The Sad Moms Club

42. Why Should I Hire A Postpartum Doula? with Bountiful Doulas

May 07, 2024 • Joni Lybbert • Season 2 • Episode 42

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Postpartum doulas offer physical and emotional support after the birth of your baby through the first year postpartum.

Two best friends, McKayla Broadhurst and Tiara Monson, started Bountiful Doulas after learning about the profession during their personal postpartum experiences and realizing they could have used that help.

Bountiful Doulas is comprised of a team of experienced postpartum doulas, newborn care specialists, sleep coaches, and perinatal nutrition experts. They serve families across Utah and are dedicated to helping your transition into early parenthood. They provide personalized day and overnight support in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Summit counties.
 
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Follow along on The Sad Moms Club's Instagram: @the.sad.moms.club

Joni:

Hey there. Welcome back to the sad moms club. I'm Joanie Liberte, the host. If you are new here. And today we are talking all about postpartum doulas by speaking with co-owners McKayla, Broadhurst, and Tiara Monson. Who owned bountiful doulas, a local agency. The bountiful, doulas specialize in postpartum care. So they're not going to be there for your birth. They're going to be there post-birth. They have a team of experience, doulas, newborn care specialists, sleep coaches, lactation consultants, and perinatal nutrition experts. They serve families across Utah, specifically, and Weeber Davis salt lake and summit counties. They offer day and overnight support. And they're just like these magic people that you want in your life. One thing we address is cost of a postpartum doula. Because it might not be out of your price range, like you think. Just as an FYI. The sound quality. Isn't super, there's like a couple of components to it. One, there was a fan in the background, so it kind of makes their voice sound a little shaky at certain points. And then also there's some anxiety talking on a podcast. Those two components sometimes can make the audio. Um, less smooth, but you can hear everything that they're saying. I just wanted to kind of give you a heads up. I hope you keep listening. Even with that little caveat. I'll be sure to link their website and Instagram and let's talk to them.

Welcome to the Sad Moms Club. Welcome to the Sad Moms Club. Welcome to the Sad Moms Club.

Joni:

Today we have the Bountiful Doulas, the two owners of Bountiful Doulas. And I'm so excited to talk to you, Michaela and Tiara. Did I get it that time? Okay, good. Can you guys each just start by introducing yourself a little bit so we can get used to your voices and be able to distinguish who's talking?

Bountiful Doulas:

Of course. I'm Mikayla. I'm co owners of Bountiful Doulas. I'm a postpartum doula, postpartum nutrition professional, and sleep coach. I started this career about five years ago after I had my little. I had a rough postpartum experience and I just realized that this is what I needed myself. As soon as I heard about postpartum doulas, I realized that I needed that at my age. Own postpartum. And so I called Tiara, who had been my best friend for almost a decade at the time. And we, were both pregnant at the same time. So we had just gotten over our own postpartum experiences. And I said, we should do this for other people. And so we went and trained as doulas and it just Blew up from there. We immediately started supporting families and filled our schedules and now we're an agency of 10. So

Joni:

that's incredible.

Bountiful Doulas:

What's here. Go ahead. Hi, I'm Tiara Monsing. I'm a postpartum Doulas the owner of Bountiful Doulas a CNA and a mom of two boys. When Mikayla reached out to me and brought up postpartum doula support, I realized how important that was and how much that we needed that in our own postpartum period And I was really excited to jump in with her and support new parents.

Joni:

How far apart are your two kids, kids?

Bountiful Doulas:

They're about four months.

Joni:

And that was your first as well.

Bountiful Doulas:

That was my second,

Joni:

Okay. Was your first postpartum experience. difficult as well.

Bountiful Doulas:

yes, both of them were.

Joni:

So that sounds like you guys, Michaela kind of had the initial idea, Tara hopped on and then you guys created this agency over, how many years have you guys been open? Two?

Bountiful Doulas:

Two years. Yeah.

