Doulas On Call

Real Talk: Postpartum - The Fourth Trimester

Misty and Tammy

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Misty and Tammy unpack the vital role of postpartum doulas and why the "fourth trimester" deserves just as much planning and support as birth itself.

WARNING: This episode includes discussion of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), sharing both personal reflections and supportive insight.
Some moments may feel heavy, it's ok to pause and come back when you're ready. You are not alone!

• Support from a doula can reduce postpartum depression risk by up to 65%
• Postpartum doulas provide physical, emotional, and informational support after childbirth
• Specializing in newborn care, maternal recovery, household help, emotional support, and resources
• Day doulas versus night doulas - different support for different family needs
• The postpartum period is often emotionally challenging and isolating for new mothers
• Proper support helps mothers feel seen, heard, and validated in their experiences
• Many families lack nearby support systems, making professional help essential
• We celebrate when families no longer need our services - it means we have done our job
• Consider gifting postpartum support to new parents instead of traditional baby items

The following studies and resources were used in the making of this episode:

https://evidencebasedbirth.com/ebb-344-crash-course-perinatal-mood-disorders-treatment-dr-kat-kaeni-perinatal-psychologist-postpartum-support-international/

https://www.motherhoodcenter.com/10-reasons-to-hire-a-postpartum-doula/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9257331/

Recommendations:

https://takingcarababies.com/best-swaddle?srsltid=AfmBOopERR6Ghb-pj7E5DdhWglJk3gFq7SU4LPMBlu3_IDQiwDxs_QfD

https://milehighdoulas.com/

Thanks for listening! Always feel free to message us for more information or, if you have information you feel we should see, please send that. We LOVE to hear and learn from you!


Speaker 1:

I'm Misty and I'm Tammy and we're the doulas on call. Remember, mamas, we're not doctors, midwives or magical birth wizards. I wish just two passionate birth workers with microphones sharing personal experiences, trusted information, the best snacks for labor and a whole lot of heart. What you hear on this podcast is meant to educate, encourage and connect, but it's not medical advice, please consult your trusted healthcare provider when making decisions about your health, your birth or anything clinical.

Speaker 2:

Basically, don't sue us. We're just here to talk birth, spill some tea and share the love.

Speaker 1:

Ring ring Doulas on call. Hello everybody and welcome back.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to Doulas on call Ring ring.

Speaker 1:

I love that. I do too. I love that it's kind of quirky, but hey, that's okay. So are we.

Speaker 2:

So are we?

Speaker 1:

I don't know, we're just kind of in those quirks it fits so excited to be back today, tammy, and talk about something very near and dear to my heart and, I know, to your heart too same same um is postpartum yes, that fourth trimester, as we like to call it right. So um definitely want to talk about this because I feel like, especially as a birth doula, tends to get overlooked unintentionally, I know, I agree, but we plan so much for this birth, oh man so much. But there's that.

Speaker 2:

You forget there's trimesters. Yeah, you actually have to bring the baby home. Right, you got to bring the baby home.

Speaker 1:

And now, what Not?

Speaker 2:

not even just baby, but like you're birthing yourself you know you becoming a mom becoming a mom so huge, this is different.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, um, what is a postpartum doula? Yeah, let's dive in. Well, what?

Speaker 2:

is yeah sure what?

Speaker 1:

what's a? Is there a difference between a birth doula and a postpartum doula? Correct yes, there's definitely all of that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, there's definitely a difference. Um, a postpartum doula differs from a birth doula in that, uh, a birth doula is trained in the physical, emotional support for birth and guiding you through birth. A postpartum doula is very specific to the physical, emotional and informational support the weeks and months after childbirth. So very good on things like newborn care and guidance, support for the birthing parents, recovery. A lot of them will do household help, they'll do laundry or they'll meal prep or fold clothes, do dishes, emotional, uh, just literally a listening ear. Um, resources and referrals are huge, um, so they give you a lot of resources.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yep and um. I think the overall goal of a postpartum doula is to really help families feel confident, help them get needed, rest and supported, uh, during life with this newborn baby.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Cause I mean, let's just be honest here, um, bringing a baby is it's having a baby going through that birth process. It is like one of the most powerful, empowering moments ever. But dang is it. Can it be, um, one of the most overwhelming?

