How to Explain Pregnancy and Postpartum Support To Your Family

Written by: Janel Duffy
Posted: February 24, 2022
I don't know exactly how many years that strollers or rocking chairs or baby bouncers have been around, but by this point, nobody really questions why you might want one or all of those items when you’re planning for a baby. 

Nobody questions why you want a baby elephant theme for your nursery. Or why you might want 4 or 5 different types of bottles. It’s commonplace to register for these items, to get them handed down from friends, or buy them yourself. 

And nobody asks: “Well why do you want that?” A gift-giver who is shopping around on your standard registry sees a stroller and can envision you pushing your baby around on a fall day at the park. They see a 10 pack of bottles and they can envision you relieved to have such a selection of clean and ready bottles at 2am. They see a baby bouncer and they can envision you using it to keep the baby occupied while you take a quick shower or cook dinner. 

They know how most of these baby items are used (whether or not they’ve ever parented new babies) so there is no questioning. You want that? You got it.

But now, there’s a different kind of baby registry– The Be Her Village registry, where new parents are registering for services aimed to make pregnancy, birth, and postpartum feel more empowered, educated, calm, and supported.

And often, the expectant parents are met with a puzzled “Well why do you want that?”  The first answer that pops into my head is something along the lines of “Because I want it, that’s why” – but that might not get you very far. I’m not a big fan of pregnant women having to explain themselves, but if it gets them more support I’m willing to make an exception.
So here’s a breakdown of possible answers to the question “Well why do you want that?”

A Birth Doula: I want to have a safe, supported and empowered birth. I want someone by my side who has been through birth, knows this hospital system (or has experience with home births), is trained in pain management, and will help me stick to my birth plan.

A Childbirth Ed Class: I’ve never pushed a baby out of my vagina before, so I’d like to be at least a little prepared. I also want my partner to know what’s going to be happening while I’m in the throes of labor, when to call the doula, and at what point we should head to the hospital.

A Pelvic Floor PT: Despite how common it is, I actually don’t want to pee my pants forevermore after giving birth. I want to work with a professional who can help me train, strengthen and repair my pelvic floor and core muscles so I can continue experiencing activities the way I always have.

A Lactation Consultant: I hear breastfeeding is pretty hard and tricky in the beginning. I want someone who can help me at my house to make sure I can feed my baby with the least amount of stress and the most amount of support.

A Maternal Mental Health Specialist: I’m about to go through a lot of physical and emotional changes. My relationship is going to shift, my sleep patterns are going to shift, and I want to have a resource handy if I need help working through all of these changes.

A Postpartum Doula: I don’t want to ask my family and friends to come and do laundry and make me a sandwich at 2am. Hiring a Postpartum Doula will help me transition into this new role with a little more grace.

A Prenatal Massage: I’ve been carrying around a growing human in my body for the last half a year, I think it’ll feel pretty good.

As more and more new parents start asking for gifts of support, hopefully their moms, aunts, and friends will stop asking “Why do you want that?” and instead say something like “I’m so happy to support that!”



BeHerVillage is helping parents like you get the funds they need for the support they deserve! Are you having a baby and are looking for support? Create a registry for support today and get gifted funds directly into your bank account to pay for your support team. You deserve this.

Are you a birthworker who supports new moms? Use BeHerVillage to help your clients pay for your support. Create your free profile here and you can be the best baby shower gift a mom will ever get!
Category: BeHerVillage Registry Info , Unique Gifts For Expectant Parents
Tags: baby shower , baby registry , BeHerVillage , BeHerVillage registry , postpartum doula , maternal mental health , doula , lactation consultant , pelvic floor pt

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