Why does postnatal support matter?
When people prepare for a baby, so much attention goes into pregnancy and birth.
But what happens afterwards?
The first weeks with a newborn can be wonderful, exhausting, emotional and completely overwhelming — sometimes all within the same day.
Postnatal care isn’t just about checking that your baby is healthy. It also includes supporting parents with feeding, physical recovery, emotional wellbeing, relationships and adjusting to life with a newborn.
NICE describes the postnatal period as the first eight weeks after birth and emphasises the importance of women and babies receiving the right information and support, including support with feeding.
Who might be part of your postnatal support team?
Your midwife
Your midwife provides care during the early postnatal period and can help identify concerns affecting you or your baby.
Your health visitor
Health visitors can provide advice about feeding, your baby’s development, safe sleep and adjusting to life as a new parent.
Your GP
Your GP can help with physical or emotional health concerns and provide referrals where appropriate.
Infant feeding specialists
If you’re experiencing feeding difficulties, additional feeding support can help with positioning, attachment, expressing, responsive feeding and identifying when further assessment may be needed.
Tongue-tie practitioners
Where feeding difficulties raise concerns about tongue movement or tongue-tie, an appropriately trained practitioner may be able to provide assessment and guidance.
Private midwives, doulas and postnatal practitioners
Some families choose additional private support alongside NHS services. This might include practical postnatal care, feeding support, emotional support or simply having someone experienced to talk things through with.
Nannies and newborn care professionals
As your baby grows, some families may also choose childcare support to help them return to work, rest, manage other children or simply have an extra pair of experienced hands.
You don’t have to wait until you’re struggling
One of the biggest misconceptions about asking for support is that you need to be at crisis point before you reach out.
You don’t.
You might simply want someone to watch a feed.
You might want reassurance that your baby’s behaviour is normal.
You might need practical help while recovering from birth.
Or perhaps you’re returning to work and starting to think about childcare.
Getting support early can make it easier to navigate those challenges.
What about private support?
NHS maternity and health visiting services remain an important part of postnatal care, but families may also choose additional private services depending on their circumstances and preferences.
The important thing is understanding what each professional does, what their qualifications are and when they should refer you to another service.
A good directory can help parents compare the types of support available and find professionals whose services are relevant to their family’s needs.
Finding trusted family services in one place
This is exactly why Birth & Beyond Directory exists.
Rather than searching through social media groups, asking multiple friends for recommendations or trying to find different professionals through separate websites, our aim is to create a central place where families can discover services supporting them from pregnancy through the early years.
From private midwives and doulas to infant feeding specialists, tongue-tie practitioners, nannies and baby services, Birth & Beyond Directory is designed to make finding support easier.
Explore the Baby Services Directory
Find Parent & Family Support
Browse Birth Services
Discover Pregnancy Services
Your support network might look different from someone else’s
There is no single formula for the “perfect” postnatal experience.
Some families have grandparents nearby. Others don’t.
Some parents have a large network of friends. Others are starting completely from scratch.
Some families need specialist feeding support. Others need practical childcare or emotional support.
What matters is knowing that support exists and knowing where to find it when you need it.