Joni:

That's amazing. I guess first and foremost, I feel like I talk about postpartum doulas a lot with friends or clients and nobody knows what you are. Everyone's isn't a doula like a birth doula? Why would I need someone after that? So can you first just explain, whoever wants to take this one, explain what a postpartum doula does and then the unique approach Bountiful Doulas takes in supporting new families.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah. Of course. Our role is to provide practical and emotional support during the postpartum period. So we offer both daytime and nighttime support to families after the arrival of their babies, typically up to the first year postpartum, which most people don't know that. the postpartum is a lot longer than the first six weeks, so we always want to support people through all of those transitions and the first year is quite an adjustment. daytime shifts can look like anything with helping with light household tasks. We help with cleaning up your kitchen or doing laundry. We also answer questions on lactation support. We look out for postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. We're really just other person in the room to just support you through everything. And we also offer overnight shifts where our main goal is to help get you sleep. So we take over the care for the baby for the evening and watch baby while parents get a full night of rest. If they're nursing, they might wake up to nurse and we'll just take baby to them. And if they want, we'll sit with them and chat about things. And then we'll take baby and burp them and change their diaper and get them back down. So parents can just go right back to sleep. Our goal is really just to help people transition and have an easy fourth trimester.

Joni:

I just love that so much. It just makes me feel more relaxed hearing that, for my like clients. Is there like a unique approach you guys specifically take that may be different from other postpartum doula agencies or postpartum doulas in general?

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah, I would say that we are unique in there's not a lot of agencies that are just focused on postpartum. We really value this time in life and we try to constantly further our education in postpartum. All of our team also has additional backgrounds and experience in the postpartum period. So we've hired lactation counselors and other sleep consultants. With me focusing on postpartum nutrition, we all have additional specialties, in the postpartum period where other doulas may just be trained as postpartum doulas and not have that additional background and expertise. And it's really cool as a group where our clients get access to all of us. So if they hire us for postpartum doula support, they also have the postpartum nutrition. They also have the sleep coaching, the lactation support, and we really try to just support them in any way that we can. We're also training as newborn care specialists soon, and so our team will have a majority of newborn care specialists as well, which will also help us stand out a little bit.

Joni:

That's really amazing. What is a newborn care specialist? What does that training look like and what specifically do you help people with?

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah. Newborn care specialist training is a step up from doula work, more focused on the newborn care approach. I believe you have to have over 2000 hours worked with newborns to get certified. It's a lot more in depth than postpartum doula trainings are. A lot of our training was focused on the parents and how to care for them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A newborn care specialist is just on the newborn.

Joni:

Okay. Awesome. What I'd like to know because I think this is just the most helpful to wrap our heads around what you guys do when you're in the home, is to walk me through what does a typical day working with a family as a postpartum doula look like during the day and then at night. And I know you said some things, but you come in, what does it look like? What are you doing?

Bountiful Doulas:

Our day shifts are about four hours. It varies between each family, what a shift like. But usually we come in and ask how the day's gone, troubleshoot lactation problems, feeding problems. I like to cook a warm meal or a nutritious snack while the mom goes and takes a nap or a hot shower. And during that time, help fold laundry, help clean and sanitize pump parts and bottles, get that ready for the next feeding. It really just looks different for every family. And then I do a lot of overnights, so it's pretty similar, and when I arrive, I ask how their day was and how their previous night was, just try to help troubleshoot if they had a rough night. We usually talk about that, that I'll keep an eye on things at night and see what we could do differently. And then I send the parents off to bed, and I start a load of laundry if they have it, and wash all the bottles or pump parts and things. Make sure baby's down and rested and just do some cleaning up and then really take over the overnight support. So anytime baby wakes up, I'm usually with them. And like I said, if parents are nursing, I'll take baby to them and that's a good time for us to talk and have some one on one time to, nursing and I can be lonely for a lot of new parents. And so some do value being able to sit and have somebody else there. And then we'll keep a log throughout the night. And on our way out in the morning, we'll just send them a log of when baby was up, what diaper changes, and how things went. Make sure all the laundry and things are put away, and they'll be rested and ready to take on the day.

