Offering new parents:
- Emotional support and reassurance
- Guidance regarding care for mother and baby
- Breastfeeding support
- Sibling care
- A restful environment and the chance to relax and recharge
- Light housekeeping and meal preparation
- Running errands
- Links to community resources as needed
Availability: Monday through Thursday with a 3-hour minimum per day.
For further information, please contact me at rmazner@gmail.com
What is a doula?
The word doula originated in ancient Greece and means “woman’s servant.” Today a doula is a woman who helps other women both emotionally and physically through labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Throughout history and in most tribal communities, the women in the extended family supported new mothers through labor and birth, assisting with everything from back rubs to emotional support. Mothers were treated as something special and were allowed 30-40 days of rest while the remainder of the family took on the daily chores of maintaining a home. The new mothers were allowed time to bond and feed their baby without any outside pressure. This allowed the new mother to regain both her physical and emotional strength so that she could competently take on the care of her new family.
In more recent times, mothers and mother-in-laws were traditionally the primary care givers and support system for new mothers. However, given the mobility of modern society, it is a rare new mother who has family members available to assist her in the transition to motherhood. Indeed, the fast pace of life on the Peninsula adds additional layers of challenges for new mothers, their spouses/partners and families.
As a postpartum doula, I bring compassion, nurturing skills, a non-judgmental ear, and knowledge to create a support system that will assist new mothers and fathers in the first days and weeks after coming home from the hospital.
Ruth with her first grandson, Oliver, at age 5 months