newburgh doula – Doula Group of Evansville

Resources for Black Families

Four resources by and for black families!

We’re celebrating a different type of Black Friday today by sharing four resources that we want ALL black families to know exist! With all the scary statistics about maternal and infant mortality and morbidity for black families here in the United States, we know that getting pregnant, giving birth, and getting through postpartum can be a stressful time. Honestly, the statistics that are constantly bantered around scare us too, but instead of focusing on the problem, we’d like to take the time to focus on solutions specifically developed by members of the black community for black families. Even if you don’t identify as black, you should honestly know about these resources too!

Irth App

Conceptualized by author and activist Kimberly Seals Allers, the Irth App aims to knock out racism in maternity care. Through reviews by black and brown families, you can search your area for providers from pregnancy through pediatrics. I love that they are also turning those reviews around to push for policy changes at the systemic level too. This tool is only as good as the information we give it, so if you have experienced racism in your care at a specific hospital or with a specific provider please share your experience in the app. This is a tool for disrupting the system that protects the powerful.

Count the Kicks

Have you ever worried about your baby’s movements but counting them is confusing? Worried about your concerns being dismissed? Count the Kicks is an outstanding resource for ALL families that not only educates you about baby’s movements, but also documents them for you to be able to share with your provider or anyone caring for you in the healthcare system. This app will track the trends of your baby’s movement so that you have a record to be able to pull up to show anyone asking. I love this app especially for black families, because sadly the risk of you concerns being dismissed can become too real, and this helps you have a tool to point to data.

Reproductive Health Impact

Looking for resources on respectful maternity care and things to think about when you are building your maternity care team? Reproductive Health Impact has you covered! This outstanding non-profit is doing the work in not only advocacy but also capacity and power-building within the black community. Their work on reproductive health equity is widely celebrated, especially for their focus on black produced scholarship, activism, and experiences. If you work in healthcare, they are also developing tools to help reduce inequity and improve birth outcomes for black families. Check out their resources, and definitely keep them on your donation list!

Black Mamas Matter Alliance

Working to shift culture so that black families can THRIVE is what Black Mamas Matter Alliance is doing, and that is no easy task. Through advocacy, education, scholarship, and policy work BMMA places black voices and experiences at the center of their work. The resources & literature available on their website are helpful for all black families looking for how to navigate the healthcare system. If you are looking for how to not only come out alive but how to thrive, BMMA is a great place to start that journey by and for black families.

Being anti-racist in a capitalist patriarchy to us means being cautious about where we put our money, time, and all other types of support. There are plenty of other amazing resources out there too, 4Kira4Moms for example, and these four resources listed above could definitely send you down an entire rabbit-hole of information. These four resources specifically are by and for black families and help put tools in black families’ hands. We know that having someone on your team who understands your experience from the inside is invaluable, and these resources are excellent parts to add to that equation that can help your entire experience add up to one of JOY!

Your Feelings Matter for Birth & Postpartum

Your feelings during labor and delivery make a difference not only on the big day, but also in how you remember your birth experience.

Our thinking brains like to imagine that our hearts and feelings don’t influence the way our body or brain works, but it is so wrong. Your emotions affect so many things, and keeping that in mind when you are going through pregnancy, labor, delivery, & all throughout postpartum can be a little daunting. For me, protecting my emotional health during that time felt like one more thing that I didn’t have time to worry about really. First, let’s talk about why your emotions matter and a few things that may challenge you during this time. I promise, this blog post is going to end with some helpful ways to keep your peaceful mindset, because we all need some extra tools to handle this whole wildly human experience.

