Meet one of our postpartum doulas

Celebrated annually from March 22-28, World Doula week recognizes the positive impact birth and postpartum doulas have on the health and well-being of families during this time.

At Guiding Star Siouxland we have five amazing team members who serve in this role. One in particular, Oliva Rozeveld, serves as a postpartum doula. Take a moment to read part of her story!

Olivia and her husband have lived in Orange CIty for about two years. They have a 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

“I knew having children would be hard. I had that thought that there’s a lot of talk about pregnancy and birth so learning more about that I felt I had enough knowledge for both my birth experiences, I didn’t give a lot of thought to after birth. I thought I would just figure it out,” she said. 

She had good pregnancies and birth experiences with each child – the first in a hospital setting, the second was a home birth.

“And then each postpartum period took me by surprise,” Olivia said.

Being 12 hours away from family during the coronavirus pandemic and her husband working on his dissertation at the time of their first child’s birth, Olivia struggled with life with a newborn.

“We had made some friends in the area we were at that time and I”m so thankful for the meals that were dropped off by the front door, but those first six or so weeks (and beyond) were truly hard,” Olivia said.

Having someone to help take care of her while she was taking care of the baby is a need she felt.

“It’s hard for a lot of people to ask for help, I’m the same way, but living through two postpartum periods in places I wasn’t very familiar with and not having local family support was one of the reasons that solidified my decision to become not just a birth doula but also a postpartum doula.”

A postpartum doula is a trained professional who offers physical, emotional, and informational support to parents and their families after birth.

“We are that extra set of hands and eyes for mom,” Olivia said. “We’re trained in providing that extra help.”

Olivia specifically is a trained lactation specialist to provide guidance and support in the breastfeeding journey in the at-home setting. She can help recognize potential issues and connect moms to more support, if needed.

“When breastfeeding isn’t going well, it’s hard to see past what you’re doing,” she said. “I’ve been there. Sometimes a small change is all that’s needed to make it go better but a mom might just need another person to guide and reassure them that they’re doing a great job.”

Other times a mom might want someone to hold and care for the baby while they take a shower or a nap.

Still other times a mom might want help making some fresh or frozen meals or have someone watch any other siblings for a period of time.

Through Guiding Star Siouxland, a postpartum doula offers six hours of support within a three-week period after birth.

“We have a prenatal consultation during which we talk about home life, the goals and expectations for breastfeeding if that’s mom’s desire and help them think through ways they might want help at home – something I didn’t think about especially after my first was born – so that we have a tentative plan in place.”

For some clients that support could be in making freezer meals only, for others it could be coming for a morning or 2 to help get the other children off to school. Other support could include a doula coming two to three weeks later after their husband has gone back to work.

“I believe that early postpartum is one of the most sacred and transformative times for new mothers. I am passionate about supporting women through birth and the beautiful postpartum time period and all that goes with it; the good, the bad, and the really (really) hard. No woman should have to do any of it alone!”

Want to learn more about all of our doula services? Give us a call to schedule an introduction session. Also visit us online to learn more!