Black Maternal Health Week: Postpartum is When the Village is Needed

As a doula, I know that a big part of maternity care is postpartum care. The birth may be over, but the vulnerability doesn’t end there. According to Yale Medicine, “cardiomyopathy (a weakened heart muscle) is the most common cause of death one week to a year after delivery,” which highlights how vulnerable new mothers and birthing people are long after the baby arrives.

Too often, new mothers are expected to bounce back and suffer in silence. But healing from childbirth, adapting to the hormonal shifts of the fourth trimester, and managing the tasks of daily life takes a lot of support. We can’t leave parents alone in the name of privacy or pride. We need to normalize checking in, making care packages, and asking real questions.

Here are 10 ways to support new mothers after delivery:

1. Donate to a mutual aid fund. That cash might cover rent, postpartum care, or whatever’s urgent — without asking someone already drained to explain.
2. Send groceries. Ask what they need. Drop off healing, easy-to-prep foods or send a gift card.
3. Give to a diaper fund. Newborns go through 10+ diapers a day. It adds up — fast.
4. Handle chores. Show up to clean only — no small talk, no expectations, just help.
5. Pitch in for a shared personal chef or offer to cook freezeable meals or organize a meal train.
6. Hold the baby — but ask first. Respect rituals like skin-to-skin time, and ask about preferences like remaining fragrance-free.
7. Source secondhand gear. Check your local Buy Nothing group for gently used baby items.
8. Offer gift cards for ride shares. Doctor visits shouldn’t ever cause hardship.
9. Be a listener. Simply ask how the birth went and make space to listen. Offer to write it down if they want help capturing the memory while it’s fresh.
10. Check in again — and again. And don’t take silence or delayed response time personally.

This is how we lighten the load. This is how we protect each other.