A Postpartum Doula? What's that?

Maybe you were wondering what it was, exactly, that I do.

Well, to start with, here’s a dictionary definition: a postpartum doula is a woman who assists a new mother and family in their home following the birth of a baby. Nice, right?

Let’s say you had a new baby. I would provide you with the practical and emotional support that would encourage you to nurse, rest and recover. In practice, this might include offering breastfeeding support, preparing and serving you lunch, listening to your birth story, caring for your newborn while you rest, taking care of light housework. Awesome.

There is a kind of knowledge that I carry in my brain and in my hands, about women’s bodies and the impact pregnancy and childbirth has on them, and the difference good support makes. My goal is to sanctify and foster the bond between mother and baby by focusing on mom.

Did you notice? I think that becoming a mother is holy. The holiest. The way a woman’s body plots - every single month - to catch a baby, the way it expands perfectly to encompass new life, the way we birth, the miracle of nursing, and oh gosh, you’ve got me on a roll. It’s all too gorgeous for words. And if I can be a part of that, I am one happy lady.

(Photo credit: http://www. flickr. com/photos/65414509@N00/307730836/ bird's eye)