Joni:

That's amazing. How do you guys see people utilize your help most often? The expense part is what often keeps people, away from hiring postpartum doulas. So do people, often hire you once a week for the first few weeks? Or do they hire you just one time to get some support? What's the most typical? And then what are other ways people, ask you guys to help them.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah! It definitely depends on the family. I would say that some clients will hire us for that one day a week or one night a week. There's other clients where we've had that hire us for five to six nights a week. It really just depends on what their postpartum looks like. And we try to ask them what their plans are when they're returning to work. If they are people that value extra sleep and they know that they're going to need it in the postpartum period, they may be Want more nights than days to really focus on getting baby down independently and things like that. It looks different for everyone. And as for the cost, there's definitely other ways that they could pay for doula support. we take HSA payments. We have flexible payment plans through like Klarna and Afterpay as well. Also Be Her Village is a gift registry website that we're on for practical support. Instead of asking for diapers or onesies and things for your registry, you can go on and just add doula support and ask your friends to contribute that way, which is really cool as well.

Joni:

Yeah, that's a fantastic gift. Can you guys share some insights into your specialized training and experience in newborn sleep and core strategies that help families achieve better rest.

Bountiful Doulas:

As far as newborn sleep, Mikayla is the sleep consultant. But because of all of the sleep questions that were asked as soon as we stepped into the home. We quickly realized we needed to learn more. I took a physiological infant course where I learned more about newborn care development and healthy sleep habits to serve our clients in the home. But also children up to age five, we provide support virtually through sleep as well. And as for setting up healthy habits from the start in that newborn stage I would say our whole team is pretty good at it, even if they're not certified sleep consultants. But we essentially recreate the womb is what I usually tell parents. Babies are super comfortable, they're so used to being inside of you for such a long time in that warm, quiet, dark space, that we try to recreate that in those first few weeks. Dark spaces and white noise machines can really help swaying baby and recreating sounds from, the white noise sounds really similar to being in the womb so they find a lot of comfort in that. So we're really just recreating as if they're still there with you, but trying to transition them to sleeping alone in the crib rather than your arms.

Joni:

Are there like, So it sounds like those are like your top tips. Using a white noise machine, having them in a dark place. Go

Bountiful Doulas:

yeah, I would say using a white noise machine. I'm a big fan of swaddles. A dark place, blackout curtains can be really great too. And then trying to separate days and nights in the beginning can be really helpful too. So making sure the baby gets some sunlight in the day and that at night it's darker to sleep. can just help set up habits from the start

Joni:

When did they start? I know nothing about sleep. When did they start like transitioning from they just sleep every few hours and there is no day or night to having a more night time Just long extended sleep and then they nap during the day

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah. There's a really big sleep regression around four months, and that's a big developmental leap where they go from their two cycles as an infant to five cycles REM cycles of sleep, like adults. And so that's the big switch when they start to be able to sleep train and have longer stretches of sleep.

Joni:

Okay, so for the first four months, it's like they're just sleeping when they are up for it

Bountiful Doulas:

For the most part, there's definitely some things you can do. Like I said with the things that I described with the bassinet and blackout curtains and things is called newborn sleep shaping. And if you do things like that from the beginning, we've had clients that are sleeping through the night by eight weeks old. I don't want to say that's very normal or practical, but I've definitely seen that happen.

Joni:

Okay. Fantastic. And then Michaela, can you talk about your postpartum nutrition? courses you've taken, certification, and how that supports a mom in their recovery.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah, I certified through both postpartum university as a postpartum nutrition professional and then I loved it so much that I quickly signed up for a perinatal nutrition course with the food doula and I just got my certification through her as well. So that's where my background comes from as for kind of postpartum nutrition. It could be an episode of its own. I tried really hard to think about what I would say here but your body automatically views birth as a traumatic experience no matter what it looks like. You grew a human and there's blood loss and hormone depletion and so many things that are going on and so in that time your digestive system really slows down in the immediate postpartum period. You're not able to break down foods as easily. So something that I really focus on in early postpartum is eating warm, soft, easily digestible foods. Really to get in a lot of those nutrients and things in the beginning. I like to describe it as if your body is technically in fight or flight mode. It just really doesn't know how to. Adapt and it's trying to figure things out for you

Joni:

yeah, Can you share some essential nutritional advice for new parents?

