Postpartum Doulas and Baby Nurses

Childbirth is a very long, arduous and ultimately rewarding process that can take a lot out of any new mother. In some cases, the mother may need some assistance from someone that is experienced in these situations. This is where the postpartum doula comes in.

A doula is essentially an assistant that provides a number of medical as well as non medical services that will help a new mother cope with the stress of nurturing a baby during its most infantile years. Depending on the experience and training that the doula comes with, she will be able to perform a variety of tasks as well as providing the emotional support and prenatal care.

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The postpartum doula is also likely to help with the groceries for the house and meal preparation while performing household chores and cleaning may be asking a little too much from the more specific types. Some of the most common services offered by postpartum doulas include breastfeeding assistance, taking care of the older siblings, accompanying the mother and baby to pediatrician appointment and running basic errands.

Difference Between Postpartum Doulas and Baby Nurses

The primary differences between postpartum doulas and baby nurses lies in the fact that a baby nurse will typically focus all her care and attention on the new born alone, while the doulas main responsibility will be to assist the mother in caring for the entire family during this phase. A doula will never take over the care of the newborn but will handle most other concerns to allow the mother to focus her care and attention on the newborn. Given the extensive experience of the doula, she will also be able to educate new mothers on the best practices for caring for the newborn as well as interpreting any signals being given by the child.

Doulas also have the tendency of adapting their services to meet the demands of the family she is working with - which is not something that a baby nurse would usually do.

Conditions During Postpartum Doulas

The working hours and styles of postpartum doulas are also very dependant on the types of services they provide. Some doulas may be able to stay with the family overnight for the course of a few days or weeks, whatever seems best for the family while others will be able to come to the house for a few ours every day. Because you can never know the exact time you will deliver, it is always best to arrange for a doula a couple of weeks ahead of your prospective delivery date. This is more so given the fact that good doulas are not as easy to come by, especially when it is the care of your new born baby involved.

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