Speaker 2:

at the same time, and it doesn't matter if it's your first or your fifth, you know, I think um, that's also a misnomer, that you know. I mean, and I will just be um, completely, um transparent. Misty and I are both birth doulas, yes, but we also um moonlight I'm moonlight, I'm a day okay you daylight we both are very passionate about postpartum care as well. And and when, when, when we can offer um certain clients that misty loves to support families during the day, um, and I prefer night shift.

Speaker 1:

And I'm currently yeah, I'm crazy Vampire. I don't know how she does it, guys. I really don't. I don't know how this woman does it. I don't know how you do it.

Speaker 2:

I mean, you know well, I guess it just makes sense. I can say why I do it. Why do you love doing postpartum care, like daytime help, and you're really you're really good at cooking. Okay, there's that. This is true. I do rest I do rest, I get cat naps, I do. Do you take cat naps?

Speaker 1:

yeah, I would, you get a full night rest I go to the family, I tell um my clients when they ask me you know, do you do postpartum support, Do you do nighttime? I'm like guys, I lose enough sleep over a birth. I've got to prioritize my sleep at some point. So sleep, I would say, is one big reason. So it's not like, oh, I don't like doing daytime.

Speaker 1:

Of course, or I'm sorry, um, that would be a big reason for me. Um another is I really like to work with the moms. I really like having that one-on-one and you know um. Correct me if I'm wrong, tammy, but I feel like a lot of nighttime is more baby related.

Speaker 2:

So it's interesting, I think, I think the hours are irrelevant, I think, truly the one-on-one I get with moms at night, uh, even, granted, it's shorter, right, so I'm maximizing their sleep. So I'm not going to dive into an intricate conversation about their physiology and breastfeeding, but there are these midnight I call them my little midnight conversations with my clients, when I'm going to them to bring baby to breastfeed or bottle feed, whichever, but I'm, you know, usually going to and from mama. It is different. I will say, if a mom is supplementing and they're maximizing sleep, there are less of these, for sure. But if I, if a mom is supplementing and they're maximizing sleep, there are less of these, for sure, um, but if I, if a mom is, you know, feeding and I'm bringing baby to and from, there are moments where I sit for a minute while she gets baby latched on, or maybe she needs help getting baby latched on, or, um, emotions come out, um, possibly because their partners in the other room, you know, really sleeping, you know, are the toddlers, or you know, and we have these one-on-ones and you know it can be very isolating and I think, um, that intimacy of that space is very, um, similar to birth in that you know those, those moments where it's just you and your client.

Speaker 2:

But I think, um, I definitely still have one-on-ones with my moms, and sometimes it's just silly things and sometimes it's really deep things. Um, or she'll ask me a question and if it's a loaded question, I have to assess. Okay, this is a longer conversation. Why don't you call me tomorrow? I definitely want to dive into this with you, um, but I want you to get a lot of sleep tonight. But definitely not, I don't not see them. But sometimes I feel like the nighttime or midnight conversations are definitely more intense than day, than the day ones.

Speaker 1:

I think that that could be accurate. I mean, yeah, you're talking to somebody who's extremely sleep deprived. Accurate, I mean, yeah, you're talking to somebody who's extremely sleep deprived. Um, you know, there's so much recover, recovering that is going on postpartum. Um, so you know, like some of the reasons why postpartum support is significantly helpful, um, you know, the sleep deprivation, lack of sleep, recovering physically from birth, whether that's vaginal birth, whether that's C-section learning to feed your baby.

