How to Work (or Not) Around the Holidays

As a long-time postpartum doula and someone who works for myself, I am extremely familiar with navigating the holidays alongside newly postpartum families. These are some things I know to be true about the holidays and working with growing families:

• Your wishes, preferences, and boundaries matter, and it’s important to get clear on these before you start taking work.

• Families will still look for care during the holidays. In fact, they may need it even more than ever if they don’t have strong family or friend support.

• There is usually more work than there are doulas, as many birth professionals take off for holidays. This can be a pro and a con!

How to Work (or Not) Around the Holidays

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Given the above observations, it’s important to implement some practical boundary-setting skills in your doula practice. The following 7 tips are meant to support you in working (or not) on holidays or other special dates:

1. Consider the entire year and blackout dates for yourself. This may be difficult to do at first, if you are just building your business or have never taken this step before. However, we recommend being really honest with yourself about dates and holidays that you absolutely don’t want to be working. Perhaps it’s more accessible to think six months at a time; great, do what works for you. Block dates off ahead of time and commit to not scheduling yourself for care. When you are making agreements or contracts with families, be transparent and upfront about your blackout dates that are near their due date or anticipated dates of service.

2. Partner with a co-doula or colleague. You may decide that you are willing to work one holiday but not another, great. Find colleagues that you can refer to or work with a co-doula, whom you can split the workload with in an equitable manner.

3. Set and communicate boundaries around digital communication. If you know that you will be most present if you can ignore your phone for the day/days, let clients/colleagues know ahead of time that you won’t be responding to texts, calls, or emails. Help them understand the plan or options for support if they need something. Then, hold yourself accountable to your limits and boundaries. We often use the “do not disturb” setting as an additional layer of support for protecting these boundaries.

4. Help clients plan for additional supports in your absence. This is beneficial to the client, AND we find that it can give doulas peace of mind, too. If you know you won’t be available physically and/or digitally, spend some time helping clients explore their support systems and making plans for who else can show up. Regardless of your blackout dates, this is a really valuable practice to support clients through. 

5. Take work that excites you, and say no when it’s not a good fit. Even if a certain client aligns with your desired work schedule, always check in with your gut reaction. Is this family a good fit for you energetically and values-wise? If not, refer them to other folks in your community.

6. Be sure to plan downtime. We know that often family visits are not vacations. While they may be fun and connecting, they may also be draining. It can be rough to shift right from family obligations right back into work. If possible, give yourself a day (or so) buffer in between things.

7. Reflect and set goals for the next year. After a season passes, it can be beneficial to reflect on what worked for you, as well as what didn’t work. Make goals for the next year (or the next season) accordingly. 

Join Us for Postpartum Doula Training

ABG offers both online (self-paced) and in-person trainings for folks who are interested in becoming postpartum doulas. We’d love to be a part of your journey in offering crucial care and education to postpartum families. Learn more and sign up here!

*Photo credit: Paige Cody on Unsplash

Thanks for reading ABG Postpartum Doula Blog! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.