Wow this forum's been quiet!

[HeatherE]

Cm'on doulas and midwives!! Let's chat......

I'll give you a topic......

"What nice things do we do for clients after their baby is born?"


I like to make a banana bread and write a birth story.

[veganmamma]

The dishes! :LOL

Aromatherapy depending on Mom's mood, issues, feelings, complications.

[pamamidwife]

I'm working on doing more postpartum herbal baths for mom and baby - either after the birth or a couple days postpartum. :) I've done a few in my practice and they are so well received.

I do the dishes, the laundry (well, my assist usually does the laundry), etc. I've been known to clean up the house a bit on postpartum visits that first week. Just depends upon what is needed, I guess. :)

Oh, I recently did a massage for a client at one day postpartum. I'm not a massage therapist, but she was feeling down and I felt like she deserved some touch that wasn't baby.

[doulamomvicki]

I try to do foot massages on my post partum ladies. Most of them love to sit there and nurse their babies and have their feet massaged. Who wouldn't!

[HeatherE]

Aww.... what wonderful ways to support a new mom. I have a post partum visit onsunday, maybe I'll do a foot massage.

[veganmamma]

Pam, what do you put in your herbal baths? I like comfrey, calendula and ginger for mom. I seem to remember putting marshmallow root in mine and some other things and I can't remember what they were now. For my dd I used comfrey for her umbilicus and lavender, and rosemary for her freshly aired out skin. One of my apprentice friends' senior MWs include a pound of herbs for the bath with their birth kit, I really like that idea.

One of my favorite things about my doula was her use of aromatherapy with everything she did. If she gave me a massage, she used different oils for postpartum and each stage of labor, she made me an environment spray for balancing an clearing b/c I was stressed about ILs, and she had this incredible jasmine welcoming oil that she rubbed on my belly seconds before dd was born. When she would walk into our house we felt like she brought in this energy and force with her, it was like a beautiful garden came swooping in after her. That's why I'm a big aromatherapy geek now.

The purpose of her postpartum visit was to discuss the birth and talk about new mom-hood and stuff like that, so I guess it wasn't an extra special thing, but it was so wonderful to get her perspective on it! I didn't meet my expectations of myself in labor and so to hear from her with tears in her eyes how beautiful it was for her too was really powerful for me. That is why I tend to value the postpartum visit so much- moreso than prenatals. (Of course not for midwifery, prenatals rock!)

Something I really want to start doing is the rebozo "tightening of the bones" ritual that Mexican midwives do. You wrap the rebozo at the head and gently pul on either side, then move to the ribs and work your way down to the legs and feet. I wish someone had done this for me-- I felt so floppy after birth!

What about special things to do at prenatals? I like relaxation exercises together, I feel like it's a bonding kind of thing-- getting on the same wave length together, being in the same space. Also doing any ritual that prepares for the baby while talking is special, like folding clothes or diapers. Of course focused time is important, but I think sharing in preparation is also really special. As a doula or a midwife you are there for mom *and* baby so it's a way for us to connect with the baby. Belly rubs are the best, for Mom and for me! I love feeling baby kicks and belly rubs feel so great! Another way to bond with the baby before s/he is born.

I think each mom is different in what she is comfortable with and what she enjoys and having lots of loving things up your sleeve is a great way to be sure to hold her close to your heart in a way that she appreciates. Great thread!
Lauren

[pamamidwife]

These are the herbs in my bath:

Comfrey leaf, chamomile, lavender, witch hazel and uva ursi.