Because of Hormones

Your hormones are little messengers that run around your body telling it what to do. They are really important for pregnancy, labor & delivery, & postpartum for so many reasons, but I’m going to outline two big ones here. The first thing they do for you in labor and postpartum is they keep things going. Anxiety & stress produce hormones that make your labor slow or even stop, and does the same for your milk production. The giant flood of hormones you get during labor and early postpartum also means we remember MORE and in greater detail. Seriously, ask anyone who has given birth about their story, and they will share far more details than you can even imagine even MANY years later. There are all kinds of evolutionary reasons that our bodies have adapted to do this by the way, because we’re mammals. Anxiety & stress produce these hormones because if we were an animal giving birth in the wild and a predator started stalking us, then we would WANT our bodies to stop labor so we could get up and run away. (Also a reason for animals to eat their placentas–to hide the evidence.) The distinctly human part of this is that our anxiety & stress can be triggered by all kinds of things, including just thoughts inside our amazing brains or even just a sideways look from someone.

Challenges

There are all kinds of things that can increase our likelihood of our anxiety and stress being triggered in labor, delivery, and early postpartum. Things like a lack of privacy & interruptions in your flow can inhibit your ability to relax and for your body to make the hormones to keep your contractions going. People with a history of abuse, assault, or other trauma can really feel their stress hormones escalate in labor and delivery, which is another reason that trauma informed care is sooo very important. Bright lights, strange noises, & smells can all bring those stress hormones whooshing around our bodies. No matter what your specific challenges are to keeping calm and relaxed, developing the tools you need before you have to use them will help you meet any challenges that might arise!

Tools to Help

Don’t be shy about asking for what you need to feel better during labor and postpartum. Keeping the lights low in your room can be really helpful for decreasing anxiety & making a space more cozy. Some people bring twinkle lights to hang up or a tapestry to hang to make the space more their own too. You can even bring a sleep mask and earplugs if they help you. I always suggest packing your own pillow and blanket to make the space smell and feel more like home too, and keeping your partner close definitely helps some people relax more. You can make a sign for the door to remind people who enter to please use hushed voices and respect the energy in the room. Nothing ruins your flow more than someone walking in and talking loudly while you’re just trying to get through your contractions or trying to get your fussy baby to latch. Protect your space and communicate your needs, and if you need some help with that, a doula might be someone to consider adding to your birth or postpartum team.

You can’t live in a bubble, but you can hold space for yourself for this profoundly human experience of bringing a new baby into the world. Developing tools such as breathing techniques, body awareness, meditation, self-hypnosis, & grounding techniques can help you not only stay calm for labor and delivery, but also for postpartum. Psst, these techniques even work for parents to teenagers—ask me how I know. With 20 minutes a day of calming practice, you can learn to bring your nervous system back to calm and keep those good hormones flowing. Your feelings matter!

Something Stinks!

Do you have a super sniffer during pregnancy? Why? How do you cope with it?

Pregnancy can be really challenging when all of a sudden your sense of smell seems to be supercharged. For many people, super-smell is one of the first symptoms that they notice in their first trimester. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had an immediate reaction if anyone in my midwife’s waiting room was wearing perfume. YUCK! All of a sudden my husband smelled like he was a bathing in sausage water and walking into our pantry would instantly make me run to the sink. When my husband brought me a beautiful bouquet of stargazer lilies that I used to LOVE, I couldn’t even walk into the house with them there. Your sense of smell makes a huge difference in what you eat and how well you can keep the contents of your stomach inside of you too.

Why??

I found this article that reviewed all the scientific evidence about pregnancy and the sense of smell. What we know from science is that most people (90%) report having a sudden repulsion to certain smells, while only 10% find any smells better than when they weren’t pregnant. There are several theories as to why, the leading one which seems to be that it possibly helps you avoid toxins to protect the growing baby inside of you. They even gave people pregnancy hormones to try to see if it was hormonally related, and the results weren’t very conclusive. Another study summarized there didn’t find any heightened sense of smell in their participants between first trimester and postpartum. The author of course also adamantly notes that an abundance of anecdotal evidence exists to support increased olfactory senses during pregnancy, and suggests further research into the phenomenon. There are plenty of other theories, but no true abundance of evidence points to one simple explanation why 2/3 of people report super-smellers during pregnancy.

What Can You Do?

