Breastfeeding has important benefits for the baby and the mother. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, human milk is a superfood for babies, providing all the nutrients and calories your baby needs, delivering healthy antibodies, and offering protection against asthma, eczema, diabetes, obesity, ear infections, and more. For the nursing mother, breastfeeding may help you recover from childbirth more quickly and helps protect against diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast and ovarian cancers. It also triggers the release of oxytocin, which helps you bond with the baby. A postpartum doula can help the nursing mother learn to breastfeed successfully and support her postpartum recovery. Let’s look at doula support during the fourth trimester.
Facilitating Successful Breastfeeding
A postpartum doula educates, supports, and assists the nursing person with breastfeeding initiation. Most new mothers will have had some instruction about breastfeeding in the hospital by a lactation consultant (IBCLC or CLC). Together, you’ll discuss what a “good latch” looks like, how to feed if you have large, inverted, or flat nipples, and how to have a successful nursing session. An IBCLC can show you how to hold the baby correctly and position it so latching and nursing can happen and how to use a breast pump and how to tell if the flange is the right size. Pumping is helpful to jumpstart your milk supply, especially if the baby is early. For many women, pumping is necessary because they have to go back to work after a few weeks of maternity leave. Pumping and storing breastmilk is also great so your partner and others can help by bottle-feeding the baby. In the exhaustion of the first few days post-birth, it’s easy to forget what you learned in the hospital; a postpartum doula can step in with a refresher on what you might have learned and other nursing best practices.Research has shown that doula support was shown to improve breastfeeding success, with quicker onset of lactation and continued breastfeeding for weeks after childbirth, particularly among low-income women. Another study found that women were more likely to breastfeed when they were supported by a doula.
Navigating Postpartum Challenges
When a new baby comes, you may feel like you’ve been thrown off the deep end to sink or swim, especially if you are a first-time parent. Support from a postpartum doula can help with the transition. You may want to hire one for the first few days after the baby comes home or have one come for multiple days of the week for several weeks. Breastfeeding takes some adjustment but should not be painful or cause your nipples to crack or bleed. The doula can explain how to care for your nipples and how to avoid engorgement and mastitis. In addition to providing lactation support, doulas give emotional support and understanding during a stressful, exhausting time for the new parents.Doulas can also give the parents a break from newborn care, care of other children, or housekeeping chores and help the mother with her postnatal recovery. Doulas are there to support you through breastfeeding and pumping challenges. Their experience and expertise give them perspective so you don’t have to go it alone.
Holistic Postpartum Support
New parents need a postpartum support network, an informal team of family, friends, and health care professionals who you can reach out to for help when you need it. Your team begins with your OB or other health care provider, your doula, your family, friends and neighbors. Whether you visit them or call for support, these are people who will respond to you, listen, and be empathetic. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), your support network may recognize warning signs that you are having health problems or struggling with being a new mom before you do. Women who had high-risk pregnancies or complications with delivery may be at higher risk of postpartum complications.You may need just a few people, or you may need a “village.” It’s best to identify your support network and make sure they are willing and able to help before you come home with a new baby. When you need help, reach out to your network, say what you’re feeling, and ask for what you need. The need may feel most acute the first few weeks after childbirth (the first trimester), but the entire first year is a high-risk time for new mothers. In addition to breastfeeding challenges, mental health issues are a common complication in the first several months. Don’t hesitate to voice your concerns or ask for help for whatever reason. When you are taken care of as a parent and a person, you can provide better care for the baby.
Community and Resources
Reach out to your community for help with breastfeeding challenges. Your baby’s health and your comfort with breastfeeding may be strengthened by the education you get.Doulas, International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs), and CLCs (Certified Lactation Counselors) or CBEs (Certified Breastfeeding Educators) can help with breastfeeding. IBCLCs are certified breastfeeding professionals with a high level of knowledge and skill in breastfeeding support. A breastfeeding counselor or educator teaches about breastfeeding and helps women with basic breastfeeding challenges. Your obstetrician, pediatrician, or midwife can recommend a lactation consultant if you need help beyond what a doula provides or if you don’t have a postpartum doula.
Other breastfeeding mothers can be a great source of support. Ask your health care provider or the staff of the hospital or birthing center where you delivered for local support groups. Some pediatricians have an IBCLC on staff who leads support groups. Your doctor or nurse also may be able to connect you with a breastfeeding peer counselor. This is someone who has breastfed her own baby and can help other mothers breastfeed. Through Internet search you can find a breastfeeding center near you, which may offer support groups. Breastfeeding USA and can help you find a local breastfeeding counselor and The Lactation Network (TLN) compares insurance coverage and available consultants in your area. La Leche League International can direct you to their local chapters or chapter leaders who can aid with breastfeeding.
There are federal programs to support breastfeeding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (commonly called WIC) offers food, nutrition counseling, and access to health services for low-income women, infants, and children. Breastfeeding mothers supported by WIC may receive peer counselor support, an enhanced food package, breast pumps, and other supplies. The Office on Women’s Health Helpline at 800-994-9662 is staffed with breastfeeding peer counselors who can answer your questions in English or Spanish, talk you through challenges, and connect you with other resources to help if needed.
