One in every seven women in the United States who gives birth suffers from some form of postpartum depression, a malady that extends well beyond just a few weeks after birth. Even two months after a baby is born, more than 76 percent of women report they still experience fatigue or tiredness.

Conversely, less than 10 percent of U.S. birthing mothers use doulas, trained experts who can help delivery, in part because there are only 9,000 doulas in a nation with 3.6 million births a year. So there remains a wide gap between the pre-birth help and the after-birth care many mothers need.

That’s where McKayla Broadhurst and Tiara Monson, co-owners and creators of Bountiful Doulas, come in. They have a different focus than most doulas.

“We are only postpartum,” Broadhurst said. “We have a team of postpartum doulas, newborn care specialists, lactation educators, postpartum nutrition professionals and natal school coaches, and we really focus on the fourth trimester. We offer a lot of daytime and overnight support, where we'll go into the client's home and help them kind of set up and prepare to be new parents. So we’ll help with everything about newborn care postpartum care. We can even help them in getting a full night of sleep.”

McKayla said they developed their business because of personal experiences they had as new moms.

“We both had kind of rough postpartums,” she said. “I'm five years postpartum now, and Tiara was actually in the CNA field, and I was a nanny for about a decade before all of this. And so it kind of just transitioned when we realized the need for someone to help support mothers who were like us.”

“I really suffered with postpartum depression and anxiety, and I really didn’t have a big village, so support was little to none,” Monson said. “I did have my best friend to help me, and I helped her, but we just didn’t have the support or education we needed.”

One particular challenge many moms have is breastfeeding.

“I had a rough birth, and then I had trouble feeding my daughter,” Broadhurst said. “I really loved breastfeeding and that wasn't something that I was able to do. And I remember walking into the pediatrician for the first time, and I was just given formula. Nobody told me what a lactation consultant was or things that I could troubleshoot at home and how to improve that. And if I had had someone like us, I feel like my journey would have been a lot different. I feel like I'm so glad that I'm able to do that for other families and other moms where I was stuck and having to go buy formula because my child was hungry.” 

The Bountiful Doulas also work with fathers.

“I feel like dads really struggle with kind of the confidence of jumping into parenting and 

knowing what they're doing, and so we’re able to kind of not only reassure them that they can help, but that they know how to do it too,” Monson said. 

“We’ve helped dads learn how to bathe their baby and how to properly make bottles,” she added. “We’ve had some dads that have had postpartum anxiety disorders, and we’ve been able to recognize that and provide support groups or therapists and things to get them help. I feel like a lot of parents just don’t realize we exist. I totally agree we can go into the home and show them how to put their baby to sleep or how to change a diaper, and there’s so much to understand as a first-time parent.”

Their company also has a donation fund to provide postpartum support to low-income households. Through this fund, they’ve assisted single parents, those who unexpectedly lose their jobs while expecting, those who experience pregnancy loss, and individuals experiencing postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. This fund covers shifts with a postpartum doula, providing essential services like overnight care, meal preparation, and overall support.

“We offer gift certificates for those who wish to purchase a postpartum doula shift as a baby shower gift,” Broadhurst said. “This is a meaningful and practical way for friends and family to support new parents.”

Find out more at their website at www.bountifuldoulas.com