Stink happens, but how can you really deal with ALL the smells that make you want to hold your nose? I personally took a page out of the Victorian era playbook: I kept something good smelling in my pocket. This could be a favorite lip balm, a handkerchief with some essential oils on it, or even a vapor inhaler if that menthol smell is still appealing to you. Wearing a tight fitting N95 mask is another option that we should all be familiar with now too. I knew one friend who suffered so much with Hyperemesis Gravidarum that she actually kept alcohol wipes in her pocket in case a wave of nausea overtook her. Trying to keep track of all the smells that are terrible isn’t honestly worth your time though, because they could change and you’re sure to encounter some unexpectedly. Be prepared, and don’t be shy about keeping emesis bags in your car and purse in case you need them. Maybe your super sniffer would feel better going to somewhere that will 100% smell good, like a spa?

Rest assured, most people report that their super sniffer skills fade when they aren’t pregnant anymore. I promise you that my husband doesn’t still smell like he’s sweating sausage water and grandma perfume doesn’t make me instantly hurl anymore. Some aversions might stick with you, like I still can’t smell stargazer lilies, despite the fact that I really do think they are beautiful. I also can’t eat saltines anymore, but that has nothing to do with smell and more to do with the memory associated with eating far too many in my first trimester. You may be too busy changing diapers to even notice when your sense of smell goes back to normal, but you will 100% appreciate that fact when your baby starts eating solids and their poo changes smells again.

Our Non-Negotiables

Since 2014, I’ve been working here in Evansville, Indiana as a birth doula. That was the year that I formed the Doula Group of Evansville with a few other doulas. Though we’ve been through several different forms since then, the core values that we started with have always remained the same. I recently realized that we’ve never really publicly declared them, though they definitely come up in every conversation I have with potential doulas who want to join the team. We want you to know our values, because they are very important to us as a group. We come from a place of learning and acceptance, and aren’t trying to force anyone to think or do anything with these. The thought behind making these public is so you can know us better as a group. We want you to know where we stand and how we approach things, including how we do business and how we put our values into action in our services.

(Side note: Documentaries are one of my favorite things to watch. I recently watched a documentary on a cult, and the leader made all her insiders sign some document that detailed her non-negotiables. Let me tell you, that list scared me, especially as I’ve been using the term “non-negotiables” for a few years with regards to our values. I promise, this short 3 item list is nothing like that.)

1. Science is Real

I LOVE science! One of the reasons that I wanted to become a doula was because I was so upset about the gap between what we know and how maternity care is practiced. I read Henci Goer’s The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth during my pregnancy and my mind was blown. One of my favorite things about science is that it changes; with new information comes new ideas and eventually, new practices too. We learn all the time that new doesn’t equal better either, and that can be hard, especially as techno-loving Americans, but I digress.

When I say that we love science, what I don’t mean is that we believe there is one right way that works for everyone. I’m a social scientist with a PhD and I’m pretty sure they’ll come take my degree away if I say something so absurd as that. I’m also not saying that science has all the answers. What I am saying when I state that one of our core values is that science is real, is that we believe the scientific method is the best framework for understanding what is going on in reality. When we “do research” we’re looking for scholarly articles and trying to understand what the scientific consensus is, and we’re being picky about our sources. We know that anecdotal evidence is one source, but we want you to show us the numbers behind the assumptions. We ask questions like, “what is the absolute risk” instead of being persuaded by “the risk doubles” type of relative numbers arguments. We know that a scientific understanding can help us make more rational decisions based on actual evidence and not coercive language. Feelings are important, and knowledge can be powerful.

2. Anti-Racism

We work to actively proceed from a place of anti-racism. That means understanding that some of us have privilege in this world because of our presumed race, and racism is a massive problem. This holds especially true in healthcare, and everyone on this team has committed to learning about the effects of racism and how to affect change by working in and through an anti-racism framework. If you’re unfamiliar with anti-racism, this community curated bibliography is a great starting point for learning. We know that being “not racist” is not enough, and we are attempting to do better.