Speaker 1:

So I had a midwife. This was funny when I was with a client of mine. It was a home birth midwife and she was helping her latch baby and she was explaining that the uh, the first feed is really about them kind of getting acquainted with your nipple. Totally.

Speaker 2:

It's not so much that new nutrition value, absolutely there's not a whole lot of when your milk hasn't come in. Yeah, and I hear that all the time. Colestrum it's like do I even have anything in?

Speaker 1:

there for them, right? So that first at least that first feed, first several feeds. It's not so much about the nutrition, yeah, it's more of getting acquainted. But the reason I brought that up is she said put it like this your baby, it takes your baby time to get adapted to this. They've never done that.

Speaker 2:

I always say you've never done that but I always say you've never done that, they've never done that.

Speaker 1:

What this midwife said was this is doing a very intimate dance with a total stranger.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that and you it is you've never met each other, let's go, let's go, let's get, let's get to it. So you know. But your postpartum doula can absolutely, you know, help with that. Yes, some postpartum doulas, are they further their certification credentials Correct? Maybe they're like for me, I'm a lactation educator, right? Some of them will go further and get a CLC, a certified lactation consultant, sure, some. Or even IBCLC, right, I don't know. Do you know any IBCLCs that are also postpartum?

Speaker 2:

doulas? I don't, most of them, no, but most of them will work with postpartum doulas. So we work very closely together. As far as like what our scope of practice is Like, my certifications, don't, you know, extend toward lactation. Certifications, don't you know, extend toward lactation. Um, and that, although my life certifications do, and just supporting so many moms and seeing different things, but I'm absolutely don't you know, I'm um, I stay in my lane it, you know. If I see a severe lactation, for example, you know a client that I'm serving right now a baby has a tongue tie, lip tie. You know all the ties. Um, do I get a revision? Do I not get a revision? You know a client that I'm serving right now a baby has a tongue tie, lip tie. You know all the ties. Do I get a revision? Do I not get a revision? You know we talk very in depth about that, but I'm not the one saying yes, you have to get it, and I'm not diagnosing, I'm not we have to be very careful.

Speaker 2:

So definitely physical, emotional, not not technically clinical. And I also am a professional nanny, slash my, as my husband likes to say, baby whisperer. So you are a baby whisperer. I think that, um, yeah, but that that definitely you're not wrong. It is such an intimate dance and breastfeeding along with um, you know the hormonal shift that comes along with it. Um, the emotional shift. Is it your first or second baby? Are you momming two kids now? Um, is your husband or partner active in your parenting and parenting styles? I I definitely screen my clients for, like do you want advice on parenting? Do you want advice on are you going to swaddle? Are you not going to swaddle? Do you want to pacifier? Do you not want to pacifier?

Speaker 1:

Are do you want?

Speaker 2:

Are you breastfeeding, are you supplementing? Yeah, um, but ultimately, I think, um, statistically, what we know now, that I don't think we knew before, is the emotional, mental, mental load of that postpartum period. Yeah, um, statistically, what it? What are the current statistics for postpartum depression, baby blues?

Speaker 1:

you know, and we should, we should specify the difference, the difference between one in seven, oh my gosh women. One in seven, wow will experience postpartum depression. So ppd like technically clinically actual postpartum okay mood disorder, because they have them switched now, so it's like PPMD.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's it.

Speaker 1:

It used to be like postpartum depression, postpartum blues things like that. But I think it's more of like a broad term of postpartum mood, postpartum mood and anxiety disorder.

Speaker 2:

Well, so let's clarify Because I was taught, and correct me if I'm wrong and this is what I look for and maybe tell you because, also, that's interesting, because you're postpartum day and I'm night, so things I look for are um sustained anxiety and or fear, either having to do with the baby or themselves. If it is, you know it's continuing, continuing, it's consistent and it's getting worse, then it's not just baby blues. I definitely anticipate a mom a couple weeks, correct, emotional, um, very teary, um overwhelmed and fearful, anxious, anxious, right there's a scope of what's considered normal in that right.

