Postpartum Doulas- An Expert Companion To Handle All Post Birth Needs Of A Mother

Postpartum Doulas- An Expert Companion To Handle All Post Birth Needs Of A Mother and Baby

Celebrating and preparing for the arrival of a new family member is a happy yet tiring task for the family. The mother is in need of constant support and care, both during as well as after the birth of the little angel, as she is liable to suffer from excessive workload and exhaustion from handling various family chores and tending to the needs of the infant at all hours.

In contrast to baby nurses, doulas do not merely take care of the infant, but rather help the entire family deal with the arrival of the little angel efficiently, making them an irreplaceable asset for a family celebrating their new baby angel!

Moreover, the stress of trying to cater to the different vital needs of the baby can seriously disrupt the already disorganized routine of the house, especially if the parents are unable to trace the source of the angel’s discomfort. This is the time when most families recognize the benefits of a postpartum doula.

Postpartum doulas serve as an answer to the worries and troubles of all those anxious parents who need help in dealing with the baby and taking care of the urgent healthcare needs of the mother.

What Are Postpartum Doulas?

Postpartum doulas are professionals who offer their service assistance to facilitate families to deal with the initial trying weeks after the birth of the baby, which are very crucial for the parents to settle into the new lifestyle.

Doulas provide much needed emotional as well as physical support to new mothers in dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety. They also facilitate them to handle all the housework and the needs of the baby, so that she does not feel stressed out. Postpartum doulas help the mother fit into the new lifestyle and workload gradually, so that she is better able to cope with it later.          

Philly area doulas help the family through the difficult transition of adjusting into a new lifestyle, by helping run small errands and offering assistance in handling different household chores, for the assistance of families. They prove to be of significant help to families which have multiple small children to look after or in the case of the mother having given birth to twins or triplets.

An Invaluable Asset For The Family!

Besides acting as the essential support for the family, postpartum doulas also offer specialized assistance for helping new mothers learn ways of feeding and taking care of the baby. They also provide expert experienced care to the mother, which helps in minimizing the risk of any maternal complications or problems which might affect her health, thus affecting the wellbeing of the baby as well.   

Postpartum doulas are also a great assistance option for mothers who have had to undergo any complicated procedures during delivery, and require expert care and advice during the initial days to eliminate any probable chances of complications. The doulas offer lactation support and newborn care instructions, for around two to four weeks after the birth of the baby, and can be asked to extend their services according to the need of a family.    

Postpartum doulas offer flexible hours of service and though they provide assistance for a few hours some days in a week, but also assent to offer overnight services in case of urgent or pressing need.

Philadelphia Moms Play Music for their Babies

Philadelphia Moms Play Music for their Babies

The Philadelphia area doulas have been learning about music and babys and we want to share what we've learned! Music has the power to make memories, shape relationships, effect mood, and simply makes people happy. But how does this effect babies? Well, many researchers believe that fetus’ as young as 5 months can distinguish sounds and at two months infants can remember short melodies. Baby's in the womb can even hear music and sounds being played in the other room. So why not start as young as possible in shaping your child to have a lifetime love for music. Introducing music can very soothing. To explain this music phenomenon on a deeper level, babies have billions of brain cells that form connections to each other. So when infants are readily introduced to music they naturally will form strong music related brain cells. Thus, early listening will enhance a baby’s admiration for music. Not to mention, like most adults, music has a positive effect on a baby’s mood.

So does music make babies smarter? 

In some ways yes, music can benefit learning. Studies show that babies as young as three months can pick up on the structure of music, therefore the more complex structure the better. For example, classical music has shown to allow babies to improve on spatial reasoning. Likewise, music can enhance a baby’s learning capability by increasing his or her mood.

Music does not only benefit the baby but it also benefits the mother’s overall mental health. 

It is recommended for women to ask their nurse, doctor, doula, etc. to play music during labor. This has been proven to relax the women and make the process much less painful. Also, playing music during pregnancy lowers stress levels tremendously. Main Line Doulas also offers a Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth program. This program has been developed based on the very scientific information we have about the direct effects that music has on the laboring woman. For information on that, please click here.

On top of aiding cognitive health and a mother’s well being, utilizing music is an ideal way to strengthen the bond between mother and child. Those moments when a mother sings her baby to sleep or plays games with music are moments that the child feels a deep connection with its parent. Even if the mother is tone deaf, the baby does not care. All it cares about is the comfort it finds in its mother’s.

Is OK to be that crazy women with the headphones strapped around her belly? No! While music is a wonderful way to help sooth your baby, it is not appropriate to play music close up to your baby via headphone. This practice has been shown to overstimulate developing babies.  You can however introduce your baby to a variety of music to see what it likes. Infancy is the time to begin to plant the seeds for a lifetime full of talent. So who knows, maybe your child will be the next Beethoven.

Works Cited

Robledo, S.Jhoanna. "Music and your baby (newborn to 1 year)." BabyCenter. BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.babycenter.com/0_music-and-your-baby-newborn-to-1-year_6548.bc?page=1>.

Bales, Diane. "Building Baby's Brain: The Role of Music." Building Baby's Brain: The Role of Music. Education Oasis, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.educationoasis.com/resources/Articles/building_babys_brain.htm>.

just for this moment

gentle breaths up and down
caressing his skin like velvet
watching his belly, as his body relaxes

suckle:
nourishment,
nurturement

arms stretched out, relaxed into bed

my baby falls asleep and I sigh