What exactly do postpartum doulas DO?!
As a postpartum doula and doula trainer, I get this question a LOT. Everyone from family, friends, and expectant parents, to care providers, and even other doulas. Usually birth doulas who don’t offer postpartum care, but yes, sometimes even other postpartum doulas! As my own father still likes to say, “a do-what?!”
Because we mostly work in client’s homes, the general population doesn’t actually see what postpartum doulas do. And if our clients are sleeping or resting in their bedroom during our visit, they may not even witness us working. However, they will see the results of our work- a tidy space, bottles prepped, clean dishes, etc.
Additionally, since we don’t typically have other postpartum doulas with us at client appointments we don’t see what our colleagues do first hand. We don’t see how they perform certain tasks, what they talk to their clients about, or what they do during down time, hence the question from other postpartum doulas.
OK, so let’s dive in… what do postpartum doulas DO?
Well, it depends on the day. Or the hour. Or the minute. Doulas pivot, and address whatever is coming up in the moment. Our agendas get set aside more often than not. Oh, you wanted to teach your client to use their baby carrier today? Surprise! They have a lactation appointment at 2:00 that they forgot about, so off you go with your client. You wanted to discuss sleep training with your client? Oh, they just decided to have a family bed and skip the sleep training after all (kudos to them!)
In addition to being professional pivoters, postpartum doulas are also companions. We listen to concerns, share in milestones (baby’s first smile! parent’s first time out of the house!), hold space for their birth or adoption stories, breakdowns and breakthroughs. Doulas are gleaners, always listening out for the hidden messages, particularly of emotional struggles and unmet needs. We are fortune tellers, seeing what is coming in the near future and getting ahead of it (developmental leaps, anyone?)
Doulas are community-creators, advocates (my favorite things to advocate for are naps), babywearers, delegators, and occasionally, mediators.
Doulas are parent educators that provide evidence-based information and resources. We are experts in normal who refer to other professionals when necessary.
OK but seriously… what EXACTLY and PRECISELY do postpartum doulas DO?!?!
Tasks we might tackle on any given day can include:
changing diapers
storing pumped milk or preparing bottles
feeding the baby
feeding the parent(s)
interacting with extended family and managing visitors
setting up a meal train
stocking the diaper bag
organizing the nursery
cleaning up the kitchen
doing some laundry
changing the sheets on the bed (again) because baby’s diaper leaked (again)
preparing a postpartum sitz bath
holding baby while parent(s) sleep/eat/rest
take a walk with our client
check in with co-parent to see how they are doing
learn and show clients how to use their baby carrier, pump, or any other baby-related gadget
accompany them to appointments and the store
almost any other non-medical task related to new family care
Sometimes, our work is bigger, and heavier.
Postpartum doulas often make referrals to addiction treatment programs, therapists, abuse shelters, food banks. We advocate for better and more equitable health care and help clients get the social services they need. We call out discrimination or microaggressions that we witness happening to our clients, or in the world at large. Some doulas advocate on larger scales, such as the public health arena or state capitals.
Often, we carry burdens- our clients and our cultures, personal and systemic. And sometimes, we burn out. We hit any number of walls including compassion fatigue, clinical burnout, vicarious trauma. We go to therapy, the coffee shop, doula support groups… or the bar. We might even take a step back from the work to reset, and then come back to it with better boundaries.
But what we mostly do is care. Doula work is human care work that extends far beyond our individual clients and the tasks we perform. It’s rewarding, exhausting, challenging and fulfilling. And sometimes, we even get to squish sweet babies, exactly and precisely.
