? about post partum doulas

[churchofdisco]

i know what a regular doula is i guess you could say, but what exactly does a post partum doula do? dh is army and if the last two babies are any indicator we will have ZERO family coming out here when our next baby is born (not that we're pregnant yet, he won't be back from iraq till next month, but we are talking about TTC in jan.) i'm wondering if a post partum doula is something i should look into?

[1stimestar]

Originally Posted by churchofdisco

i know what a regular doula is i guess you could say, but what exactly does a post partum doula do? dh is army and if the last two babies are any indicator we will have ZERO family coming out here when our next baby is born (not that we're pregnant yet, he won't be back from iraq till next month, but we are talking about TTC in jan.) i'm wondering if a post partum doula is something i should look into?

PP doulas do different things depending on how they run their business. Some do more housework and kid watching/entertaining then others. Most take care of mom, so that mom can take care of the baby. One might watch the baby while you shower though. Most can help with breastfeeding. I'm not a PPD but maybe some will chime in on how they operate. Since you are an experienced mom already you might look into a mother's helper type of person instead, a younger person that can help more with housework and playing with your other kids.

[MidwifeErika]

I work as a pp doula as well. Usually during daytime hours I do anything that the mom needs doing.... help with the kids, run a few errands, make her a meal, light cleaning, watch baby while she gets a shower, help with any nursing troubles that pop up, encourage mama to get into bed with her baby and just rest, etc.

I also do overnight care, which is a little different. If I am there overnight, I don't do any cleaning or errand running. It is really just me trying to keep baby/babies happy as possible so that the parents can get some sleep. I try to only wake the mom if the baby needs to nurse and then take the baby back to rock and burb and such so that she can get back to sleep.

If you have really no family to come and help you, you may want to look into a pp doula. It can be nice to have someone just come in for a few hours and take care of all the things that you are just too busy to do. It is nice to know that you won't have to start that load of laundry because you have someone coming in a few hours who will do it for you! And it is also nice to know that someone is coming over just to take care of you!

[churchofdisco]

i don't really know anyone like that though. especially not someone who could be here during the day.....

anyone else???