We also know that people deserve to have a doula on their team that understands their perspective from the inside and not from any sort of savior perspective. We have very intentionally built a team of doulas who reflect our community and the communities/families that we want to serve. We take that service very seriously, especially for BIPOC families who are at risk of experiencing medical racism that increases their morbidity and mortality as they welcome new babies into the world. We see you and are here if you want support and resources.

3. LOVE the Rainbow

We are cognizant of the ways that some businesses seem to want to capitalize on their lip-service to the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and that is not us. Some of us identify as part of the “rainbow community.” Several of us have children who identify with the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Everyone on this team is an ally/accomplice, and will ask you your pronouns. We approach our doula work with LOVE and know that LOVE is what makes a family. We will always do our best to make sure all our client families feel seen and heard by us. All the doulas on this team LOVE our LGBTQIA2S+ community, family, & friends, and that goes so much deeper than tolerance. We also specifically seek out learning opportunities to better understand how to be/do better at using inclusive language, Supporting Queer Birth, & how to be better allies/accomplices.

Who We Are

We are a group of doulas working to help make our community a better place for all families. We do that by helping families go from expecting through beginning. These 3 non-negotiable values are the starting points to everything that we do as a group, and how we choose to focus our working energy. You don’t have to believe the exact same things as we do, and we promise we have served all types of families who don’t believe these things at all. These are not a dogma that we are attempting to force on anyone; we just want to be transparent about our values. Most of all we approach this work with curiosity, love, and hearts for service. We seek to understand our clients so that we can better serve their specific needs. These non-negotiables are unapologetically part of who we are.

One Size Fits None?

Hospital Gowns are terrible. First there is the fact that they leave your bum hanging out for the whole world to see, but they are also one-size-fits-none! Putting on a hospital gown is symbolic. It strips away your normal role of the clothes that you put on that morning and magically transforms you into a “patient” without any form of individuality or expression. Putting on that gown also visually communicates to anyone in the room what your “role” is there, and honestly strips away more than just your dignity. Studies have shown that when you put on that gown, you also strip away some of your perceived control and feel more vulnerable. What you wear affects how you feel, and it turns out that hospital gowns aren’t likely to make anyone feel powerful or better.

Standard Operating Policies & Procedures

Similar to those gowns, many other policies and procedures in the hospital make people feel bad unnecessarily. Standards are put in place for a reason, but many people have argued that hospital birthing policies and procedures are more often than not written primarily to protect the hospital from liability. That subject is a whole can of worms that I’m not opening right now, but my point to you is this: just because something is standard, doesn’t mean that it is required, evidence based, or that it fits with your plans/desires/wishes. Standard is the mold and you don’t have to try to force yourself into it. You can decline things and say, “no thank you.” Maybe you aren’t planning a “standard” birth or approach to your birth. Maybe your postpartum and parenting plans and priorities are different from your pediatrician’s approach. That’s ok! One size honestly fits NONE and even as a parent with older kids, I still have to be a different parent to each kid.

This is not to say that all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the exact same at every hospital or birthing location. In fact, we KNOW they aren’t and have seen that in action. A great example is the SOP for eating and drinking during labor. One local hospital doesn’t allow anything other than ice chips during labor, a practice not at all supported by evidence by the way. At another hospital where we attend a births, the labor and delivery nurses there taught me how they make “slushies” for laboring parents out of popsicles. At a 3rd hospital, they have a standard laboring mom tray of snacks and drinks that they bring. What are the policies and procedures where you are delivering? Are they followed all the time?

What size fits you?

There are so many lies that are told to us about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and one of those is that the standards are in place to protect everyone, evidence based, and enforced equally. I can tell you that is definitely not the case from what I have observed as a doula. In a medical system that is forced to treat patients as consumers though, you do have some power if you decide to hold onto it. If it helps, bring your own gown to wear during labor or go buck naked to remind yourself (and signal to the staff too) that you are not sick and are indeed powerful. It also sends a visual signal that you want something other than the SOP, whether you choose to say anything about it or not. Spend some time finding out what the policy is where you are planning to deliver and what aligns with your approach. Humans are not all the same, and figuring out what size fits your needs and wants is helpful to do before the big day. That is one of the things that doulas do too, help you find what works for you and your family. Keep asking questions and demanding the individualized care that you deserve just for being an awesome human being with a new one in your care.

