Do you love connecting with other women? Do you enjoy helping new moms through the early weeks and months of motherhood? Maybe you are looking to start your own business so you can have flexible work hours and the opportunity to stay at home with your kids?
Today Jodi of Hip to Heart is telling us about an exciting opportunity to be trained and become and postpartum doula!
First, why I am a postpartum doula:
After my daughter I very quickly realized that I didn’t know anything about newborns. Everything I did, from breastfeeding to bathing, was achieved through lengthy trial and error. Although I made it through the first year with my sanity (well, most of it), and she was still in one piece, I knew there had to be a better way. I made a list of all things I struggled with and next to each one I wrote something that would have made that specific thing easier… and most of the answers were “someone in my home to show me”.
A light bulb went off!
I searched the internet, hit the parenting section at the bookstore and asked everyone I knew in the birth community how I could make this a reality… and actually make this a service that I could to provide to new families to assist them with their transition into parenthood. To my surprise, it already existed. It was something called a Postpartum Doula.
At that time, I had only ever heard of a birth doula. There was even different organizations that would train me! I chose the one that I thought would be the best fit for me (CAPPA) and registered for a training the following month. After that, I never looked back. I said goodbye to my career as a Special Event Planner, goodbye to working for a large company that only appreciated the revenue I brought them, and especially goodbye to coming home at the end of the day feeling unfulfilled.
Since the day I started with my first client, I come home and know that I truly made a difference in someone else’s day. Perhaps that would have been the day that a new mom quit breastfeeding because it was becoming too stressful and she wasn’t getting enough sleep… but I was there to remind her that it takes practice for both mom and baby to work together, to help her with position and latch or just to tell her that she is doing amazing and it gets easier every day. I assist with the care of the baby, mental and emotional care of the family, time management, organization, meal planning and preparation and many other things that the mom would normally be doing, but now can solely focus on the baby. Being a postpartum doula is essentially “mothering the mother”.. making sure she stays happy and healthy so she can take care of her baby and her family.
In a time when there is no more “village” to help raise a baby, postpartum doulas fill that role.
Benefits of having a postpartum doula: (There are a million more!)
- Support for new families
- Breastfeeding support and education
- Newborn care instruction
- Empathetic listener
- Reduction of instances of postpartum mood disorders
- Mom gets more rest
- Household assistance
- Additional resources
Benefits of being a postpartum doula:
- Rewarding job!
- Helping other moms navigate the early weeks of parenthood
- Flexible schedule- working only the hours that work for you!
- Having your own business
Sound interesting to you?? Come join me on August 30!
August 30-31, 2014
9am-6pm
Family First Chiropractic in Colchester, VT
The training will cover:
- The Postpartum Doula Scope of Practice
- Caring for new mothers
- Education and Support for family members
- Breastfeeding Support/Breast care
- How to teach baby soothing and calming techniques
- How to instruct mom/family members on baby care techniques
- Recognizing postpartum mood disorders
- Creating a list of local resources specific to needs of client
- Marketing your Doula business
- Creating contracts and documents for clients
- Scheduling
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SO MUCH MORE!
Ready to sign up?? Complete the registration form here! Questions?? Email Jodi at jodi {at} hiptoheart {dot} com.
Written by Jodi Kretzman
My name is Jodi Krentzman. I am, first and foremost, a mother to my amazing 7 year old daughter. Giving birth was a life changing experience for me and was ultimately what made me decide to get involved in pregnancy and birth as a career.
