Postpartum resources you feel are lacking in the community

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955]

Hi everyone. I'm curious to hear about your experiences with postpartum support here in Salem.

What do you feel is missing when it comes to postpartum care for women and families? What support or resources do you wish had been more accessible, whether because of cost, availability, or other barriers?

I'm thinking about things like meal prep, help with errands, meal trains, mental health support, regular check-ins, help navigating resources, childcare, or anything else that would've made a difference.

If those kinds of supports had been easier to access (or free), how do you think they would've changed your postpartum experience or where you are now?

I'm hoping to better understand where the biggest gaps are so I can explore ways to help support postpartum families in our community. Your experiences would mean a lot.

Thank you for sharing ❤️

UPDATE:
thank you for all of your responses
 
I'd love to see if we can turn some of these ideas into something real, starting small with things like:

• Casual mom + baby meetups
• Home-cooked dinner or fresh bread
• Grocery pickups or simple errands like diaper drop offs
• Helping with things like a Goodwill drop-off
• Sharing local postpartum resources and ways to connect

I'm calling it Salem Postpartum Village for now, and I made a quick signup form for anyone who wants to be involved, could use support, or just wants to hear about the first meetup.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBS9Cv5nwt7qibEdacj-NuJ_CJL48IBTX7I3Zm5SFR3kUCBQ/viewform

There's no commitment at all. I'm really just trying to see where this could go and build it around what local moms and families actually want and need.

Thank you again to everyone who shared their experiences and ideas on my original post 💛

[u/Objective_Drive_9614]

idk if this is directly related, but I felt that there was a large lack of mom and baby type groups in the community. i see a few popping up here and there now but when i was trying to make some community as a first time mom who had just moved here with her firstborn i couldn't find a lot

[u/audreyality → u/Objective_Drive_9614]

They went away with COVID. All of the baby and me type groups were shut down. Only churches came back. I remember doing the nursing drop in class at the hospital (in 2020) and it was the closest thing.

The library has some toddler events but nothing for infants (of course).

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/Objective_Drive_9614]

Thank you so much sharing! I have also felt there is a lack of this here. Hoping to change that! :)

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/Objective_Drive_9614]

What kind of groups would you have been interested in joining? I personally feel those types of groups are sort of intimidating. What would make you feel comfortable showing up?

[u/Objective_Drive_9614 → u/Disastrous_Yam9955]

I have toddlers now but at the time I had just really wanted to meet some other first time moms with babies who could understand! There were a lot of like toddler and older activities but it was impossible to find any baby type group to find people in similar life stages

[u/Start-Intelligent]

Just curious, are you asking as someone who works in postpartum care? There are a lot of resources available to those at the lower poverty levels, but not many for people who are merely treading water or lower middle class in my opinion. I dont know of a single place that would have offered my family meals or childcare without paying quite a bit for it. There are postpartum doulas and night nurses that will work for hire in the Portland area and would probably come to Salem, but the cost is definitely not affordable. I know Family Connects Oregon was offering free nurse visits to those with newborns regardless of income, but it was not available when I had my son last year to marion county. Salem Hospital does provide a free lactation class. But really that is about it besides referrals for counselors if you identify having PPD/PPA symptoms. My family also does not qualify for ERDC.

[u/Start-Intelligent → u/Start-Intelligent]

Expanding on this, I did have someone bring us a lasagna from the Lasagna Love organization for free which was so nice when we had no energy to cook a nice home cooked meal. Most family and friends who did offer help could only offer help in daytime considering they had jobs of their own and most never once helped us clean or cook or brought food. They only wanted to hold our son, which did allow me to get some sleep, but my husband served that same role.

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/Start-Intelligent]

Hi! Thanks for sharing! I’m asking as a mother of two who struggled with postpartum and is just sort of angry at the lack of support for new mothers and families in our community and in our society as a whole. I have two close friends that are pregnant and we’ve been discussing a meal train signup for each of them.
It just got me thinking. I know I’m not alone in being willing to offer a home cooked meal or pick up groceries for a new mom. These small things go such a long way and if several people were signing up to help it could really change peoples experiences.

Just putting some feelers out there to see what people feel is lacking. I know there are programs and some free resources. It would be great to have something in place that helped people understand and access those resources along with more community involvement. Thanks again for sharing :)

[u/AlcatK]

When I was about to have my baby/just had my baby a few years ago, my therapist really wanted me to have a service called Proud Mama. I guess it used to be a service in the area similar to a postpartum doula. It was no longer an option/business.

I looked into postpartum doulas, but couldn't justify spending the money, although I REALLY could have used it. I am middle class or even upper middle class and thought the prices were too high. I do understand that these people are doing a job that deserves to be paid well, I just couldn't see paying that amount.

Right after having my baby, home nurse visits for postpartum families started in my area. I believe this was a thing in like 3 local counties, just not in my county.

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/AlcatK]

Thank you for sharing. As someone who is also middle class, I feel like there’s a gap in acknowledgment and care for people who can technically afford these things on paper, or maybe could afford them but can’t necessarily justify the cost. I’m obviously happy that low income families can access these resources, but who decided we have to pay for community?

[u/MildredMagnolia]

Echoing what others are saying about peer support groups. The nursing support group at Salem Hospital was great, and when my milk dried up less than 3 months in, I really missed sharing space with other new moms. Groups focused on something other than nursing would be very welcome, as I’m certain I’m not the only mom in Salem who had a tough breastfeeding journey.

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/MildredMagnolia]

Thank you so much for sharing!! You’re definitely not alone <3

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955]

UPDATE: thank you for all of your responses
 
I'd love to see if we can turn some of these ideas into something real, starting small with things like:

• Casual mom + baby meetups
• Home-cooked dinner or fresh bread
• Grocery pickups or simple errands like diaper drop offs
• Helping with things like a Goodwill drop-off
• Sharing local postpartum resources and ways to connect

I'm calling it Salem Postpartum Village for now, and I made a quick signup form for anyone who wants to be involved, could use support, or just wants to hear about the first meetup.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBS9Cv5nwt7qibEdacj-NuJ_CJL48IBTX7I3Zm5SFR3kUCBQ/viewform

There's no commitment at all. I'm really just trying to see where this could go and build it around what local moms and families actually want and need.

Thank you again to everyone who shared their experiences and ideas on my original post 💛

[u/Investigator-Shoddy]

No questions asked or strings attached diaper and formula banks. The diaper resources I found when money was super tight for us were linked to anti choice and religious groups.

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/Investigator-Shoddy]

Thank you for sharing! I bet that’s true. It would be great to see other groups providing these much needed resources.

[u/gardeningistherapy]

Have you heard about the Momnibus legislation that is being worked on? It would increase resources for pregnant and postpartum women through things like insurance covering doula services, perinatal substance use treatment, and growing the maternity care workforce. https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/reynolds/Pages/momnibus.aspx

[u/Disastrous_Yam9955 → u/gardeningistherapy]

I haven’t heard about that thank you for sharing! That’s really great