Postpartum Doula Support

Your decision to work with a postpartum doula is one of the most remarkable things you can do for yourself. As doulas, we support babies AND parents.

Your doula can be:

An extra set of hands and expert baby caregiver
Your go-to source of information and expertise (definitely beats the Google rabbit hole)
Your trusting source of comfort, understanding and connection to ground you when things feel untethered
Your reassurer/cheerleader that shows you what a badass parent you are

At Boston Area Doulas, we believe:

No two families are alike. What works for your friend/neighbor/that random person in a Facebook parenting group may not work for your family and your baby. We’re here to help figure out what works best for your family.
The newborn learning curve is steep. Many expecting parents tell us “I don’t know what I don’t know.” We’re here to help you become the expert in your baby, gaining confidence and skills quickly.
Second/third/fourth-time parents deserve support. You don’t have to go it alone. For those of you who had a tough postpartum experience with another baby, it can and will be better.
Judgment from others and unsolicited parenting advice from strangers is not helpful. Boston Area Doulas come to you free of any bias toward any particular parenting practices, but with knowledge and experience in variations of all of them (ex: scheduled parenting, attachment parenting, and everything in between).
Whoever created the phrase “sleeps like a baby” never had a newborn overnight. It can be hard to get restful sleep as a parent! Babies are LOUD and active sleepers— they grunt and squeak, waking every 2-3 hours to to eat. We’re here to help.

Explanation and tracking of physical postpartum recovery for vaginal and cesarean births. You will likely see your OB at the 6 week mark post birth. Your doula’s check-ins offer a more timely opportunity to ask questions or express concerns.
Discussions regarding your adjustment to parenthood, your emotional postpartum recovery, and your overall mental health.
Infant care, bathing and hygiene
Infant comfort and soothing measures
Baby wearing guidance and support
Infant sleep support
Infant feeding support:
- How can I tell if my baby is getting enough milk?
- Assistance with breastfeeding/chestfeeding
- Latch adjustment (if applicable)
- How to properly mix and measure formula (if applicable)
- Real-time walk through of paced bottle feeding (if applicable)
Sharing of up-to-date information and resources related to pregnancy, infant care, postpartum support, and parenting
Discussion of parenting philosophies and the absolute support of your decision making
Back-to-work preparation and transition
Strategies to support siblings during this life transition
As needed, vetted referrals to medical professions and other networks
Light cleaning and meal preparation (e.g., washing bottles, loading dishwasher), snack preparation
Daytime visits are a minimum of 4 hours, to allow for support with at least 1-2 feedings and time to rest, recharge, check in.
We recommend booking overnight postpartum support 2-4 months before your due date, given demand and popularity.

Daytime visits (4 hr min) can include:

Our goal is to maximize your sleep and help you “turn off your brain.”
Your doula will check in about how you’d like to handle feeding (nursing directly, pumping, or using formula. Your doula will adhere to your wishes and can make recommendations based on your feeding goals, if you’re not sure.
Doula can attend to your baby/babies when they wake due to hunger, gas, dirty diaper, reflux, etc. Doula changes baby’s diaper, feeds, burps, soothes, and settles back to bed. Our doulas use safe sleep practices: babies are placed in crib or bassinett alone, on their backs.
Doulas share parents on pertinent notes re: feeding, diapers, awake time, length of sleep, etc.
You may check in with your doula briefly at the start or end of their visit— or keep sleeping! Up to you!
The priority is keeping your baby safe, satisfied and settled. If time allows, your doula may run a load of baby laundry and wash bottles/pump parts as well.
Overnights are 8-12 hours, beginning between 7:30-9 pm.
We recommend booking overnight postpartum support 3-4 months before your due date, given demand and popularity.

Overnight doula support (8 hr min):

Our Most Popular OFFERINGS + PRICING

100 hours of daytime support to be used over 12 weeks. (25 4-hr daytime visits.)

Sample schedule:

weeks 1-4: 3 doula visits a week

weeks 5-9: 2 doula visits a week

weeks 10-12: 1 doula visit a week

Investment: $5000 ($50/hr daytime)

You choose the number of hours per week and number of weeks you’d like, based on your family’s needs.

Daytime visits are 4 hours. Overnight visits are 8-9 hrs.

Minimum of 48 hrs to book (12 day visits or 4 nights)

Investment:

$50/hr daytime (8:30-7:30 pm), $55/hr overnight (7:30-pm-8:30 am)

160 hours of overnight support to be used over 8 weeks

(20 8-hr overnights).

weeks 1-4: 3 overnights a week

weeks 5-8: 2 overnights a week

Investment: $8,800 ($55/hr overnight)