Postpartum Doula Portland: Navigating Parenthood with Joy and Support

Motherhood

If you are looking for a postpartum doula in Portland, you are in the right place. On this blog, you will discover five incredible postpartum doula providers.

Bringing a baby into the world is an incredible experience, but it can also be a challenging and overwhelming time for families. That’s where a postpartum doula comes in, offering support and guidance during the early weeks and months after birth.

Portland has a thriving community of postpartum doulas, including some notable providers like Bridgetown Baby, Wildwood Birth, Brave Birth, Doula Love, and Baby Nest Doula to name a few.

postpartum doula portland

Why You Should Consider A Postpartum Doula In Portland

Postpartum doulas are trained professionals who provide physical, emotional, and informational support to new mothers/birthing people and their families after childbirth. They can help with breastfeeding support, baby care, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and more. Additionally, postpartum doulas can provide emotional support and guidance during the transition into motherhood, which can be challenging.

What To Consider Before Choosing Your Postpartum Doula In Portland

There are a few things to consider before you choose a postpartum doula that best fits your needs. Such as: what services they offer and what they are most passionate about when working with families.

As a mom of two colicky babies and experiencing tremendous postpartum depression symptoms after my first child, I wish I had known about postpartum doulas.

My transition into motherhood was very difficult. However, as I offer newborn photography in Portland, that experience has allowed me to become a more compassionate, caring, and patient photographer.

My kids are three and six years old now, but my curiosity was sparked when I first learned about this fantastic service just a short time ago. What I would have done to go back and hire a postpartum doula!

Thus, I also wanted to ask a few questions such as: what is the biggest myth about postpartum doula work and what is the most commonly asked question from new or expecting parents?

Moreover, in this blog, I was able to interview a few of these incredible doula providers and have these questions answered. So, ok, let’s dive in!

postpartum doula portland

Bridgetown Baby

Bridgetown Baby is a doula service run by a team of experienced doulas who offer support to new mothers in the comfort of their own homes. In addition, Bridgetown Baby provides a range of services, and Liz from Bridgetown Baby was so kind as to answer some helpful questions.

1. What services do you offer?

Bridgetown Baby is Portland’s Premier Postpartum Doula Agency. Founded in 2014, their team has cared for over 600 new families in the Portland area. Bridgetown Baby combines the expertise of certified postpartum doulas and lactation consultants to provide wrap-around care throughout the postpartum year.

2. What do you like to help new families with the most?

I love helping parents build confidence and bond with their baby. Babies are born with their own
special language. Postpartum doulas learn this language and then can help bridge the gap
between parents and their newborn. When parents are able to learn to communicate with their
new baby, I believe it is the foundation of a wonderful parent/child relationship.

3. What is the biggest myth about postpartum doula work?

The biggest myth I hear is that postpartum care isn’t needed or that it is a luxury. Our culture is
very focused on rushing through this very important period in a new baby and parent’s lives,
wanting parents to bounce back to their previous selves. This gap in care has major
consequences for birthing people and their babies including struggles with breast or bottle
feeding, postpartum anxiety and depression, mother and infant mortality, disruption of the
family unit, and more. We do not see ourselves as a luxury but as a vital part of the village that
was meant to come around new families to offer support, care, perspective, knowledge, and
companionship. In the early weeks postpartum, we focus on helping the mother/birthing person
heal and help to teach the supporting parent or partner how to take care of the birthing person,
their new baby and even themselves as they take on this new role. As the baby gets older and
the mother heals, we can help families set themselves up for success long term, teaching them
how to get their baby on a predictable rhythm, supporting them through the unknowns of
babyhood, and more.

4. What’s the most commonly asked question they get from new or expecting parents?

Every family has unique needs and unique questions. I often am asked “Is this normal?” in
regard to everything from the new noises their baby makes to the way they are feeling. We love
being asked any question because it is an opportunity for us to teach parents. If we don’t know
the answer, we would love to find the answer with you!
Most families are concerned about sleep and feeding. Having doula support can help families
get into a great rhythm with their new babies as we teach parents how to read cues and how to
help babies sleep better and longer. We can also help address some feeding issues, some gas
issues and help families navigate those early months where babies change drastically as do their needs.

Mom laying on bed with newborn baby

Wildwood Birth

Another notable postpartum doula provider in Portland is Wildwood Birth. This doula service offers a range of services as well. Liz and Vera, co-founders of Wildwood Birth, helped answer these questions as well.

1. What services do you offer?

Wildwood Birth Collective offers birth and postpartum doula support, lactation/feeding support, a number of Childbirth Education options, and photography for the perinatal year (pregnancy, birth, and newborn).

2. What do you like to help new families with the most?

Our doulas are focused on helping families prepare for the profound experience of giving birth and becoming parents. This looks different for each family, but generally involves learning about the parent’s birth and postpartum preferences; providing curated, evidence-based information, resources, and referrals; and offering non-judgmental support throughout the journey. Personally, my favorite part of being a doula is providing tools to prepare birthing people for labor, and then having the honor of witnessing their strength and determination in the birth room. They consistently dare to go to the edge of themselves to bring their baby into the world and it’s truly astounding!

3. What is the biggest myth about postpartum doula work?

Postpartum doulas do so much more than “hold the baby.” They provide education around birth recovery, feeding, sleep cycles, household logistics, nutrition, and so much more. They provide emotional support by practicing deep listening, normalizing the experience, and building confidence in the new parents.

4. What’s the most commonly asked question they get from new or expecting parents?

Birth: what does it feel like? Postpartum: how can I get my baby to sleep?

Brave Birth

Brave Birth is a birth center and doula agency located in Portland, Oregon that provides a wide range of incredible services to its clients during childbirth and after the birth process. They offer birth and postpartum packages, as well as classes and support groups. In addition, they do placenta encapsulation, prenatal yoga, and prenatal in-home massage.

Their doulas are professionally trained to support families during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum period. In addition, they offer continuous physical support and evidence-based information so you can make informed decisions collaboratively with your medical team along the way. Their team of experienced doulas ensures that their clients feel confident and empowered throughout the process.

Doula Love

When you choose to hire a Doula Love-affiliated doula, you’re not just getting the assistance of a skilled and devoted birth expert, but much more. Doula Love offers many services such as birth and postpartum doula care, sibling support care, and nanny night care.

Some of the benefits of working with a doula here are guidance from a coordinator and director who will assist you throughout the procedure of finding the perfect doula for you, assurance of an alternate doula in case your chosen doula cannot be present during your birth, which is highly unlikely, and financial services that will help simplify the payment process, and may include reimbursement assistance for any expenses from an account or insurance coverage.

Doula Love offers a full spectrum of doula services and you can feel confident when you are working with their professionally trained staff.

***Baby Nest Birth* *Services***

I personally hired Baby Nest for placenta encapsulation with my second baby. After a friend highly recommended them and knew how much I had struggled with postpartum depression with my first child. I was thrilled to know that this service could help me tremendously with my second child and it did!

My experience with my second baby, although it had its own challenges, was much lighter to navigate and I believe part of that was having my placenta encapsulated.

Baby Nest offers a variety of birth and postpartum services. They offer birth and postpartum doulas, placenta encapsulation, lactation guidance, and classes.

Sherilee, the owner of Baby Nest, came promptly to the hospital after I gave birth to my daughter, took my placenta, and when I arrived home a few days later, she personally delivered my capsules. I cannot say enough great things about her and Baby Nest. I have highly recommended them to many friends and family members!

black and white image of mom holding newborn son black and white image of dad kissing newborn baby Postpartum doulas portland