In many ways, the myths which surround postpartum doulas are like the myths surrounding birth doulas. It is common for people to assume a birth doula equals an unmedicated birth only. While postpartum doulas are for those who breastfeed. Can you have a postpartum doula if you formula feed?
Absolutely! Just like birth doulas support all types of births, postpartum doulas support all types of infant feeding. A doula’s role, whether birth or postpartum, is to ensure you have the evidence-based information to make informed decisions, and then provide you with support through those decisions.
Can You Have a Postpartum Doula if You Formula Feed?
As mentioned above, yes you can absolutely have a postpartum doula if you formula feed. At the International Doula Institute, we believe all families deserve support. While our certified doulas are trained in lactation support and evidence-based feeding recommendations, they are also familiar with bottle feeding.
Postpartum support extends beyond just breastfeeding. New parents are juggling emotions, bonding, healing, etc., while caring for a new being. All parents deserve support.
Postpartum doulas have comprehensive training that includes:
- Understanding normal newborn behavior and needs
- Infant sleep cycles
- Infant soothing techniques
- Supporting the family unit with bonding
- Emotional support during transition
All on top of their training that includes postpartum wellness and lactation. Postpartum doula provide far more than just lactation support.
Postpartum Doulas Support All Family Types
There are many reasons a family who might be able to lactate chooses not to. That is absolutely something doulas respect.
However, there are also families where breastfeeding or chestfeeding simply isn’t possible. In some cases, a parent might have had a mastectomy, may be on medication not suitable for lactation, adoptive parents, an infant might have special dietary needs (e.g. galactosemia), surrogacy was used, or both parents might be male.
Postpartum doulas are there to support families welcoming a new baby, or babies. IDI doulas are trained to support all families. This includes families unable to breastfeed, choosing not to breastfeed, or those combo feeding.
Is Providing Support For Formula Feeding Families Outside a Doula’s Scope?
While there may be some old school doula beliefs that providing care for non-lactating families is just childcare, at IDI we know that is not the case.
There is so much more to welcoming a new baby beyond feeding. Even when a baby is formula fed, a doula’s role is more than infant care.
Postpartum doulas are uniquely skilled to provide guidance in healing, bonding, infant sleep, infant care, family adjustment, developing a family routine, and more. Postpartum doulas provide support for all families welcoming a baby or babies.
Do Postpartum Doulas Judge Formula Feeding Families?
A professional postpartum doula is trained in emotional intelligence, perinatal adjustment, and more. A truly professional doula and one trained with IDI should never judge families for making the decisions which are best for them.
Doulas have a role to provide parents with empowering and evidence-based information so they can meet their breastfeeding goals. Many families have a breastfeeding goal of 3, 6, 12 months or more. A doula’s role is to help them meet that personal goal. Other families do not have breastfeeding goals or may formula feed out of necessity. Whatever the reason, a doula’s role is to provide nonjudgmental support.
There are many reasons why a family might choose formula. A doula will provide evidence-based information about breastfeeding when a family has questions. However, they should not pass judgement or make a family feel poorly about a decision or a need to use formula.
A postpartum doula’s role is to guide and support new families. This is true regardless of how families feed their babies.
Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff
Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification. She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report, Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...