A postpartum doula is present with a family after a new baby enters the family. The Doula’s role is to nurture the parents' relationship with their newest member of the family by providing evidence and experienced based guidance to parents. A PP Doula can ask questions and offer suggestions to support the parent(s) to foster independence as time continues on. PP Doula’s provide an extra set of hands for household work, troubleshooting issues with baby feeding, sibling support, partner and navigate challenges with outside family members and friends. Non-judgmental support, based on the needs and values of the parents, is of the utmost importance in the PP Doula and Family relationship.

“We are not THE expert on everything “new baby”, but we aim to be supportive and collaborative in our approaches to joyful and challenging situations that families experience after a new baby arrives home.”

How does a doula differ from a family or friend helping?

A PP Doula’s primary purpose is to meet the needs of the parents in the household, in turn allowing them to best take care of themselves and family as they feel most comfortable. PP Doulas arrive on time, check in with the parent(s) regularly, complete helpful tasks, sit and cry with families, show-up with no expectations and then leave the home. The ultimate goal of the relationship between PP Doula, parents, baby(s) and (sibling) children is to aid in the transition period after a new baby arrives in the family and to support independent and confident parenting for years after the postpartum period.

Why is the postpartum period so important to growing families?

The postpartum period is defined differently by different professionals. BYFD views the postpartum period as the moments after a baby is born, up to the child’s first birthday. During this time families develop new connections that provide sense of security and love for the new baby and supports parents in feel connected, confident and capable as parents to the new baby.

What families do we work with?

We work with families who have a parent who birthed the baby, adoptive families, foster families, kinship families, families with multiples, families with older children, first-time parents, single parents, partnered families, non-binary couples, LGBTQI+ families, bi racial families, families whose English is not their native language, families who have experienced loss of a wanted pregnancy, and families who use home birth or hospital birth.*

* (if you do not see your family type listed above, please let us know)