Bountiful Doulas:

I would say to focus on those warm and soft, easily digestible foods, things that are high in iron and protein. If you don't eat that way, eventually things can spiral into a postpartum nutrition depletion, which can cause things like brain fog and fatigue, anxiety, depression. Lots of times it can mimic postpartum mood or anxiety disorders. Depending on where you go, sometimes there will be really strict guidelines on postpartum nutrition. And I think that can overwhelm or scare a lot of parents away from taking care of themselves. So while there is an ideal of eating certain specific foods, just eating often and really valuing meal prepping and postpartum and things like that to make things easier and make sure that you're getting enough calories for you and baby can be really important.

Joni:

So I hear warm and soft foods and all I think of is soup. Are there other things that you typically, because you guys make meals for people sometimes, right?

Bountiful Doulas:

Yes, we do. Lots of soups and stews for sure. That's one of the basic things if you look at postpartum traditional foods from around the world. Lots of soft stews and bone broths and meat and warm things. You can have rice and grains if you're soaking them beforehand to help break them down. Avoiding any cold foods in the beginning is something that a lot of people do as well. There's not any research that says the cold foods are necessarily bad. But it's showing that because warm foods are so beneficial and they really are easily digestible that can be the preferred way to go. We meal prep quite a bit and make custom meal plans for people based on everything that I've learned from Postpartum Nutrition. I'm also currently writing a cookbook and so all of our clients get access to our guide and eventually the cookbook as well. So that kind of helps.

Joni:

How does that work logistically for a family? If they're like, I would like some meals while you guys are here. Do they go buy the groceries? Do you give them a list beforehand? How does that work?

Bountiful Doulas:

It depends on the family. Both options are great. I usually take cookbooks to my first um, visit with them if they've already said that they want me to cook and I just leave those there with them. I have a bunch to share, our agency has some that we just give to clients, they usually have a few at a time so that way they can look through those recipes when we're not there and then make sure to have the ingredients the next time we're there to cook. Otherwise we've gone grocery shopping, sometimes I've had clients that they like us to come just one day a week and go grocery shop for like a meal that sounds good that day and come back and cook and leave them with dinner and that's our shift. So it really just depends, but we do have plenty of recipes and things, but we also ask what sounds good to them and what's comfortable for them.

Joni:

That's amazing. What are some of the common challenges new parents face in the postpartum period and how do you help them navigate those?

Bountiful Doulas:

I feel like there's actually a lot. I would say sleep deprivation is one of the main ones. Also like feeding and breastfeeding trouble. Feelings of being overwhelmed and isolated. But also just adjusting to their overall new role of being parents is just so hard. We help families navigate by providing practical support, evidence based information, compassion, guidance, validation. We really just want to help parents overcome these obstacles and build confidence in their parenting journey,

Joni:

What would be a specific, practically like for sleep deprivation, you allow them to sleep while you're there.

Bountiful Doulas:

right?

Joni:

but are you ever like solve how they can figure it out, how they can sleep more Um, Is that

Bountiful Doulas:

And yes, we do come up with a lot of sleep plans as well. It really helps to make sure we're all on the same page. So when we come up with a sleep plan, we try to make sure that what we're doing in the home at night with the baby and the parents is something that they're continuing on their own on the night that we're not there. I also think that for families that don't necessarily want to sleep train or want to set up a schedule for a baby, we also are really good about talking to them about just taking shifts as parents when we're not there, where one partner might be in a room with baby for the first half of the night, and then we switch. We go into the home before baby is born if we're hired early enough. And just have like a tour of the house to see where everything is. And that is something that always comes up is what their plans are for a night.

Joni:

Fantastic. from the questions, but how do

Bountiful Doulas:

I would say a lot of it is word of mouth and referrals. We have clients referring other people to us or saying that we helped them so much that their friends need us when they have babies. And then also things like this, different podcasts and TV events. And

Joni:

Cool. Are there people who refer Like specific, like is it therapists? Is it midwives? like who's I just don't hear a people utilize postpartum doulas. So I'm wondering you guys? about them? Who's, how

Bountiful Doulas:

A lot of mental health therapists. Yeah, And a few pediatricians. We've had some pretty good connections with pediatricians, too, that refer out to us.

