At Adoptions From The Heart, we take pride in the wrap-around support and in-depth education we provide to everyone who enters our offices. This extends even further than the services we provide to families through our agency, consisting of relationships with professionals outside of open adoption that help make our clients lives easier in their adoption journeys. In our most recent Episode of AFTHtv, ‘S14Ep13 Adoptive Families Can Benefit from Working with a Doula Too’ we sat down with Doula and Entrepreneur Valerie Trumbower to discuss working with AFTH adoptive families after being placed through our agency.
We discussed all the ways in which working with a Doula, post placement, can offer benefits to a new parent, despite the fact that the traditional role of a doula is often associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Just like birth parents, adoptive parents also go through a transition period post-placement and working with a doula provides significant education and support, meeting new parents exactly where they need it most. In adoption, prospective adoptive parents often experience emergency placements, meaning everything is moving fast, and you often have no time to adjust to the changes as quickly as one might like. This is where a doula might come in handy.
We decided to explore a few ways you could benefit from working with a doula if you were considering it or didn’t know it was an option for new adoptive parents. Let’s get started!
Doulas can offer immense emotional and post-placement support. Unlike a midwife, a doula does not perform medical tasks, instead supports you by providing optimal solutions to things when it comes to your new baby and new role. The adoption process, in itself, is a journey full of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and uncertainty. A new baby, whether it’s your first or third, will be a different experience each time, and the transition period after a child is placed with you can be both joyful and challenging.
Working with a doula can help you adjust to your new role and navigate any challenges as you bond and establish a relationship with your new baby. In many instances, a doula would come during the day to assist newly placed parents with daily routines and perform any tasks needed to assist the adoptive parents, like laundry, bottle making, feeding techniques, and creating a routine for the baby. In other instances, a doula may come to a home overnight to assist with the transition by assisting with overnight feedings, bath time, diaper changes, settling in and most importantly, guide you emotionally as a new mom/dad.
While the role of a doula in adoption may differ from that in childbirth, the support, guidance, and advocacy they provide can be invaluable for adoptive parents as they navigate the journey of building their family through adoption. A doula can also provide compassionate emotional support, validating some of the feelings you may be experiencing as you navigate the ins and outs. Most people do not know, but adoptive parents can also experience post-placement depression and feelings of guilt at one point or another. It’s just as important to have someone there to guide you through some of these moments so that you know you have nothing to worry about.
Doulas are well-informed professionals who withhold much information, education, and insightful tips about caring for newborns and, in this case, the adoption process, including legal requirements, paperwork, and resources available for adoptive families. They can provide valuable education and information to help you understand your rights, responsibilities, and options as you pursue adoption. And, according to Valarie Trumbower, you can reach out to a doula before you’ve been placed. Once your profile is live, you can begin the process and notify your doula once the baby girl or baby boy has arrived.
For more information on how a doula can assist you as an adoptive parent, click below to watch the full episode of AFTHtv, ft. Valarie Trumbower! To learn more about Valarie, click here to explore New Parents Academy. For more information on open adoption and our services, visit our website today!
