Why it's worth paying a professional for postpartum care too

Sometimes pregnant people say they don’t need professional support because they have their mother/husband/sister/great aunt coming to stay. If you’ve had this conversation before with potential clients, you may have walked away wondering what you could have said differently to convey the importance of high-quality, intensive postpartum support.

Here are some talking points you can use the next time a pregnant person says they don’t need a professional on their postpartum support team.

Professionals are parent-centred

Family and friends tend to offer baby-centred support: holding the baby, feeding the baby, dressing the baby in cute outfits…

While holding the baby can be helpful if the mother wants a quick shower or a nap, it’s not always appropriate. Postpartum professionals will only hold a baby if specifically asked. We don’t expect cuddles on demand or insist on waking a newborn for an impromptu photo shoot.

Remind your potential client that it’s not really “support” if their relatives hold the baby just so mum can run around fetching cups of tea and playing hostess!

You will be there to support the parent first and foremost, and it’s possible you’ll be their only visitor with that perspective.

Professionals are not emotionally entangled

If the new parent experiences something challenging or traumatic, her relatives go through that experience, too. If the birth or breastfeeding doesn’t go to plan, her loved ones may be as shocked or disappointed as the parent. They may be so overwhelmed by their own strong emotions that they can’t provide the support the mother needs. Having someone outside of that situation to talk to can be helpful.

A professional can help parents unpack some of the pressure they may feel from well-meaning relatives and help them tune in to what feels truly right for them.

Postpartum professionals don’t pass judgment

Postpartum professionals typically provide companionship and emotional support through active listening, providing a shoulder to cry on or having a cup of tea and a laugh together. A good postpartum professional will never tell parents what to do, criticise their decisions or judge them.

This may come as a relief to your potential clients who are quickly learning that the whole world loves to offer unsolicited advice to new parents! Professionals can help parents with boundaries and confidence around this kind of stuff too.

Of course, we all have unconscious biases that may be triggered when working with clients. It is important to recognise when our emotions are in play and do the work to process them. This topic comes up a lot in the Postpartum Education and Care Professional Training. The training provides students with strategies for identifying and managing biases so that you can provide all your clients with judgment-free support.

Professionals offer evidence-based information and referrals (not opinions!)

Sometimes, family members or friends bring home outdated and even unsafe information and opinions about parenting topics such as breastfeeding and bed-sharing. Their advice can feel overwhelming for new parents who are not sure who to trust or how to justify their own parenting decisions.

A good postpartum professional, however, can point parents toward the latest evidence and best practices to help them make the right decisions for their family.

Postpartum professionals who have gone through our training also have extensive referral networks. They know how to spot red flags and identify when more specialised support is required.

Postpartum professionals bring extra skills

One of our graduates is a massage therapist and worked for an Indian family. The new mother’s mother came over to care for her for forty days, but they still needed help with the daily massage, which is part of their traditional Indian postpartum care protocol.

Many of our other graduates have backgrounds in lactation support, yoga, or nutrition.

Some postpartum professionals also support partners, siblings, and extended family during the adjustment period. This additional service can be invaluable in helping the family unit feel safe and cohesive.

Whatever skillset you may have, own it! Let people know that when they hire you, they won’t just be getting an extra pair of hands: you are a trained professional with a unique skill set.

It’s also worth pointing out that a professional is part of a village and works alongside the client’s family and friends to ensure she gets the best care possible. You’re not there to replace anyone but to fill the gaps and keep everything running more smoothly.

In times gone by, postpartum support may have come from a friend or family member. The problem we face in industrialised cultures is that, even though friends and family want to help, they don’t actually know how. They may even do more harm than good. As for medical specialists, most of them receive limited or no education about the postpartum period, so new parents can’t count on them for accurate information.

That’s why Postpartum Education and Care Professionals are so valuable: they bridge the gap between peer and professional to provide parent-centered, evidence-based support.