🫶 Postpartum doulas / in-home support

• Finding a caregiver

  • Types of services

    • Doulas — trained and certified caregivers (more on doulas here)

      • Daytime doula — assists the whole family with the transition to parenthood during the daytime(more here)

      • Night doula — provides families with nighttime support (more here)

      • Live-in doula — lives with you in your home and provides around-the-clock support (more here)

    • Nannies — professional caregivers

      • Confinement live-in nanny — lives in your home for the duration of the contract period. Confinement nannies have helped me and my family after having both babies. You can choose the duration, and I had 6 weeks of help from the day I got home from the hospital. They care for the baby, cook nutritious eastern postpartum meals and snacks for you and the family, and teach you life skills that will well equip you to care for the baby. I can introduce an agency based in LA who will find you a nanny to help you in the Bay Area. Contact me (Takako Kunz) via LinkedIn if interested!

      • Live-out nanny — comes into your home during shifts to care for the family

    • Sleep consultant — certified sleep consultants

      • In-person sleep support or virtual support aligned to your baby or toddler’s age. They will help build daytime and nighttime schedules (sleeping & feeding), and guide you in helping your little one sleep independently

  • Local professional services

    • Bay Area Night Doulas (BAND)

      • The BAND coordinators work as a referral service; they match you to several potential doulas who are available in your area. You interview the doulas and choose one with whom to draft and sign a contract.

      • Hourly rates can range from $45-70

    • Doulas by the Bay

    • Stork & Sprout - I relied on S&S during my postpartum period, and they were consistently wonderful to work with. - Emily

    • Postpartum Love Doula Services - I worked with Amanda for the first five months of my baby's life — she was incredibly helpful in so many ways, and very loving and sweet with our family. - Emily

    • Stanford Park Nannies

    • Aunt Ann's In-House Staffing

    • SF Bay Area Doula Availability — Facebook group

• Interviewing & hiring

  • Sample interview questions

    • What originally got you into this field of work?

    • Can you tell me more about your experience working with newborns?

    • What would a typical day/night be like working together?

    • Are you currently working with other clients / children?

    • Have there been challenges on your job, and how did you overcome them?

    • Baby-specific questions, such as “How do you deal with a gassy baby?”

    • What is your vaccination status (i.e., Covid, flu, MMR, TDAP, HepB, chicken pox)? Would you be willing to provide official documentation of vaccines / immunity?

    • What is your hourly rate and preferred method and timing of payment?

    • What are your tax filing preferences (e.g. do you prefer to be on/off “the books”?

    • How do you typically deal with client / personal illness? What are your expectations for sick leave / pay?

    • (If you have pets) Do you have any pet allergies? Are you comfortable with pets?

    • Do you have a back-up nanny/doula in case of emergency?

    • Do you have any questions for me/us?

    • Can you provide me/us with two or three references?

  • If deciding to hire someone, consider asking for:

    • A copy of their drivers' license or another photo ID for your records

    • An emergency contact

  • Consider giving caregivers a list of important information (e.g., emergency contacts, location of nearest hospital, national poison control hotline), in case of an emergency. Template linked here.