Frequently asked questions

While that is completely up to your family, a postpartum doula is ideally used during the first 12 weeks of life, or during the “Fourth Trimester”.

Postpartum doulas are trained specifically to help families in the postpartum period. While nannies and family members are also fantastic resources for support, they are often not trained specifically in non-medical support for the postpartum family.

While our goal is to get you back to the activities that you were passionate about prior to getting pregnant and giving birth, we must first look at the foundation of your core and pelvic floor. The wrong exercises or movement patterns can make a diastasis worse so it’s important to start small and progress as you gain strength and functionality.

Exercises like sit-ups, bicycles, leg lifts, etc. may not be what your body needs. Those exercises create pressure and if you are not able to activate your inner core, or transverse abdominis (TA), it can lead to poor pressure management and can cause doming out of the diastasis, which makes the separation worse. Using different exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor and TA will improve the diastasis and help you progress to your fitness goals.

Can you guarantee “no crying” you might ask? No, no one really can. For example, if you as the parent have taught your child that the way to fall asleep is to be held to sleep for naps, bedtime and night waking’s and you decide that you want to change this, your child will naturally protest or resist this change. After all, they don’t know why you have changed your approach. If your child is preverbal, then they will cry, but you will be there with them while they are learning. Our goal is to have as little crying as possible. We encourage parents to be responsive but to also allow the child to learn this vital life skill of putting themselves to sleep.

After 6 weeks of age, families can begin to start gentle sleep shaping approaches to help their babies begin to sleep better. However, it is important to note that at this delicate age the importance should be placed on bonding with baby. At 4.5 months, after most babies have gone through the 4-month leap, they may be ready for additional sleep coaching methods. And, at 6-months most babies are developmentally ready to begin gentle sleep coaching methods that build their independence with sleep. It is important to note that you can be successful with sleep coaching whether you are room sharing, co-sleeping or sleeping in separate rooms. We can develop a sleep plan that makes you confident that you can achieve your family’s sleep goals.