Your Postpartum Visit with Sprout and Blossom | Grand Rapids Doula
Written by Shay Gabriel
We like to think of those first few months postpartum as the “fourth trimester.” As with the first three trimesters, postpartum care is important! There are several things you can plan ahead to set yourself up for a smoother transition into the fourth trimester, including booking a birth team that offers holistic postpartum visits.
Sprout and Blossom believes in continuity of care and includes a postpartum follow-up visit as part of your birth package. Our birth doulas Annica and Brianna cater postpartum visits to each client’s individual needs. In general, here are some important bases we cover with each client:
Processing the birth
The opportunity to process your birth story with someone who attended is absolutely invaluable. As part of your birth team, your doula is able to help you bring light to your birth experience during your postpartum visit. Sprout and Blossom’s birth offerings also include a labor timeline, photography, and videography — all great ways to further process each unique birth!
Nursing in public
We keep our clients informed on their rights surrounding public breastfeeding. (Heads up: it’s legal to breastfeed in public in all 50 United States!) We also offer tips and tricks for making nursing in public more comfortable.
Bedsharing
Safe infant sleep is important. Mainstream healthcare providers tend to skirt around the topic of safe bedsharing despite the many evidence-based benefits. (In fact, many providers set parents up for unrealistic sleep expectations, period.) At your postpartum visit, your doula will open the topic of bedsharing, the biologically normal needs of a newborn, and will equip you with safe bedsharing resources. Sprout and Blossom encourages you to make the right decisions for your family around safe infant sleep.
Support
They say it takes a village -- we say it, too! We want to ensure that you’re feeling supported however you might need. Whether it’s in terms of handling household tasks, navigating physical changes, or any other postpartum needs, your doula comes equipped with ideas and resources to tap into the modern day village.
Sprout and Blossom birth services also include prenatal care, doula labor support, and birth photography documentation. Postpartum doulas are an option for additional support throughout your fourth trimester.
continuity of care matters
Shay Gabriel is Sprout and Blossom's Content Director whose love of parenthood and psychology has merged into a super-obsession of all things birthy and baby. She believes an informed experience lends to an empowered experience, no matter where you are along the journey.