Postpartum Doula Lifestyle
Posted on: July 3, 2023 | Babies, Doulas, Famillies, Fatherhood, Information, Las Vegas, Motherhood, Parenting, Postpartum, Postpartum Doulas, Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders, Relationships, Work
People come to you for parenting, child-rearing, or feeding advice and help. You are called a “baby whisperer”. Strangers share their birth stories, trials, and tribulations, and smile with gratitude as you provide a listening ear of compassion. The postpartum doula lifestyle may be right up your alley! Beyond the world of birth and labor lies the secret support of a postpartum doula. The rest, the reassurance, and the confidence that is uncovered in the hands of a doula in the postpartum realm, is not something that is openily discussed. We believe as parents that “no sleep”, “lack of consistent clean hygiene, good nutrition, and a kept up home” is what’s in the cards; because that’s what society teaches us to know. But, just imagine a magical “doulacorn” waving her wand of acceptance, acknowledgement, affirmations, and understanding; trekking through the trenches with famlily…and assisting new parents to thrive!
What’s A Postpartum Doula
A postpartum doula is an individual that supports families emotionally, educationally, and physically in the postpartum realm of welcoming baby home. The role of a postpartum doula is to bring peace and synergy to an environment that can often be found with charged energies of anxieties, anger, uncertainties, and unknowns. Having a baby is an exciting time, and bringing a baby home can be another kind of excitement. A Postpartum doula’s primary focus is the birthing person. This person’s care and well-being, mentally, emotionally, and physically. How are they doing in their postpartum healing? The secondary focus of a postpartum doula is the baby and other children in the home: the caretaking and the physical aspects of their needs. The final focus of the postpartum doula is the home and anything in the home environment that may impact the family’s recovery, healing, and peace. This may include light housekeeping, errands, and light meal preparations. The overall nature of the postpartum doula is to assist in the adjustment to new family life simple, seamless, and serene.
Postpartum Doula Lifestyle
The postpartum doula lifestyle can be quite alluring for a mom, a college student, or a part-time gig. You get to set your hours of work, and your availability. Perfect for individuals with school-aged children. You get to hang out with new parents and babies all day (or night). You can make a living wage by charging your worth and determining how many hours/shifts you have to secure to make this profession sustainable. Send your kiddos off to school, and be home in time for dinner and bedtimes.
Setting up systems in the postpartum doula lifestyle is just as equally important as with the labor doula lifestyle. How will you keep track of client shifts, billing, and information? Would day shifts, evenings, or overnights work best for your schedule? Setting boundaries with clients on what doulas “do” and what we “don’t do”, while in the homes (psst…we don’t clean bathrooms!) Knowing what is in your scope, and when to resource and refer out when questions and instances are no longer in your professional wheelhouse. Self-care is also important in the postpartum doula life. You don’t want to take the energy of your client’s home into your own space.
Benefits of Being a Postpartum Doula
The benefit of a postpartum doula lifestyle is that work can be scheduled and worked in to fit into your already set life. Some find the benefits of being a postpartum doula snuggling, holding, and caring for babies. Others find the benefits of being a postpartum doula, is being that safe and sound space for new parents. Understanding how lonely and overwhelming this time in life can be.
Statistically, there are benefits to the families that are supported by a postpartum doula. One main benefit is that the unbiased professional support of a doula can reduce the onset of a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder by up to 60%. Doulas build confidence in parenting by having a “personalized baby guide” hands on and in your home. Recovery periods with a postpartum doula bring a sense of peace and acheivement in the day to day functioning of the family home. Overall, imagine assisting clients who wake up rested, refreshed, and grateful; in a tidy house, greeted by your friendly face as you navigate the day together.
Becoming a Postpartum Doula
Becoming a doula has never been easier, efficient, and rewarding! Find a reputable and qualified doula training to train and certify to start your journey. Whether you have 0, 1, or 5 children of your own, there is a benefit to not having only your own experience to pull from. Being able to support families of all make-ups, models, and dynamics shows how multi-facted and valuable you are to a family. The doula profession is an unregulated and unlicensed profession. A quick Google search will pull up over 100 doula training across the world. Some are in-person, some are virtual, and some offer a hybrid component. ProDoula offers one of the most comprehensive and efficient doula training on the market.
The growing need of the support postpartum doulas are becoming more mainstream and acceptable. The Western culture is one on the only cultures that parenting is done in a bubble and in a field of feast and famine. Yearning for, needing, and seeking the ideals that “what used to be, doesn’t have to suit me” is okay! As parents, when we know better, we do better. What better than the hands-on intimate support of having a professional at your side, during the wild ride of early parenting.