Joni:

Fantastic. That's good to know. this is what I talk about is the mental health side of things a lot. so In what ways do you support the mental health of new parents?

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah, I would say a big part is just being another person in the home they're supporting them can be a huge help. Like I said, things like, overnight feedings can be really lonely without someone to talk to. and so I feel like We help a lot in that way, just being another person. But we've also taken trainings, like, PSI's two day components of care training. and we, touched on this in our postpartum doula training on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders to really look out for different signs. We talk to our clients a lot about their mental health history, if they're comfortable sharing beforehand, and then we just kind of know what signs to look out for. We have a really good team that is good if we ever notice something with one of us in the home that we, immediately reach out to the other doulas And just kind of let them know to have a heads up as well so that we can be on top of things and provide resources. We have a lot of great support groups and therapists and things that we're comfortable referring out to when needed.

Joni:

That's fantastic. why do you find that aspect of it is so crucial?

Bountiful Doulas:

Parenting is hard. And I feel like, it's really important to have kind of a village and not do things alone. I think that Most part of mood and anxiety disorders aren't talked about enough and a lot of people won't speak up if they're having symptoms And they seem to be more comfortable when we come at it with the approach that we realize how common it is And that it's normal and needs to be talked about more

Joni:

Yeah, I think part of it too is, I people think it's just them. They're like, I'm just bad at this. It's not that I'm anxious or depressed. It's like, I actually just suck as a person. I wasn't meant to be a parent. And obviously you guys have those conversations with them, but I feel like That's one reason why they can be so underrecognized is if you just think it's your fault instead of recognizing Like Oh, this might be something else going on Um, it's harder to get help.

Bountiful Doulas:

definitely

Joni:

You mentioned you kind of touched on community building. Can you just like talk about community building how important it is how you help your parents? Build their own community.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah, I just feel like parenting alone is just really hard So you need to come up with your village. We always recommend people have a good support system. Besides their partner, if they have one, I feel like a lot of pressure gets put on the partner. And we also need to be relieving stress off of the other partner as well. if that's applicable. There's a lot of free and paid resources out there for support groups. And besides that too, I think that our clients have become friends and really kind of built a community. We have a team Slack channel where some of our clients can kind of talk and get to know each other and ask questions and we're an additional resource there as well to be that support group.

Joni:

When you're in someone's home for several hours Multiple times it's hard to not start building a relationship there. So that's neat just having that connection in your home

Bountiful Doulas:

Definitely.

Joni:

I do like what you said, Tiara, about having support system outside of your partner. cause I do feel like that's common, like, if I get to see someone before they deliver, and we'll talk about like, who's your support system, I typically hear, my partner and my mom. And I think those are, like, great, but It's

Bountiful Doulas:

It's not enough.

Joni:

It's not enough. Yes, exactly. And how do you talk to people about that? I mean, obviously if they have you, they like already have more of a support system, but I always find that I don't want to be like, no, like you're still going to struggle with just two people, but that is true. So like, how do you talk about, or maybe you don't, maybe that's a bad question.

Bountiful Doulas:

I think we do talk about it. I would say we probably talk to clients a lot about their hobbies and things and how they get out and start it in a more casual way. And then bring up support groups or friends or just other opportunities. There's a lot of cool mom groups here that just go on walks once a week and like there's no obligation to make a friend there. And so we might just suggest things like that just to make sure they're getting out and getting some sunlight and maybe They do make a friend, and that's cool. but yeah, we don't try to, like, put pressure on them necessarily, but we do try to encourage that they're getting out and talking to people, and that they're not just in their home with their partner.

Joni:

Yeah, I think that's fantastic. That's a really good way of going about it. what advice do you have for people who are expecting and preparing for the postpartum period?

