Before reading on, I'd like to invite readers to try this exercise: Open another tab or window and enter “postpartum” into your search engine and note how many hits or even pages you must wade through in order to find results for topics not specifically focused on “postpartum depression” .

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During each trimester of pregnancy, our bodies change in rapid and significant ways, and for each transformation, we anticipate and prepare ourselves in earnest and a lot of time and energy into taking care of our pregnant selves and planning our ideal birthing experiences. We abstain from alcohol and sushi, attending childbirth education classes, reading all the pregnancy books, tour birthing locations and medical care providers, interview doulas, and patiently bear through all the advice from every direction (welcomed or unsolicited).

While birth marks the completion of the pregnancy, it marks the beginning of a new phase for both parent and child and new challenges. Parents and their newborns experience new rhythms of sleep, feeding and care, not to mention the physical recovery from childbirth with very few exceptions. How do we anticipate and prepare for this, and what resources are available to us during pregnancy?

Culturally, In the West, we do a poor job of supporting families into the transition of parenthood, beginning with the lack of preparation for what to expect, evident through the exercise at the beginning of this post.

Creating community is key. The expectation new parents are meant to take care of a newborn alone is not aligned with how societies have cared for families for thousands of years. Due North aims to reconnect with traditional ways of knowing around welcoming a baby into your life.

In many cultures across the world and throughout history, the postpartum period was honored as a traditional time of rest, recovery, compassionate care, and welcoming by the community for the new family. In the States, we’ve fallen away from a lie-in period and postpartum and have replaced it with an effort, if not obsession of “bouncing” back; back to a body and a life before Baby, quickly returning to our favorite activities, returning to work often out of necessity, and minimal hands-on support accumulates to a heavy burden at the expense of our physical and emotional health. The healthiest way to regain equilibrium with your life before Baby and your new life with Baby is to honor this liminal period of the fourth trimester, rest, nourish yourself and your baby, and ask and accept assistance as you adjust, and its hardest to ask for help when you’re in the most need for it, so when you’re preparing for your birth, prepare for your postpartum as well.

With Due North, postpartum doula care creates a temporary village and can help bridge the gaps in our health care system by meeting parents where they are, and empowering them by building on their existing knowledge and preferences. We can help new parents to feel more comfortable with what is in the range of normal, cultivate confidence, and can help you get some rest and self-care in the process.

For more information about Due North Support Services' Postpartum Doula Care, we invite you to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation with us.