Speaker 1:

It could even be related to the birth.

Speaker 2:

Untruths of thoughts, obtrusive thoughts. I mean, I had a mom at one point where I'm walking up and down stairways and that just put her over the edge Because in her mind she's seeing me drop the baby.

Speaker 1:

you know so obtrusive thoughts. So when it doesn't go away, when it doesn't improve, Exactly. I have to. I do too so this was like again like well, I have older children. My youngest is going to be 20 in June, right? So, um, when I didn't look at it as like intrusive thoughts, as mine was worst case scenario syndrome I always had like worst case scenario syndrome, oh, um, so hard. And I experienced this up until he was probably the age of two, two and a half.

Speaker 2:

But I mean, I would envision like, oh my gosh, I left the door cracked open and he's gonna like run out and he's gonna get in the street and like yeah, so I have all these intrusive thoughts right um, also warning, like if we're talking, if you are experiencing postpartum depression or baby blues, like this episode, we're gonna talk a lot about that and just fyi, yeah, if you don't want to hear it or you're dealing with this right now, maybe pause, come back to it later. Um, we should take a warning.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely do the warning. So I was surprised by some of the other statistics here speaking of postpartum depression, having a doula, and I don't know if this is specifically. I'd have to read more into the exact verbiage of the study given. I don't know if this is just having a birth doula present at your birth or having a birth doula present at your birth along with combined care.

Speaker 2:

Yes, combined care Okay.

Speaker 1:

But 65% lower risk of having postpartum depression by having a doula. So I think in a lot of it is so like birth satisfaction I mentioned before. You know they could be processing their birth.

Speaker 2:

I find that a lot, so that can affect their postpartum, whether it was good or bad, good or bad, right Right, good or bad, because birth in and of itself is can be traumatic Absolutely, even if it's good, even if you have a great experience.

Speaker 1:

I've had Tammy. I've had clients who in my world like I'm there, I'm the doula, I'm seeing this happen and I'm like, wow, that was the most incredible birth.

Speaker 1:

And then I go to the postpartum and they're really struggling with the birth Right, because it was so much, it was so intense, and it's usually those precipitous births. Oh yeah, where they go fast, absolutely when they go really fast. But yeah. So birth satisfaction, it says having a doula is up to about 31% higher satisfaction of their birth. So if you kind of look at that, if they're having a higher satisfaction of their birth.

Speaker 2:

Is this affecting their postpartum?

Speaker 1:

right. So then, lowering that risk of having postpartum depression, so I feel like it kind of goes along with it. Decreasing the C-section rate. You know, we know again that women who and I'm not just saying like plan C-section Right, but women who go in and they have to have a C-section because of you know, For whatever reason, for whatever reason, something that they were not planning Right.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we know that that can increase the chances of postpartum depression, absolutely. So lowering the C-section rate by up to 39%, that's crazy. By up to 39%, that's crazy. So we can see why having a doula is present for your the birth preparation. The birth and your postpartum can help. Um can help you tremendously.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I also find that, um, just in a I mean, this is very, if you're listening, not in Colorado a lot. I, I think a lot of my clients are here and they don't have family here. They moved here for a job. Um, they don't have immediate family support, um, so there's that, there's that chapter, that that group of people. And then I also have the group of people who don't want family. Sorry, they're like, um, I'm really glad that they're out of town. You know, for whatever reason I can't no judgment whatsoever they they don't want family or they have a dysfunctional family or, um, they know their boundaries and they want an objective person to come. Um, you know, I've worked with all kinds of people. I've also had, you know, I have a client right now who hired me, um, knowing that, uh, there has been needs more sleep, and sleep deprivation is part of having a newborn.

Speaker 2:

It just is what it is, you know, and having the additional person there so that you can maximize your sleep, as is huge, yeah, um, so I, I will be the night owl for you to help, you know, and then, that's awesome that you, that you, can provide that for them, yeah, um, that, that's huge.

