Post-Partum Doula?

fromustobaby · #1 November 21st, 2009, 07:56 PM

Well, for those of you who know me...you can probably guess that I'd be completely content talking to a hole in the wall...and - especially now - any time I see a baby, I immediately start up a conversation (since no one has yet to ever guess that I'm PG yet, and started a conversation with me)...

ANyway...
I was at the bagel shop this morning, and the woman behind me had a 4 month old little girl, and so I started talking to her...

We were talking about where to give birth, midwifes, doulas, hospital experience, etc. etc.

And, specifically, since it was her first child - and mine - what to do with the baby after it was born...
Since that seems to be a lot of concern around here lately - I made sure to inquire about it...

She said that she has had an amazing after birth experience, and she credited it to having a post-partum doula...

I'd never heard of this before...but, basically, after talking to her - I'm totally sold on it...from what she said, the doula comes over to answer any questions, to take care of any problems, to give you tips on how to deal with certain issues, to give you time to adjust, and to give you time to REST! if you need it...etc etc

This is what I've found out just from reading on google, and it sounds great...
DONA International – Postpartum Doula FAQs

Was wondering if any of you had done this and what your experience was with it?

Oreobaby · #2 November 21st, 2009, 09:15 PM

I had planned on hiring a doula (I have a good friend that is a doula) to help with the post partum stuff, and to help with breast feeding and such.

I think it's a great idea.

stlgirl · #3 November 22nd, 2009, 07:37 AM

Wow, I didn't even know this was an option! My doula will help with the birth and stay with me a bit after the birth to make sure my recovery and breast-feeding are doing ok, then comes by a few weeks later to check in, but that's about the extent of it. It would be great to have one who's more involved. Then again, both my mom and mil live within 20 minutes of me, so I will probably have plenty of baby care help if I need it, so in my case it might not be necessary...