Becoming a new parent is a massive responsibility and challenge for both parents, and the birth of one’s first child is a major life milestone for anyone. Some new parents or pregnant women may feel overwhelmed by all this, but fortunately, they may turn to the medical industry and related fields for help. Pregnant women, or those who are going into labor, may recruit the assistance of a doula. Just what are doula services, and what might postpartum doula packages entail? Women who just gave birth, and feel overwhelmed by parenthood, may look into postpartum doula packages for support, and their partner may do much the same. Meanwhile, as a baby grows up, it may undergo sleep training at the hands of a specialized baby sleep trainer for a better night’s rest.
What Doulas Can Do
For those not familiar with them, a doula is a trained specialist (usually women) who have undergone training and certification to support pregnant women and new mothers. It may be noted that doulas are not actually nurses or doctors, and are not qualified to administer medicine or perform surgery. Rather, these doulas are capable of emotional and logistical support for a pregnant woman or a new mother, and that can cover nearly anything that the mother and/or partner may need. For example, a pregnant woman may rely on a doula to help her with stretches, poses, or relaxing therapy for discomfort or difficulties during pregnancy (though actual emergencies call for a hospital). A doula may also help a pregnant women go over her options for childbirth, and help the mother with the birth once she goes into labor.
Not only that, but a doula can also provide emotional support for an expecting mother or new mother, and that can make quite a difference. Undue stress may even cause complications in a pregnancy or childbirth, but a more relaxed and confident woman may experience a safer and more secure birth. (Actual complications call for a doctor’s attention if they happen.) Pregnancy and childbirth may be stressful, exhilarating, frightening, or overwhelming for any new parents, and a doula may act as a lifeline or emotional rock the entire time. As a bonus, a doula may extend this emotional support to the pregnant woman’s partner and family if necessary. This includes dealing with postpartum complications such as depression, known more informally a “baby blues.” So, postpartum doula packages may be offered, where one or more doulas may aid a new mother (and her partner) with the emotional burden of having a new life in the household. Postpartum depression often manifests as feelings of incompetence or fright, something similar to impostor syndrome. A doula may offer postpartum doula packages to prevent that.
Baby Sleep Trainers
Meanwhile, even if parents get all the support they need for pregnancy and childbirth, that baby needs a lot of care. Even though babies and toddlers spend most of their day asleep, they won’t get that sleep all at once. In fact, babies under a certain weight need feeding once every two to three hours, and parents may often find themselves woken up in the night by a baby who needs a feeding or diaper change. This is natural for babies, but the parents may not like it. The solution is to call upon a baby sleep trainer.
Baby sleep trainer agencies are not federally regulated, so interested clients may want to review and consult a firm’s staff before making a decision. Once a sleep trainer is hired, that agent (most likely a woman) will interview the family and ask them to fill out a questionnaire, to get a solid idea of what the household is like. Now, the sleep trainer will alter the baby’s eating and sleep schedule, and over the course of a few weeks, ease that baby (or a young toddler) into a schedule that involves sleeping for eight hours each night, without waking up. Toddlers will take longer to train, but it can be done, and the parents may appreciate getting a full night’s rest without being woken up. And toddlers will need to learn this sort of schedule soon anyway, once they are old enough to start going to school.