WHAT I OFFER AS A POSTNATAL DOULA

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I support breast/chestfeeding and bottle feeding, I can help with calming and getting your baby to sleep, look after your baby so you can sleep or have a bath etc. I can do shopping, prepare food and make sure you've eaten and rested. I’m also there to answer questions about breastfeeding and baby care and to listen to your birth story. I try to boost your confidence in looking after your baby, aiming to make your transition into parenthood smoother and less stressful. I can look after your older children, help around the house with light cleaning, washing and cooking so you have more time to spend with your baby. I can be available at varied times during the day and some evenings and if you give birth over the weekend and would like help with getting breastfeeding off to a good start that's fine too. I have supported many first time mums, many having second babies and many twin mums.

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Postnatal doulas basically help out around the house and look after you so you are calm and rested and have the confidence to look after your baby. Having a doula takes away the worry about all the things that you don’t have the time or energy to do in the early weeks after you have given birth. This should be, as it is in many cultures, a time of rest and recovery while you adjust to the demands of a new baby and a different pace of life. All too often new parents live far from their families and don t have much family support. They are left to cope on their own, often with no or very little experience of what life with a newborn baby is like, or without help when adjusting to extending their family with a new baby.

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BREASTFEEDING

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One of the most important jobs with a mother who is breastfeeding is to make sure that she has good support in the first few days to help get breastfeeding off to a good start. Many problems can be avoided by looking at how to encourage a good latch and positioning and attachment ideas in the first couple of days after birth. Sometimes assistance is needed a few weeks or even months into a breastfeeding journey, it is not only for the early weeks…

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Most people give birth in hospitals now where the postnatal care is often less than optimal due to midwifery shortages and a general lack of knowledge around breastfeeding. Hospitals vary hugely with the postnatal support they offer, some have a dedicated breastfeeding support team, some have volunteer supporters and others only overworked and exhausted midwives…I am passionate about supporting new parents with breastfeeding, whether it’s optimizing a newborn’s latch and milk transfer or helping the breast/chestfeeding parent working through any issues that arise during their breastfeeding journey. I am currently studying Breastfeeding & Human Lactation [www.breastfeedinglondon.co.uk] to further my knowledge, it’s been so useful to have more in depth knowledge and it is already helping my work as a postnatal doula.