Prepare for Postpartum Recovery with your Doula
"Why would anyone do this alone by choice..." - Sarah
Postpartum - It's About Recovery and Self-Care
Exploring the type of doula support that best meets your needs, is easier if you familiarize yourself with the language and culture related to childbirth in your community. When you prepare for to bring your baby home, you are doing so to prepare for postpartum recovery – the first 6 weeks after a baby is born or brought home. Postpartum Mood Disorders (PPMDs) happen during that period, some symptoms appearing prenatally.
In NJ, Governor Murphy & First Lady Murphy have created legislation designed to improve postpartum outcomes for patients using NJ Family Care. If the state is trying to meet some of the needs, you may consider that there are far more needs not being met due to budget and resources. If you do not have NJ Family Care and want to have an easier recovery, a doula is one piece of building your village.
As you planned your wedding, the baby shower and the photos, so should plan a Postpartum Plan by PSI. The template is free and the insight you gain will make the first weeks a little easier. There are some excellent resources for you to increase your knowledge and help you use your time, money and energy that will pay you back rather quickly. Check out The Fourth Trimester Project, for affirmation that your motherhood journey deserves respect and tenderness.
Another helpful resource, especially for those breastfeeding is Why Every New Parent Deserves a Village.I have a page here on my website that talks about feeding choices for baby, so understand that however you feel about another person’s choice, please refrain from sharing it unless you are specifically asked. Birth is a space where judgement, personal experience and cultural expectations trump science – creating doubt, feelings of failure and shame where those feelings have not earned space.
Postpartum Doulas - Days and Nights for New Families
Postpartum doulas are trained to care for the family unit because each member of the family experiences their own transition when a new baby comes home. Parents of the new baby may have other children, may have lost their own parent, or simply live so far away that family support is not available. A postpartum doula’s role changes slightly with the needs of each new family, although the basic human needs for rest and nourishment are always present.
Doulas enter the home with experience and familiarity with newborns, maternal and paternal recovery, and suggestions that help save time and energy in everyday life. Bonding with a new baby is easier when you have had a nap, a meal, a shower, and some company. It’s easier for children to settle when they resume their routines as smoothly as possible, and have their own needs met with minimal disruption.
Postpartum doula support aims to decrease feelings of isolation, handling tasks in the home so new parents can improve sleep. Meeting these two goals decreases the likelihood that you will experience postpartum mood disorders, and depression.
Unlike birth support, postpartum support is scheduled in advance, and often changes over the course of a contract.
Support is available in four-hour blocks:
Sunrise (6:30am-10:30am)
Day hours (8am-4pm)
Overnight (8pm-6am)
During the day shifts, meal prep, kitchen tidying, and baby’s laundry are ways of caring for mother and baby. When the home is organized and clean, there is time for a nap, a chat, or peaceful bonding. Overnights are primarily devoted to sleep support – yours, your family’s and your baby’s. Since newborns sometimes prefer a rock and cuddle rather than sleep, you can feel assured that the baby’s needs are being met by a loving and seasoned professional. In the morning, notes of the night will include diaper changes, a reminder of when & how feeds were done, as well as tips on what was helpful to comfort your baby back to sleep.
Postpartum Doulas Support The Family In Transition
Rate Changes on Contracts Dated 11/1/2025
Day Hours $80
Overnights $85 *
*10% discount for repeat clients or those who book a birth and postpartum package at the same time.
Postpartum Mood Disorders
Symptoms Are Temporary and Treatable - Ask for Help
If you sustpect that someone you love or know is experiencing Postpartum Psychosis, get help immediately and do not leave them alone. This condition is highly treatable – Call 911, Contact Her Provider or Drive to the Nearest Hospital.
Postpartum Support International can be reached by phone 800-944-4773 for English & Spanish speaking crisis support.
PPMD is the umbrella for the health conditions that can affect new mothers, during pregnancy and/or in the postpartum period. Take the time now to learn what the symptoms can be, and share them with your partner or family members, so they know how to best protect your wellness. An excellent source of information and resources is Postpartum Support International.
Some families who experience PPMD’s reach out for doula support on short notice, which is a helpful bridge between birth, therapy and diagnosis. Sleep deprivation during the first few weeks can definitely make it difficult to adjust to life with a baby. A doula will understand what you are experiencing, reinforce the idea that you will not lose your baby because you ask for help.
The Baby Blues do not hang around for long, and they are not as upsetting if you understand how much change your hormones are doing in the first two weeks. Knowledge about what will happen IN your body is as important as the physical changes in your appearance, because being prepared reduces anxiety.
Postpartum Doula vs Night Nurse
Totally Different Roles for Similar Clients
This is an important topic for new parents to learn. Professional postpartum doulas are trained, certified and insured to understand and recognize typical postpartum recovery, as well as newborn behavior. This is the reason a doula will enter your home with the goal of sharing newborn care & comfort, breastfeeding practices, preparation of formula & bottles, meal prep and tidying of the common areas. Being connected with clients during the postpartum healing helps create a relationship and awareness of how your family is adjusting.
Night nurses are not usually with you for any task other than caring for the baby. If your budget is tight and you need help, find a trusted night nurse or a mother’s helper who can safely hold your baby while you rest. In my experience, if you have someone meeting some of your needs, you will feel better than struggling 24 hours a day, risking your mental health.
Night nurses are usually not nurses, and some have deep knowledge while others do not. The doula will provide resources, care and support for your family. Depending on your budget, benefits, and lifestyle, make the choice after you have vetted the person who will be caring for your baby once you get home.
Fertility Benefits Cover Postpartum Doulas
You Have 6 Weeks Worth of Doula Time, Thank your employer
This topic cannot be covered enough, in my opinion. So many of my clients have no idea that they have fertility benefits at all, never mind the details of the coverage. During a handful of introductions, clients have told me that they did not know they could get a doula with their first baby until a co-worker told them. Others mention where they work, and I tell them I have or have had a client who also works for the same company, who is being reimbursed for all expenses related to my service.
This coverage is usually worth from $12,000 to $60,000 lifetime benefit. There are restrictions on how long the coverage remains in place after the birth of a baby, what type of certifications a doula must have, and the appropriate ways to use them. Every new family deserves postpartum support, and you will be grateful if that help can come without a hit to your bottom line. I am well-versed and experienced in working with Carrot, Maven, Winn and out of insurance network with commercial insurances that offer some doula benefits.