Many new mothers are curious just how long a postpartum doula can care for their new baby. Luckily, as postpartum doulas we are well versed in new baby care and can provide care far longer than parents may be aware of. Some people joke that postpartum is for life, but from a more practical perspective I like to share postpartum is definitely at least for the first year, beyond the mere 3 months, 4th trimester, women are initially told about as usually as a postpartum doula I can for new families far longer than 3 months, especially with night support, sleep training, and teaching babies to sleep through the night. There are many different things that happen throughout your babies first year and having the right support around you can make all of the difference.

While I always recommend to organize making sure you have postpartum support covered before your baby arrives, some new parents may need a better fit or realize they need postpartum support after baby is here. This can be immediately postpartum or a few months in as different changes can be going on with baby even once they are an infant.

The First Weeks Immediately after Birth (6 weeks Postpartum)

I always recommend to have postpartum support at least through the first 6 weeks but in all honesty most parents find this is really the bare minimum of support they need and many parents find they want to extend care with their current doula or have to find a new doula because they are no longer available. I mention it here because some parents may think 4 weeks will be enough care, not only does that go by extremely quickly, but a newborn growth spurt happens at both the 4 week and 6 week mark which can be quite difficult paired with being up around the clock with your newborn and adjusting to the demands of care in the first weeks. New mothers have their own postpartum appointment at 6 weeks and this is usually the time they start to feel like the care for themselves transitions and need support in a new capacity postpartum after this.

Postpartum Doula Care Newborn Months Months 1-3

This time of care includes the first six weeks as well as the rest of the months your baby is considered a newborn. As with the first weeks, there are several growth spurts during this time and the infamous 3 month sleep regression and 4 month sleep regression you are approaching at the end of the 3rd month. As your baby adjust to learning and hitting their developmental milestones during this time period, they need extra support during those crucial weeks if they are having any discomfort while adjusting to their new skills. During this time babies will transition from feeding every 2-3 hours and learn to sleep longer, self-soothe a bit, have the opportunity to introduce the bottle, and develop healthy sleeping habits. Whether you are needing care postpartum during the days or nights, this time is still pretty demanding and moms may struggle to or still be trying to figure out how to fit in their own self-care during these months. You may want to find a sustainable pumping or expressing milk routine that is not too demanding on your body. As your postpartum doula I will help you learn to find a balance with your new baby and create a healthy environment for your family.

You also may have a partner returning to work or you yourself may be preparing to return to work yourself. This adjustment can bring extra need of support or create a change in the rhythm you have developed with your baby postpartum as they adjust to these changes with your family.

Postpartum Doula Care Months 4-6

These months your baby now be considered an infant by the medical industry and still have many needs as they are growing and being able to have more milk. Your baby will experience the infamous 4 month sleep regression that is a bit more tough than the 3 month. There is an ebb and flow doing your baby’s first year, so after month 3 we may have made a lot of progress with baby sleeping well and then you will see a bit of sleeping difficulty again as they go through this growth spurt. This is a natural process of your baby’s development and nothing to worry about but it is important that you do have quality support around you during these changes. After this growth spurt is completed this is when baby is more ready to do sleep training and learn to completely sleep through the night. This can take some time and is important to understand the natural progression of how we can implement this.

During this time it is common that mom may be returning to work and baby will need extra support around mom not being there as much during the day. `This can affect how your baby does with creating healthy sleeping habits during this timespan. Baby may transition now from their newborn sleeping space now to the crib.

Postpartum Doula Care Months 6-9

These months are great in that your baby can now fully be introduced to solid food if you have not already introduced it a bit during the last month or two. This is also the time a baby who was not ready to learn to sleep through the night entirely may be ready now to make that happen. Some moms who have not returned to work, took a break from their own business for a bit, or have been a stay at home mom may feel ready to start prioritizing some things they want to do for themselves and transition a bit out of their postpartum cocoa they may have been in during the earlier months postpartum. Mothers during this time may really like having postpartum doula care to really establish good self-care habits, learn how to prioritize their own needs in balance with care for baby, and be ready to get guidance on how baby can be a bit more independent now that they are a bit older, rolling over, and potentially sitting up.

If baby has been doing a bit of co-sleeping or contact tapping and has yet to learn to be able to self-soothe for naps or at nights, mom may be feeling she now really wants to prioritize this so she can have a bit more flexibility and freedom to do others things she needs to tend to or for herself, as you may be feeling this is not sustainable if baby does not learn these skills now.

Postpartum Doula Care Months 9-12

Your baby now at this age will be a lot more active potentially crawling, pulling to stand or walking. You will start seeing your baby enter the toddler phase as they approach the first year and may be trying to figure out how to get them to more seriously take their solid foods and develop healthy food habits. Postpartum doula care can help you with creating great relationship for your new baby to be excited to eat solid foods, not create food aversions or create picky eaters. Babies having a healthy relationship with food will aid you as a new mother so that they are in a better mood—less cranky, less tantrums and sleep even better. If you are still nursing, you may need assistance with transitioning your baby to regular milk and introducing sippy cups if you have not done this already. If you have put off teaching your baby to sleep through the night, have not had successor implementing it yet, or they have been co-sleeping you may now also feel you want to do sleep training as you do not want your child to develop sleeping issues that will keep you up throughout the night for years to come into the toddler/preschool years.