Doula Investment

We know that choosing to add a doula to your birth or postpartum team is a pretty big investment for most families, but you won’t regret it! From the time you hire your birth doula all the way through your 4th trimester postpartum, a doula can be there to help you every step of the way. Here are three ways your doula investment pays off for you:

“Is this normal?”

Pregnancy brings a whole lot of aches, pains, and questions about your changing body as you grow another human inside of it. Once you decide to make that doula investment your services begin right then. You get your doula’s phone number and can call or text them with ANY worries or questions you might have. We promise ZERO judgement for any questions, because we’ve probably already heard most of them before too.

We also know that the internet can be an overwhelming place for pregnant people. Not only can you ask your doula all your personal pregnancy, birth, & postpartum questions, but we also have an online classroom for our clients. Our classroom is filled with links, handouts, & even coloring pages that are helpful. We filter the internet, so you don’t have to worry about getting advice from random groups of possibly uninformed fellow parents.

Birth options

Contrary to popular belief, doulas don’t think everyone should have the same kind of birth. Investing in doula services means having someone on your team that wants to know YOU and your specific requests. Doulas invest in your experience, because that is our job on your team! Research has shown that doulas actually spend more time with you than anyone else on your birth team by the way, and that’s a pretty big deal. So whether you want to go without pain medication or want your epidural ASAP, a doula can still help you know all of your options. Doulas start getting to know your preferences during pregnancy and help you move through all those decisions during the entire process of bringing your baby earth-side.

Postpartum resources

Once your baby arrives, your doula doesn’t just ditch you! We have a ton of resources for families once you’re holding that baby. Whether you are looking for lactation information, local professionals that can help you physically recover, or even someone to come help out around the house while you shower, we can doula that. Sure our online classroom has resources for you, but sometimes you just need someone to come over and check on just you. Your birth doula will do just that.

Postpartum doulas are a newer thing here in Evansville, Indiana, but we are here to tell you that this is one doula investment that is going to knock your socks off too. A postpartum doula gives physical, emotional, & information support to families in the 4th trimester. Want someone to come do the dishes, fold your laundry, & give you non-judgmental feeding advice while never asking to hold your baby? That’s what a postpartum doula does.

You’re worth it too!

We know that the price-tag for doula services can leave you with sticker shock. We get it. We hope that this blog post has helped explain a bit of what you are going to get for your doula investment. No two client experiences are going to ever look exactly the same, and that is honestly a great thing. We want to help you have the best experience possible from the time you hire your doula until well after you cuddle your baby for the first time. Your doula will be with you every step of the way as much as you want them to be. The experience of bringing your baby into this world is one that will be with you forever, and hiring a doula who is entirely focused on you means investing in your well-being. We know you’re worth it, and we’d be happy to talk to you about how we might be able to help your family.

Welcome Tamika Wilson!!!

Here we grow again!!

It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of a fabulous new doula to our team: Tamika Wilson!! I have talked for years with Tamika about becoming a doula, and 2021 was the year that she was finally able to attend a DONA birth doula training. Tamika has personal and professional knowledge that she is sure to wow her birth doula clients with at every turn, and we are honestly honored that she has chosen to be part of Doula Group of Evansville.

In Her Own Words:

“I was born and raised in Birmingham, Al. but currently reside in Newburgh, In. with my husband of 15 years and 4 beautiful kids. I am a military spouse and also have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Management. I am a DONA trained birth doula currently working towards my certification but I come with tons of personal experience in the birthing world. Since moving to Southern Indiana I noticed a huge gap in representation for low income women and women of color, this drove my passion to pursue birth work. Being a birth doula has given me the opportunity to better serve my community, become an advocate for all women but particularly women of color, and help educate mothers on all of their birthing options. Few Things About Me: My favorite color is blue, I’ve always found blue to be a very calming color. My favorite food is basically any type of southern cuisine, Although we have made roots in the Midwest I will forever be a southern girl at heart. In my free time you can usually find me Uber-ing my 4 kids around town going from [insert sport of the season] to cheer competitions, or just hanging out with my family.”

