Tender Courage 
Re-weaving the web of postpartum support, together
Postpartum Village Mentoring: A creative (and more affordable) postpartum support option.
Do you understand the importance of postpartum care for yourself and your family but have a hard time affording the cost of such services? Is it difficult to ask for help in a deeply vulnerable time? Are you convincing yourself that you don’t really need this kind of care? After all, most of the birthing folks you know have gone without and seem fine…. right?
Postpartum Village Mentoring is designed with three things in mind: First, not all families can afford to hire a Postpartum Doula to be in their home helping them transition to new life as much as is needed. Secondly, there are often well-meaning loved ones (the village) who would like to help but don’t know how. And thirdly, our culture could use a lesson or two in how to care for postpartum families within the context of a birthing families’ community.
So…..
Let’s create a postpartum revolution!
Together we can re-weave the web of community support, creating a ‘postpartum village’ for each family to rest in, one family at a time and one village at a time!
That is the vision of Postpartum Village Mentoring.
Here’s how it works:
I bring with me 25 years of experience working with birthing families of all types as a Midwife and Doula. I also bring my personal experience of making this transition with my own children. I offer myself to your community of choice as a resource and mentor to help craft a care plan that is unique to you and your families’ needs. I do this by offering a set of classes on the specific skills needed to care for your growing family in the early days of your babymoon. I support the Village in coming up with the care plan that you dream of. I remain available for any questions or direct care needs that you or your Village members have for the duration of your babymoon.
I offer a free initial consult that lasts 30-45 minutes. We discuss the needs of the birthing family at the center of your Village, what I can offer and how it all works. It is ideal if you contact me as early as possible so that the fabric of the Village can begin to be woven. There is much to share about the ideal ways to care for a postpartum family! I am happy to be contacted by either a potential Village member or by the birthing family themselves. However, ultimately the intention of the Village is to transfer the burden of details away from the birthing parent. In other words, it should not rest on the shoulders of the birthing person, as this is counter to the fundamental intention of this service/vision. As this is a shift away from how our culture tends to respond to postpartum recovery, there is space made for all of us to learn and grow into this new pattern that we are all weaving together. Once it is clear that you’d like to move forward there are a few options to choose from…
Full Mentoring Program
This program offers a series of classes (see below), either in person or over Zoom or pre-recorded, that are geared toward teaching and supporting all Village Members with skills to aid in healing, bonding and slow re-integration of a postpartum family as they transition through the 4th trimester (the first 3 months postpartum). These practices are based on various traditional cultural practices (primarily Asian, South American and Ayurvedic). In addition, I am available for questions as they arise during the whole process and will be the main hub of The Village as plans and schedules are set up near the time of birth. I am available on-call for the first few weeks postpartum to trouble shoot and make sure it is all going smoothly and to fill-in on site as needed and available.
The Village Mentoring program is charged per class, as they are chosen. The basic package starts with three classes. The total cost of the package depends on which classes are chosen and if any additonal classes are added on. My time outside of classes, for questions and consultation, are charged at an hourly rate of $65/hour.
Foundation Program – fully remote
I am in the process of developing a fully independant program for a Village that already has a lot of postpartum experience collectively or for a Village that needs to keep costs closer to home. This will involve a set of PDFs and videos outlining all of the aspects of the Mentoring program, but will not include any actual one-on-one mentoring (both mentoring and direct care through my hourly rate are still options, as needed and as I am available, to be paid for separately). Please reach out if this option sounds like the best one for you and find out where I am in the process of creating this option. Cost is TBD.
Village members are mentored in important skills such as:
- How and why to maintain the warmth needed for optimal postpartum recovery, through practices such as ‘Mother Roasting’ (keeping the postpartum room very warm in the early days), Moxa (a TCM practice of heating up certain meridian points that aid in postpartum healing) and vaginal steaming (for later recovery). I will soon also be offering the Bone Closing Ceremony! Stay tuned!
- How to bind the postpartum belly to support the pelvis and to encourage the connective tissue of the abdomen to re-settle in an optimal position (ideally avoiding diastasis recti)
- How to prepare postpartum meals to aid recovery
- How to give a comforting postpartum massage, which is key to optimal recovery
- How to use the placenta as a postpartum medicinal tonic
- How to design a postpartum ritual to mark the significant moments in this sacred transition through the fourth trimester.
- How to organize the logistics of a Postpartum Village such that tasks are shared and communication flows easily.
Each Village is unique and is created out of the direct needs and desires of the birthing family!
