You might have heard of a birth doula, but not a postpartum doula. The name sounds a bit too medical, but that’s the best we have got. Doula is a term used in Ancient Greece for a female slave actually, but in the modern context a doula is there to support you through your journey towards parenthood – during birth and after. Birth doula is there to assist you during the birth. She usually only performs one post-partum visit, but a postpartum doula is there for you for the time period after (usually from birth to 6 weeks – 3 months) the birth, which is when new (and also parents with other children) need the most help. Post-partum doula is esentially a mother’s (and father’s) helper, who in the Western society where we are no longer close (both physically and sometimes emotionally) with our extended biological families, provides the much needed support (both physical by helping out with the household chores and emotional) after becoming a parent (for the first time or once again). DONA International offers an official doula certification. To read more about postpartum doulas, visit their site and one of my posts about DONA certified post-partum doulas.
karinadoula 