Special Offer for New Clients

Tamika is fresh out of training & looking forward to serving clients! For her first 3 birth doula clients, she is offering a 50% discount off of her services. These clients will pay only $450 for 2 prenatal visits with Tamika, unlimited contact during their pregnancy, in-person support for labor & delivery, and one postpartum visit. Don’t delay, because honestly once the word gets out about how amazing Tamika is, she’s sure to be booked solid!

Jennifer Remaklus: Birth Doula

We’re excited to grow our team to serve more birthing families in Evansville & the surrounding areas.

We are so very excited to announce a new birth doula on our team!! I knew I wanted Jennifer on my team of Evansville doulas as soon as we met. We spoke about her experiences and philosophy regarding birth, and I felt the fantastic positive energy that she has about her. Jennifer’s positivity and gentle nature will leave you feeling refreshed from every encounter, and she will be an amazing asset to any birth team. She’s already approved to attend births at all local hospitals.

Here she is in her own words:

“For me, personal experience has often turned into opportunities for service. The minute I learned what a doula was, my heart lit up. I was lovingly supported by a doula and midwife through two birth experiences and through one pregnancy loss. I ignored the calling for years until after the birth of my second child.
After my daughter was born I was immersed in a dark postpartum time and my path to healing was to learn more about supporting mothers and families through their own pregnancy and birth journeys. I took a DONA-certified course, advanced my yoga teacher training studies to include prenatal yoga, and continued to explore energetic healing modalities that had become part of my own healing journey. After I experienced a miscarriage of my own, I dove into courses with the Institute for Birth, Breath, and Death to learn ways to hold space for mothers through pregnancy and infant loss.
My intention as a birth doula is to guide intuitive and empowering journeys through pregnancy and into early motherhood. Reconnecting with our intuition builds a beautiful foundation to guiding and nurturing ourselves, and our children. As a reiki practitioner, I support each experience in a loving and gentle way, helping to hold space for the various energy shifts that occur as labor progresses.
I recently relocated to Southern Indiana from Reno, Nevada to be near my family and to watch my kids and husband run free on 4 acres. I am passionate about finding joy, following my intuition, and maintaining a healthy balance between laughter and tears. I also recently started wearing socks with my Birkenstocks, which makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself.”

Now Booking Birth Doula Clients

Jennifer is planning to offer all birth doula clients one reiki session as part of her birth doula package. She is now booking birth doula clients with due dates of May 2021 or later, and would love to talk to you about how she can help you on your birth journey. Having her experience and knowledge in your corner will enhance your birth experience, no matter where you choose to give birth.

We are so proud to have Jennifer as part of our team of amazing doulas here at Doula Group of Evansville!

Restless Legs in Pregnancy

***This post contains affiliate links, and we will get a small fee if you click through & make a purchase. This is not our plan for getting rich, rather a small reward for referring you to awesome products that we love and highly recommend.***

Restless legs syndrome might sound like some annoying made-up thing for selling drugs, but it is actually a common problem in pregnancy. So what is it exactly? How many pregnant people does it actually effect? Is there anything you can do about it? I’m here to tell you that there’s hope for help, even if this is just a transient pregnancy annoyance.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Up to 34% of pregnant people get it! People describe it as feeling like their legs are itchy, creepy-crawly, or even burning and the only way to make it go away is to move them. It often happens in the middle of the night, waking you from sleep, which is why it really stinks in pregnancy. The reason it happens is not entirely clear, with theories ranging from deficiencies in iron or folic acid to imbalances of dopamine or estrogen. Whatever reason it happens, it is honestly just not fun.