Bountiful Doulas:

I feel like building a strong network, finding your village, finding your community and your support system. Prioritizing your own care and healing. And I would say overall, educating yourself on the postpartum period, like the fourth trimester, there's so many unknown challenges that you will face and being able to be more informed about them before going in definitely helps. Also creating a postpartum support plan and seeking out resources ahead of time, such as our postpartum doula services, mental health resources, support groups, breastfeeding classes, newborn care classes, and stuff like that.

Joni:

I think that's great advice. I think sometimes it's so easy to focus on like the birth part, and like more the fun part, like we're getting clothes and We're getting the nursery ready that we forget about what comes after the baby's born. So I think those are fantastic suggestions. you guys are busy. You're both parents and you're running a business, so how do you stay informed about the latest research and studies in postpartum and newborn care?

Bountiful Doulas:

I feel like we're just constantly furthering our education wherever we can. So, as us busy moms and agency owners, we're popping in podcasts while we're driving Our kids to daycare and play dates and grocery shopping. We're reading our books in our spare time after the kids go to bed. Me and Mikayla meet twice a week for business meetings. So we do a lot of trainings and just going over resources and new information that has come out. And then we always, keep our doulas on our team informed as well. Well, And try to invite them to come to all of the events that we go to bringing like specialists into our team meetings as well.

Joni:

That's amazing. If someone was listening and they're like, I don't feel like postpartum doula care is something I can afford right now. Do you have any specific resources that they could look to? or maybe a tip that you have that you can offer them?

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah, I would say always check with your insurance. There's more and more health insurances that are starting to cover postpartum doula support. And even if they don't cover support. that phone call lets them know that it is a need. If you just reach out and say that you're looking, that lets them know to maybe consider it for the future. So it helps either way. besides that also, if you have an HSA card, we can take those for many doulas. carrot fertility is another resource that's becoming more popular for workplaces and they cover up to 10, support right now. Okay. you have care of fertility through your work, so that's another option if you're a low income household and can't afford it I would always recommend to just reach out anyway. Many doulas are flexible and willing to work with you. We don't ever want to see someone without support so while some prices might be more firm than others, doula, We're always willing to at least talk and see if we can barter come up with anything to help in that way. And we also have had some clients that are really awesome and have donated past shifts that they haven't needed to lower income families. So if If there's a leftover shift, we might have that to be able to help too, and we're in the process of trying to find grants and funding to be able to support more low income families. I know that I was a single mom, and I could have never afforded a postpartum doula, and that's exactly what I needed, and TR was the same, it just wasn't in our budget, so it's really important to us to make sure that everyone can access this type of support if they want it.

Joni:

That's fantastic. What was the name of the company or I guess the insurance 10, 000 benefit?

Bountiful Doulas:

It's called Carrot Fertility, I believe. Several workplaces have had it. We've had quite a few clients in this last year that have used it. We just submit a form to them and the family pays us and then Carrot will reimburse them for those costs.

Joni:

It's like carrot, like the vegetable.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yes.

Joni:

And then Is there like a, I don't know, I guess benefit of Postpartum doulas is that you actually have a human being there for you. but is there a tip you could offer someone? If still like they just don't end up getting a postpartum doula. the biggest thing you talk about with Something like that.

Bountiful Doulas:

I would say going back to kind of what Tira said with having a village and making sure you have that additional support is really important. I also really think that meal prepping can be a super valuable thing in the beginning. You can have like a nesting party or a meal prepping baby shower party where you have friends and things come help you cook. And I think that that takes a really big load off of the beginning postpartum period to make sure that you have food. And you're not worrying about what to eat or what to cook or grocery shopping and stuff like that. And then yeah, just free resources and support groups. I think Postpartum Support International is great for online support groups. And just making sure that you have those resources even if you can't have the home support can be a really big help.

Joni:

I love the idea of a meal prepping party. What a great idea to do that as like a baby shower. That's so effective. And then you can just chat

Bountiful Doulas:

Yeah.

