What is a Postpartum Doula?
We’re glad you asked! A Postpartum Doula is a trained professional that offers physical, emotional, and informational support to a new mother, her baby, and the family. Postpartum Doulas also offer breastfeeding (lactation) support, light household organization, family nurturing, and instruction to mom and/or other family members in caring for a newborn.
Our doulas provide daytime support, overnight support, or a combination of both!
The Postpartum Doula’s role is to make the transition to parenthood easier for new parents, support the new mom during her recovery period, and help the family determine their immediate needs.
Postpartum Doulas do not offer any medical advice or perform any medical or clinical procedures, but instead can provide parents with referrals to appropriate studies and published books.
Is an overnight postpartum doula like a night nurse or night nanny?
Short answer: Sort of. Many families have heard of “night nannies” or “night nurses” before. A nanny’s job is to take over complete control of the newborn and siblings during the overnight hours. “Nurses” would need to have a nursing license to provide this service. Nannies are not trained postpartum professionals.
Our main goal as a postpartum doula: To help the new mother recover physically and emotionally from their birth experience while providing additional support to the newborn and other family members.
We are similar in that we support the parents and newborns during overnight hours. The doulas with The Iowa Baby Ladies are all professionally trained. We provide the highest level of support, adhering to strict professional standards of care. Our doulas have extensive knowledge on all areas of life with a newborn, including feedings, bathing, safety, infant sleep, and more.
As your postpartum doula(s), we offer the following services:
- Physical support: Depending on the type of birth you experienced, we can offer helpful information as you’re healing and recovering from birth.
- Emotional Support: Being a new parent comes with a lot of unexpected and unpredictable emotions and hormonal fluctuations! Your doula(s) will be able to help you navigate the wide range of emotions you’ll experience.
- Breastfeeding and bottle–feeding support: We love to help our clients with whatever their infant feeding goals are! We can help with lactation during our shifts and if we need more expertise, we are happy to refer you to other experienced lactation professionals in our area. We also have a wide range of experience–and helpful tips–when it comes to bottles, nipples, pumping, formula, feeding practices, and more!
- Baby care instruction: Is this your first baby, and would you like a baby professional to show you the ropes? Are you already a parent but would love to learn another technique for swaddling, spa baths, babywearing, etc.? We’re here to help!
- Household assistance: We know how nice it is to have some extra hands to help with the mountains of baby laundry, some meal preparations, bottle sanitizing, etc. If we have time, we would love to tackle one or two household tasks during our longer shifts.
- Sibling care: We love the big brothers and sisters! We can offer ideas and hands-on support to help these special family members adapt to the new baby as best they can.
- Meal preparation: Some of our doulas love prepping freezer meals, helping with nutritional healing foods, and organizing meal donations for you. Be sure to ask us about this option!
- Other services based on family need
How do I know how much postpartum support I need?
We have found that the challenging part of adding postpartum support is determining how much support you might need! We compiled these packages based on our years of data on the amount of support requested by families.
Some things to consider…
- How much experience do you and your partner have in caring for a newborn during the day?
- How much experience do you and your partner have in recovering from birth?
- How much experience do you have caring for a newborn overnight?
- How much support will you have after the baby arrives? Not just visitors, but really good help with things like meals, sleep, errands, laundry, etc.
- Your budget
If you find yourself feeling a little unprepared or inexperienced when answering these questions, that’s ok and very common! That’s why we do what we do to help parents find their confidence in those first weeks and months.
New in August 2026!
We are excited to announce the arrival of our packages! It’s now easier than ever to book your postpartum support. We compiled years of data into easy-to-choose support packages based on what local Iowa families have used with our doulas since 2016. For pricing and more details, click the link below and we will immediately send the details to your email. Take a look!
Cozy Days Package
50 Hours. This often looks like:
- Weeks 1 & 2: (3) Five-Hour Shifts
- Weeks 3 & 4: (2) Five-Hour Shifts
Note: Based on our experience, five-hour shifts maximize rest and support. Shorter/longer shifts are available.
Cozy Days Plus Package
100 Hours. This often looks like:
- Weeks 1, 2, 3, & 4: (3) Five-Hour Shifts
- Weeks 5 & 6: (2) Five-Hour Shifts
Dreamy Nights Package
80 Overnight Hours. This often looks like:
- 10 Overnight Visits (8 hours each night)
- Typically used in weeks 1-4 after birth
Dreamy Nights Plus Package
160 Hours. This often looks like:
- 20 Overnight Visits (8 hours each night)
- Typically used in weeks 1-6 after birth
Custom Plans, Using Insurance, and Employee Benefit Packages
If you would like to create a custom plan, use your insurance for reimbursement, or take advantage of your employee benefits, please use the link below to schedule a call with us. We are happy to help families maximize their benefits and support! We already have the requirements and paperwork in place to make this as easy as possible for you.
Gift Registries and Gift Certificates
We know the value of postpartum support and offer options to help families receive the help they need. Ask us about gift certificates & registering for postpartum support (great baby shower gift idea), payment plans, and financing options.
When should I reserve my Postpartum Doula Support?
Please do not wait to book your postpartum doula support! We are often booked to full capacity and encourage families to contact us as soon as possible. If your baby is already here and you’re looking for support, please still contact us. We can definitely check our immediate availability for you.
What Iowans Are Saying About Postpartum Support…
“Katie was more supportive than ever imagined. When breastfeeding became a challenge for me and my son, she offered her services and knowledge. Her kind words are just what a new mom needs to hear – she speaks to mothers in a mother’s voice and not in a ‘doctor-voice’. She also spent time with my other child to help her understand what it meant to be a big sister. I thought I had prepared her with not only new toys and books, but also a lot of information, but she still needed someone to spend quality time with her and Katie did just that – a service I never imagined would be the case from my doula. Lastly, Katie spent time listening. So many people wanted to offer their words of wisdom after both my children were born. While I appreciated most of what family and friends said, it is was so nice to have someone to sit down with me and listen to how I and my body were feeling. Hiring Katie as a doula was the best choice for me and my family – I would do it again without question!”
From Des Moines Moms Blog: Postpartum Doula: The Iowa Baby Lady Services in Central Iowa
From WHO TV 13: Iowa’s ‘Baby Lady’ Helping New Moms Gain Confidence and Get More Sleep | who13.com