Personal Perspective

My husband gets restless legs, especially after he has a soccer game! His legs jerk so hard that it shakes the bed, and I honestly have contemplated getting twin beds like 50s sitcoms sometimes or making him sleep somewhere else on nights that he has had soccer games. After doing a little research about things that can help RLS, I FINALLY convinced him to start using this unscented lotion on his legs before bed. It has made such a difference! I am a much nicer person when I get my sleep, and my husband is happy because we still get to keep our Queen sized bed (for now).

8 Sheep Organics

Beyond just lotion, 8 Sheep products like their sleepy lotion, “unwind” pillow mist, & organic bedtime tea all can help your bedtime routine for settling down at the end of a long day. There truly is something about a routine that trains our minds that it is time for calm and rest, and your olfactory senses are the most effective triggers of memories. These smells can trigger your brain to relax and know that it is time to chill.

If you aren’t pregnant, but are looking for a sweet gift for that pregnant person in your life, they also have this Sweet Slumber Gift Set that includes all of the above 3 products at a discounted price. This is a sweet reminder for the pregnant people in your life that they are also important!

So if you or someone you know is having symptoms of restless leg syndrome, trying out some of this lotion might be a great help. I have 3 samples of this lavender scented lotion to giveaway if you want to try it out, so please message me if you are interested! Send us a message and we’ll get you a sample! It smells great and might just help you get a little more rest.

Postpartum Support

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family.

4th trimester support: literal and virtual

**This post contains affiliate links, and we may get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Virtual Support

Do you know who to call when you are having trouble getting baby to calm down? Would you love to have a person who knows lots of different tricks and methods and who will listen to you without judgement? What if you had someone calling to check on you as often as you need to answer your questions and reassure you that you’re doing a great job? Postpartum support is something we love to do to help families, especially right now in this isolating pandemic.

Our Virtual Postpartum Package is set up to provide extra postpartum support to families during the time of COVID-19. Postpartum is already a time of introspection and withdrawal while families integrate their new baby into their lives. Currently, parents are faced with increased isolation or fewer social contacts. This package allows families to have access to a supportive, trained doula to process birth stories, explore “what’s normal” with infant care and postpartum recovery. We are happy to provide breastfeeding/bottle feeding/pumping support too! We also have lots of ideas for partners on how to best help and support their birthing partner and baby. We want to help answer your questions regarding sleep, infant development, bonding, baby wearing, soothing, sibling transitions, and navigating relationships. It’s like having a postpartum BFF in your pocket!

This virtual postpartum support package includes

2 one-hour long planning sessions before the baby arrives
6 postpartum support calls (30-60 minutes each)
6 weeks of unlimited email/text postpartum support
Additional time can be purchased for $20/hour if needed

We would love to talk to you about how we can help support your postpartum transition!

Literal Support

Belly Bandit** is all about making products to support your growing family, and I especially love what they have for during the 4th trimester. When you are pregnant your growing baby pushes all of your organs out of the way to make room for your baby. Once that baby isn’t inside there anymore, all of your organs move back into their regular places, though of course not exactly the way they were before you got pregnant. That’s why sometimes even if you weigh the same as before, your clothes might not fit the same way. Your body has still been rearranged. A little extra literal postpartum support can be helpful in your 4th trimester to support your midsection as it retracts. We promise you won’t need it forever, but a little extra literal postpartum support can make a huge difference in the 4th trimester.

This is especially true if you had cesarean surgery to bring your child earth-side. Often after surgery your abdomen can feel very unstable postpartum, and even like you are scared to cough in case your guts are going to spill out. Sorry to be graphic, but if you have had cesarean surgery, then you know! One thing we like to recommend after surgery is a belly band that supports your abdomen, and Belly Bandit** has some very affordable and helpful ones. These can make you feel like your body is going to hold together better and can make a huge difference in recovery.

Support

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.”― Amy Poehler

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family. Contact us today to talk about how we can help support your growing family.