Speaker 1:

The, the sleep piece is huge and sometimes not even like you could have a really good baby it doesn't matter, right? Yeah, but you're still up, they're still noisy, yeah, this is why they're nobody, yeah, yeah or what I've seen like in this again like kind of going back to my own personal experience, like with my third son. I'm sorry chance I keep the bus here, um, but when my third son he was the noisiest sleeper.

Speaker 2:

Um, but I had a lot again.

Speaker 1:

I had a lot of um anxiety after I had him, so I would think I hear him Right and so then I'm up. That's right.

Speaker 2:

So sometimes it's not even like you know, oh, my babies are good sleepers, like sometimes it is the mom you know, and I think I, yeah, their eyes aren't open, and that's probably one of the first things I teach them, please, I always say I use this little trick, you can steal it. It's not panted For however many weeks old the baby is. That's how many minutes you are going to wait before you go and pick them up.

Speaker 1:

Please go observe.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, obviously, I'm not telling you to ignore a screaming baby.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

But I can. But actually picking them up, correct, because the majority of the time they're not awake, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I have to teach.

Speaker 2:

Well, we think they're awake, correct, I have to teach my clients that they're in REM sleep. It's noisy sleep yeah.

Speaker 1:

They are. And sometimes even babies, and they're out, they can scream, they can, can, literally be like and my client will like no, I thought they and I'm like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, like, just like, just give it a second, just give it a minute. Yeah, I had um one client recently. Her baby was maybe two months old and she's like he's waking up out of a dead sleep and just the scream, and then it lasts for a second and then he's done. Um, that's normal, yeah you know.

Speaker 1:

So I think that having a doula also there to know what. What is normal?

Speaker 2:

giving you that information.

Speaker 1:

So postpartum doulas provide emotional, informational and practical support, infant care, breastfeeding, sleep, etc.

Speaker 2:

You know we we discuss that oh, I also think, um, can I bring up what else they do? Yeah, yeah, okay, um, I think one of the biggest things, like you mentioned, processing your birth right, so going through your birth story if they want that, you know sometimes it don't, some of them don't. Um, I mean, sometimes it's pertinent for my clients. I do sometimes ask them because I don't. You know, I want to be considerate of that, you know, did they have a C-section? Was it an emergency?

Speaker 1:

Was it not an emergency Physically.

Speaker 2:

I need to know that if I'm supporting you at night, because you also cannot bend over, you know there are physical limitations to how I'm helping you physically if that's the case. Also, you know the biggest I think the biggest one is getting rest while somebody else watches the baby, which, whether that's at night or during the day, right. If you're supporting them during the day, you're helping right. But probably the biggest one and the most, the one that I see the most.

Speaker 1:

I'm interested to see what you're going to say. If it's what I'm thinking, Okay.

Speaker 2:

Breastfeeding, parenting the newborn stage is so isolating for the new mom. They need to feel seen heard oh man, and you're not crazy? Like I can't tell you how many times I tell my client I believe you, you're not crazy.

Speaker 1:

Like what you're feeling is real, um, and with compassion when you said you know the mom, uh, that she's feeling this. It's there's so much focus on baby and postpartum, yeah, yeah, that we lose the focus on mom in birth, birth it's all, it's all about her, and then it just what do you want?

Speaker 1:

flips. What do you want? Do you want to do medicated? Do you want to do unmedicated? Do you want to? You know, use that. This. It's really about her and her choices there, right, because her body's physically going through this right but in the postpartum we usually will focus on unintentionally focus a lot on the baby and I think that's why I really like like the daytime and it's not and spending time it's not like I don't love babies, don't get me wrong. Like I nannied for years, yeah, um I did child care.

Speaker 2:

I love babies.