Joni:

I don't like the idea of a baby shower and all the games. Not that I'm against it, but for me, and so it'd be nice to just have something to do while you chat. And then what was the other thing you said? Oh, building a community. I feel like that is. something my own boss and mentor talks about is people are surprisingly willing to help if you're willing to ask. and so, going outside of that normal mom or mother in law community and thinking like, do I have a friend that could watch this baby for two hours while I take a shower and get ready for the day or while I take a nap? It takes a lot more work in a way like mental load work to like ask people for help. But, most of the time, people people are willing to support you. So I think that's a really excellent point. Where do you guys see the future of postpartum care going and how, how will Bountiful Doulas evolve with those changes?

Bountiful Doulas:

we're constantly adding postpartum experts to our team. We recently hired a lactation counselor that's now on our team. And like I said we are getting ready to train as newborn care specialists. We truly want to support as many families as possible in the postpartum period and have a big growing team to be able to help.

Joni:

I love everything you. guys are doing And I also just think you guys are A very calming presence

Bountiful Doulas:

you.

Joni:

in like a really good way. like someone who's feeling like really uptight and anxious and worried you guys bring, at least just in my own conversations with you to this calmness, that is really powerful. is there anything you want to add

Bountiful Doulas:

I do like at the end of what you said about? asking for help. I just want to point out that it's really, really hard for a mom, or a new parent, or anyone in general to ask for help. But like you said, you'd be surprised about how many people will continue to show up for you. And how many people will actually show up when you just make the hard decision and ask for help.

Joni:

Totally. I feel like that's actually a lot of the work I do. I take therapy clients and a lot of it is learning how to ask for what you need. And it kind of starts with their partner usually, but then it's, you know, asking a family member for help or a friend. and it's, it is scary. I guess if someone is pregnant right now listening to this, it's helpful to learn how to ask for things before you're also sleep deprived and healing from like a major birth and everything else that comes with the postpartum period. So I think you're right. It's important to mention, it is actually very hard to ask for help for many people. it is also a skill that can be learned. though it doesn't really get comfy, I don't think. I'm glad you brought that up. Something I've heard before is like, asking before you need it, or like asking for reoccurring help. So like, could you help me on Tuesdays from one to four, if you know that someone has that day free for the next month? So then you don't have to ask four different times. you. can like ask once for multiple times. I thought that was a good tip.

Bountiful Doulas:

Definitely.

Joni:

So if someone wants to contact you guys and get your help, what's the best way to go about that?

Bountiful Doulas:

They can just reach out on our website. It's just BountifulDoulas. com. We're also pretty active on Instagram, which is just BountifulDoulas as well. As for reaching out for support, I think, One other thing to add is a lot of people ask when the best time to hire us is. And that I would say reaching out before baby comes is always the best option just to make sure that we have room and availability. and we also would love to meet you beforehand and get to know you and really how to best support you. But sometimes we do get those last minute calls where you? just heard about us and baby's already here and you need sleep and we're happy to try to make those work and jump in when we can as well.

Joni:

Yeah, that's good to know. So, like, seven months pregnant like, is there a certain time, or could you schedule it as soon as you get pregnant? What is your

Bountiful Doulas:

I would say probably try to contact Us around six or seven months. We're usually a few months in. booked out ahead of time. so it's just nice to know. but our team is always growing and expanding. So we usually do have someone with availability that can fit you in and support you. but we've had clients, I've had someone reach out before they even were pregnant and said, Hey, I know you, I want you to be my doula. Can I hire you? And so that was kind of fun. So I guess there's not really a too early or too late.

Joni:

awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for spending some of Your vacation day. I don't know if it's vacation for you, but it's like a holiday with me and I've learned a lot I hope more and more people Utilize postpartum doulas and I hope that insurance is better and better at

Bountiful Doulas:

Us too.

Joni:

gosh if we could support parents better it could really like change things downstream for so many people and organizations. And yeah, there's just a lot of influence you guys have. So hopefully that'll change over time.

Bountiful Doulas:

Yes.

Joni:

Okay. Well, Thank you guys. Appreciate it.

Bountiful Doulas:

much for having us.

Welcome to the Sad Moms Club. Welcome to the Sad Moms Club. Welcome to the Sad Moms Club.

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Joni Lybbert

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