Postnatal family support team
Having your fist child is a wonderful experience yet it’s also a stressful and challenging time. Expecting parents intend to do their very best to be fully prepared when the baby arrives. They read a few books about childbirth, possibly half a book or a few articles about what to do when the baby arrives, buy most necessary furniture and baby accessories, and attend NCT pre-natal classes with other expecting parents. Most of the time, however, life takes over and parents have to put certain jobs off until later – and then the baby arrives unexpectedly early…
Setting up a support team around your family early on is vital to avoid added stress. This is even more important for parents who don’t have immediate family nearby – as it was the case for us. The birth of our first child was traumatic. We didn’t have a support system in place to deal with the physical and mental trauma from the birth, whilst at the same time trying to adapt our lives and learn how to look after a new-born baby. Looking back, the right postnatal doula would have done wonders for us. Meeting with and deciding on which postnatal doula to use before the birth, takes away a lot of the pressure. In addition to that, it’s very useful to have contact details ready for consultants you may need such as lactation consultants, osteopaths, paediatricians etc.
With our second-born, we organized things very differently. First of all, we hired a doula to assist with the birth. We found the doula most useful for my wife’s mental health, getting her through this exceptionally difficult process and not creating another traumatic experience. After our son was born, we hired a postnatal confinement doula for the first 2 months. The postnatal doula provided us with invaluable support and advice. Giving support for the baby as well as for the mother’s physical and mental health were the priority of the doula. In the end, the entire family benefited from the work of the doula. It made the first months with our second baby very enjoyable.