Early Postpartum Support in the Home: A Vital Link to Healthy and Safe Postpartum Recovery in the United States

Abstract

Many newly postpartum women and birthing people are sent home from the hospital with their newborn babies, ill-prepared to care for themselves with little to no capacity to learn about newborn care and parenting. Women are often left to fend for themselves in the “black hole” of health care in 6 weeks post-birth that the United States calls postpartum care. Postpartum doulas can be the first line of defense, helping people identify potential postpartum physical and mental health issues, and in many places, they are doing it on the front lines and in the homes of newly postpartum women and families. In this guest opinion piece, the author discusses her personal experience with birth and how it led her to become an advocate for postpartum doulas.