Have you seen Fuller House’s season 5 premiere? Stephanie brings her baby home and she hired a postnatal doula. But this doula is less “doula” and more “viking warrior”.
Here’s my response to Netflix.
Dear Netflix,
The doula community and myself were appalled at how the postpartum doula was portrayed in “Welcome Home, Baby-to-Be-Named-Later”. We do not boss parents around and we certainly do not keep the baby away from the parents.
Let me tell you a bit more about The Real Postpartum Doula.
Doulas bring back a sense of community that has been lost for nearly 100 years. We are here to teach. We are here to listen. We are here to show you how much of an amazing parent you are! Postpartum doulas support all kinds of different families: single parents, teen parents, bereaved parents, low-income families, parents with twins/triplets/multiples. We offer support for: overnight care, infant feeding, infant care, postpartum healing, normal baby behaviour. The list seems endless.
This job is a calling. You do it because you have a passion for helping others. Doulas take time away from their own families (especially during holiday seasons), to help other families.
Some of the benefits of postpartum care include: lower occurrence of postpartum mood disorders, greater success in breastfeeding, higher self-confidence, more rest and a faster recovery for the mother, more affectionate bonding with the baby.
Studies (here and here) have shown that the more support a mother has, the less likely she is of developing postpartum depression. Sometimes doulas are the only ones that mothers feel comfortable opening up to. We don’t judge. We listen. We hold space. We hold hands. We let the mother shed her tears in safety. We let the mother rest in bed while we take care of light chores, bringing her food and water.
If a situation arises that’s outside of our scope of practice, we help parents find local, trustworthy professionals. We have a long list of resources that may include: therapists, peer support groups, lactation consultants, photographers, house cleaners and pelvic floor physiotherapists.
The vast majority of postpartum doulas agree with me when I say that our goal is to work ourselves out of a job. We want parents to be confident in their parenting skills. We educate them on how to find reliable resources. By supporting their choices, parents learn how to advocate for themselves. Parental self-efficacy isn’t just important when you have a baby, but throughout your entire parenting journey.
Now more than ever parents need postpartum support. Your episode “Welcome Home, Baby-to-Be-Named-Later” not only misinformed the public about postpartum doulas but may have discouraged families from seeking out the support they need. There are some families that only need help for a few days. But there are others that we support for months, even years if you include subsequent children.
We ask that you resolve this discrepancy. At the very least, you owe postpartum doulas and the birthworker community an apology.
Thank you,
Natalie Clark
Postnatal doula
NCFD Coaching 