’s self-sufficiency and community connections.
Want to read more about postpartum doulas?
DONA International has FAQs, info about Doulas & Dads, and a position paper on The Role of the Postpartum Doula in Maternity Care.
*Adapted from DONA International’s Postpartum Doula FAQs.
