The postpartum, postnatal or fourth trimester period is the period directly following birth – that delicious and cherished time when you bring your new baby home and a new kind of normal begins for you and your family.

But all of those terms may not be familiar – they certainly weren’t with me when I was pregnant with my first child. So what is the fourth trimester and what is a Postpartum Doula?

The role of a doula is not a new concept, it has been around for quite some time but here in Ireland it is maybe not as well known. I myself had heard the word doula (pronounced doo-la) ten years ago whilst pregnant with my first born although I still didn’t really know what they were or did – we also had no iphones then – look how far we have come in that time! So if you look up the word doula you might find something like:

A doula, also known as a birth companion or post-birth supporter, is a non-medical person who assists a woman before, during, or after childbirth, as well as her spouse and family, by providing physical assistance and emotional support.

What about a Postpartum Doula? A Postpartum Doula is someone who is trained in the best, modern practices to help new parents and their infants in the first days, hours and weeks post birth.

Having a new baby can be difficult, there might be post birth trauma, there might be birth injury, if you’re lucky you’re putting in 12 hour days with this tiny but mighty presence. Some parents are anxious, don’t have family support or can simply afford and see the benefit of having an extra pair of hands around to help out.

And so, whilst postpartum is this amazing time where parents are completely smitten with their little ones it can also be a time of great change and challenges new parents and siblings in ways they never thought possible.

I find the concept of the 4th trimester most intriguing because when my first child was born I was encouraged to put him in his own bed and get him into a routine as soon as possible. It was emphasised that picking him up too often would spoil him, create bad habits and make him clingy. This school of thought continued to influence my parenting choices and my confidence down through all 3 of my children but with each child I began to trust my own intuition more and more and learned that I didn’t need the baby books or to listen to outdated advice…I could listen to my own gut and seek out information and groups that were more in line with what I believed.

I began to explore the concept of the 4th trimester, babywearing and breastfeeding. The more I explored the more my appetite for information grew and I first became a Babywearing Consultant, then a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter and finally a Postpartum Doula.

I attended seminars and learned the importance of infant mental health and touch. The focus of my presentation for my certification in babywearing was the benefits of babywearing to the newborn, the caregiver, the family unit and society as a whole.

I wondered what I could do with the new knowledge and more importantly how I could help new parents and their new baby and so I came to the role of the Postpartum Doula.

I frequently hear from new mums that they don’t feel like they have or had enough support following the birth of their baby or babies. Whether with feeding, sleeping or physical and emotional care they found a large gap from the moment they had their first baby and into the first few months of life with a newborn.

A time where parents might feel completely exhausted and overwhelmed and try to regain a sense of the order they had before baby arrived. Parents should know that this is completely normal and common amongst new parents and nobody despite how it looks has it completely figured out.

As a Postpartum Doula I seek to help parents both locally in Drogheda, County Louth and those further afield, transition into their new family dynamic in a way that is healthy and happy for everyone, I hope to pass on to parents, the skills and techniques I have learned both as a professional and as a mum of 3.