Speaker 1:

Give me all the babies yes, I just I see mom and I'm like the very first thing I want to do is want to give her a hug, exactly, and I want to feed her and I want to touch her and make sure that she feels good, she feels heard.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I think we could clarify. I mean, if you're looking at hiring a postpartum doula, there are keys to there are definitely what, and there's. I should specify too this is crazy. You might not even know it exists. You can get a postpartum doula for day. You can get what we call a postpartum night doula okay, it's helping mom and baby. You can also hire a specific night nurse. So night nurses are not me, they are, they have a nursing degree, they are experts in newborn care and so like if you have a baby, who it was in the NICU, who needs extra help physically, right, so that does exist.

Speaker 1:

There's a lot of benefit in having a night nurse if you're going through something like that, and they are more.

Speaker 2:

they have the medical certification. They can do the clinical aspects of postpartum work Um. All of them are definitely beneficial. Anytime you know, for at any scope and I'm also, we'll put this out there I'm gifted a lot as a postpartum doula. So, it's the best gift.

Speaker 1:

Um. I was just gifted as a birth doula.

Speaker 2:

Like I'm sure I've been gifted.

Speaker 1:

Somebody's gifted my services before, but it just wasn't really brought up. But recently one of my clients' mother gave it as her gift, which I was like that is so awesome. You know we have so many. I mean, how many times do you have like multiple items of the same items that you return, or how many?

Speaker 2:

times Register for a birth doula Speaking of this as a post, or how many times?

Speaker 1:

speaking of this as a postpartum doula. This could be like a whole like podcast episode on its own. But like how many times do you go into somebody's house and you're like, what is all this crap? What do you need? You know what? Do we need we should totally do an episode of that. We will do our favorites as postpartum doers. I will say that.

Speaker 2:

I do go over a lot of it with my birth clients. I'm pretty much a minimalist. I tell them if I recommend something, it's because I see it used and it is incredible. Right now, I will tell you this I'm not a huge fan Okay, bias, okay, here comes the bias. I am not a huge fan of Okay Bias, okay, here comes a bias. I am not a huge fan of taking care of babies. It's not my favorite for a newborn Okay, it's not my favorite. I have my favorites.

Speaker 1:

We all have our favorites.

Speaker 2:

So I'm not calling them out on it's just not one of my favorite. It works beautifully for a lot of people. Kudos to you, um, but the woman is genius in that she created a swaddle. That is it's best b-e-s-t. If you have a newborn and I do I will be recommending it based on the material alone, and why I didn't think of it like that.

Speaker 1:

I am kicking myself.

Speaker 2:

I am kicking myself. I just want to punch something. I'm so bitter that I didn't invent this. I can't even tell you um no, no, the material resembles combine or sports tape that sticks to itself, so you know when you wrap a wound and Like kinesio tape, similar, similar.

Speaker 2:

But you know, when you wrap a wound and you rip it and it just sticks to itself. Okay, okay, very similar, very similar. So this fabric you swaddle and it sticks to itself, so that there's no velcro, there's no, in the middle of the night, like, yes, ollie, okay, everybody, ollie's trending this, ollie, I hate them, sorry I don't just I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm calling out.

Speaker 1:

We're gonna have people like disown our show.

Speaker 2:

Okay, they're great during the day, but, but come on, Just completely instigates the startle reflex and my poor little baby. They're like ah, you can picture me with my hands out to my side Like, ah, um, anyway, so this woman is genius at the suado, so, but anyway, I digress. Um, but hiring or gifting a doula is definitely a thing, and I've been gifted many times. Um, and gift and we will recommend again if I, if I have a family, is like oh, I'm looking for X, Y, Z, maybe I'm not your person. You know we have incredible resources in Colorado.

Speaker 1:

Yes, there are definitely some groups and we will.

Speaker 2:

We will list them for sure, uh, under under our thing. So, overall, wrap it up. Why should somebody hire a postpartum doula? Why wouldn't you?

Speaker 1:

I wouldn't you. No, why should you?

