Why I Became a Postpartum Doula
Hi there, I’m Kat. This is my story of why I followed my heart to become a postpartum doula.
“When a baby is born, so is a mother.”
In March 2020, just a few days before the world entered the first pandemic lockdown, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Olivia.
Born with the sunrise after a long but beautiful labor, she was the most perfect little baby girl and captured our hearts immediately. My husband and I were absolutely in love and couldn’t wait to get to know our little one better and enjoy our time as a new family of three.
March 5, 2020: The day I became a mother. Or: Trying to hang in there after a looong and tiring 24 hour-labour.
The value of doula support
We were fortunate to have had a birth doula by our side, the incredible Mika Rock, to be there for us, encourage us and provide much-needed calm and clarity is delivery room.
How beautiful it was to lean on another woman during such a sensitive, emotional time. She helped us tremendously and I am certain that my birth experience wouldn’t have been as positive if it hadn’t been for the wisdom and gentle support of my birth doula.
Already then, I was excited to continue down this path with my postpartum doula Jenny, who we had hired to support us during the infamous fourth trimester. With my parents out of the country, I figured that I would be needing hands-on support once Olivia was born.
Boy, was I right.
Can postpartum be harder than birth?
In my case, it totally can. Like way harder.
Little did I know that soon after giving birth, I would be experiencing the most challenging period of my life.
Like for many others, the pandemic changed everything. My own postpartum doula support fell through, community meet-ups with other mothers were cancelled and I found myself feeling isolated at home.
Although we ‘prepared’ for postpartum by educating ourselves on the topic, preparing our home and stocking up our fridge and freezer with postpartum foods, nothing could prepare us for this challenging time.
My daughter was you would call a “high needs”, “spirited” or “highly sensitive” baby struggling with a several health issues. She was born with a rare vascular malformation, suffered from silent reflux, had several food intolerances and was later diagnosed with severe tongue and lip ties – all of which made my breastfeeding journey and transition into motherhood very difficult.
On top of that, baby sleep was a tricky subject. My daughter wasn’t the greatest sleeper and woke up frequently to be nursed back to sleep, only to wake up again a short period after. She despised her crib and wanted to be held ALL THE TIME.
The notion of ‘sleeping like a baby’ definitely did not apply to our family.
I found myself exhausted, confused, severely sleep deprived and struggling to enjoy my new role as a new mama to the fullest. In retrospect, I can now say that postpartum anxiety got the best of me.
The complex challenges of motherhood
Thanks to my connections with other doulas, I was lucky to be connected with an array of alternative and medical health professionals, all of whom helped us improve our situation little by little. Never had I thought that I would need support of all kind to navigate the early stages of motherhood.
During the first months after birth, I spoke to:
fellow mothers,
postpartum doulas,
nurses,
pediatricians,
osteopaths,
naturopaths,
lactation consultants (IBCLC),
homeopaths,
chiropractors,
dermatologists,
pediatric dentists and
infant reflux specialists.
My sleepless nights were spent researching my daughter’s complex symptoms and trying to troubleshoot ways in which we could help her heal and help us navigate this challenging time. I was able to learn more about how complex pregnancy, infancy and parenthood really are – both from an emotional and from a physical standpoint.
I was fascinated with how many factors are at play when it comes to healing and developed a passion for supporting other families with newborns.
And, most importantly, I was starting to learn how to let go… of expectations, of societal norms about baby sleep and parenting. Slowly but surely, my intuition took over. And I’m so glad it did.
Back to work… or not?
When my maternity leave came to an end, I knew deep down that I could no longer continue my corporate career in communications and marketing. It all felt meaningless and irrelevant.
Instead, the birth of my daughter had been such a pivotal moment for me that I decided to take a giant leap of faith and quit my job…
I didn’t know what I was going to do professionally but I was convinced that I wanted to make an impact. An impact for mothers like me who are struggling and need gentle, non-judgemental and loving care.
Becoming a postpartum doula
While feeding my daughter to sleep one day, a postpartum doula training popped up on my Facebook feed. My own postpartum doula Jenny Bee (who never had the chance to support me in person, thanks to the pandemic) had created the training to train other women to become postpartum doulas.
I did something that is very unlike me: I signed up on a whim!
“What a great opportunity to learn a vocation that I am actually passionate about”, I thought to myself.
Could I be a postpartum doula? Would I be able to make a difference? Do I know enough to support other mamas through postpartum?
Heck yes!
Why ‘Mama Liv’?
During my postpartum doula training, I was lucky to have learned alongside inspiring, beautiful women who all share a passion for postpartum work and nourishing new mothers and their babies. I completed my training inspired to make a positive difference in the lives of new families and couldn’t wait to launch my practice.
The name “Mama Liv” was born to honour what has become so important to me: motherhood, the beauty of life with a little one and my beautiful daughter Olivia.
The element “Mama” englobes the intricate complexity of motherhood and emphasizes how important it is to nurture the new mother as much as the new baby. In German, we call a mother “Mama” so it made symbolic sense for me to cherish my German heritage through my company brand name.
Inspired by my daughter Olivia, the element “Liv” stands for the beginning of a new life once a baby in born – not just a new life for the little one, but also a complete transformation in the life of the mother. She becomes one with her baby but also starts shaping into a whole new identity during the postpartum period.
Want to learn more about how I can support you? Connect with me here.