Speaker 2:

I mean, gosh the benefits. The benefits are just.

Speaker 1:

Out of control. They're so good, there's so many great benefits in it. For those of you who say, well, that's not for everybody. For those of you who say, well, that's not for everybody, we're not able to do it, you know, financially, um, really, sit and think about this how, how often are you going to have a child? Are you going to get birth? How often are you going to get birth? How often are you going to go through?

Speaker 2:

this postpartum journey, you twice, but it's such a blip like overall.

Speaker 1:

The time is just such a but how often do we spend money on stuff that is not needed, isn't needed or just I mean gosh? I was talking to um, a friend of mine, and she was telling me she provided the um she put with her sister, that her little sister that got married. The gift to her was the uh photographer, wedding photographer. There you go. She told me how much money she spent on this wedding photographer, not saying you guys are not worth it. Don't, don't come at me with that. I love it. I've got clients who are wedding photographers. Don't come at me with that, yeah.

Speaker 1:

But we don't think twice.

Speaker 2:

Like with our wedding. It's true, it's true, yeah Right, we think well, we're getting married once.

Speaker 1:

That's the hope. Right, we're getting married once, yeah, okay, well, you're having a baby, yeah, what? One, two, three, I don't know, some of you.

Speaker 2:

I have clients that have four or five kids, right, but how often are you doing this, right, um? Especially the week to, I'd say. People are like how, how long? Like I've had clients who book me for months and they really don't know how long they're going to need me. And, you know, I always say to them it's not linear, it's not, and it and it also depends on that kid Cause we don't know who this person is yet, we don't know what they'll be. Will they be colicky? Will they not be colicky? Will they be a good sleeper? Will they not be a good sleeper? Do they need more sleep, less sleep? You know, um, and I think that I usually say to them and I don't know how you do it, I mean, if I'm very different than just a postpartum doula, so if you hire just a postpartum doula, they will have certain requirements, contracts, because that's all they do, so financially, you book them for weeks.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's like hiring us for your birth.

Speaker 2:

That's exactly right. So Misty and I don't operate like that. So we are different. I am flexible and I always tell my clients the day you say I think we're good, we celebrate that.

Speaker 1:

I'm so proud of you.

Speaker 2:

You get excited for you Give me a week notice, like, so I can plan it out.

Speaker 1:

But that's one thing I will say not to.

Speaker 2:

There's a graduation day, there's a graduation well, not to toot our own horn here, but what I will say?

Speaker 1:

just because, um, I think that um, some people maybe aren't this way, but um, we get excited when people don't need us. We do um because we feel like we've done our job.

Speaker 2:

Yep, right I look at that like even as it's, like, this isn't related to postpartum.

Speaker 1:

Um, but even like clients who don't hire me again, oh sure, um, yeah, I don't get offended. Nope, I don't either, but I'm a good teacher, I'm yeah right.

Speaker 2:

It makes you feel like uh-huh, you wow, I've done a really good job with them.

Speaker 1:

Um we were able to um give them the you know, the support they need the tools they need, made them feel confident. So that's one thing I'll say about Tammy and myself is that we do celebrate you when you don't need us. That's right.

Speaker 2:

No, it's true. Yeah, we love that. We love that. Yeah Well, yeah, so hire a postpartum doula or gift it to yourself. Gift it to yourself.

Speaker 1:

That's your push gift.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, share this episode with people who don't know what a postpartum doula is. Maybe they're curious, maybe they're pregnant right now and they didn't even think about it, um share this episode with them, um honestly. Please like, share, subscribe, tell your friends, tell your friends, family members, all of them, even if hi tammy's mom, hi, miss cecil, hi to all my loyal fans, yeah, hi to the people I'm like, here's your five dollars. Listen, here you go. Here's your gift card.

Speaker 1:

Here it is, so it's been so lovely chatting with you guys, and we are excited to chat with you soon. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 2:

Doulas on call.

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