004: A Peek at Postpartum Care in Iceland with Soffia Bæringsdóttir

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Postpartum care varies widely across cultures, offering a rich tapestry of traditions, practices, and values that support new mothers and their infants. Iceland, with its progressive and family-centric healthcare system, provides a fascinating case study. In this episode, I have the honor of sitting down with Soffía Bæringsdóttir, a pioneer in the Icelandic doula community, to get into how postpartum care is approached. Soffía's journey as a doula, family therapist, and advocate for comprehensive postpartum support sheds light on a model of care that many outside Iceland might envy.

In our conversation, Soffía gave us a comprehensive overview of the postpartum care landscape in Iceland. The majority of births occur in hospital settings, with an emphasis on midwifery-led care. In Iceland, new mothers often experience shorter hospital stays, typically between 12 to 24 hours post-birth, encouraged by the knowledge that a midwife will continue to provide in-home support for the first ten days. This early discharge is facilitated by a robust healthcare system that prioritizes home visits to ensure the well-being of both mother and baby, covering aspects from physical health to emotional support and breastfeeding.

An aspect of Iceland's approach that stands out is its parental leave policy, offering a cumulative one year of leave that both parents can share. Intriguingly, the leave is structured to encourage both mothers and fathers to spend significant time with their newborn, fostering a deep bond from the earliest days of a child's life.

Soffía's insights into the parent-infant bond—viewing every interaction as an opportunity for connection—highlight the nuanced understanding of infant needs that Icelandic care promotes. This method values the parents' presence, touch, and intuitive responsiveness to their infant's cues as foundational elements of developing secure attachments.

We talk about:

• 00:00 Intro
• 03:58 How she became a doula
• 07:14 How do women give birth in iceland, hospital or homebirth
• 08:17 Do they use midwives or Obstetrician doctors for birth?
• 09:21 Average amount of time a woman stay in the hospital after birth
• 12:38 Does the midwife also check on the mothers mental health in these home visits after birth?
• 14:22 Do most people take a prenatal course before giving birth?
• 16:36 Is there parental leave?
• 18:30 Breastfeeding vs formula
• 20:38 Government subsidized programs
• 23:37 Average family size
• 25:57 Insight into her work around bonding between parents and children
• 29:18 What she teaches parents to solidify the bond and feelings of attachment, security, and safety
• 33:11 Her retreat

Connect with Soffia

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Doula.is_
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belladoularetreats
• https://www.doula.is/

Connect with me

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholebundle/
• https://thewholebundle.com/

Chapter

1. TWB 4 - A peek at postpartum care in Iceland with Soffía Bæringsdóttir (00:00:00)

2. Interview Start (00:01:56)

3. How did she become a doula (00:03:58)

4. How do women give birth in iceland, hospital or homebirth (00:07:14)

5. Do they use midwife or Obstretrician docs for birth more (00:08:17)

6. average amount of time a woman stay in the hospital after birth (00:09:21)

7. Does the miwife also check on the mothers mental health in these home visits after birth (00:12:38)

8. Do most people take a prenatal course before giving birth (00:14:22)

9. Is there parental leave (00:16:36)

10. breastfeeding vs formula (00:18:30)

11. When do you kids go to school/daycare - more about how the government subsudises programs (00:20:38)

12. What is the average size of families (00:23:37)

13. Insight into her work around bonding between parents and children (00:25:57)

14. What do you teach parents to really solidify the bond and feelings of attachment, security, and safety (00:29:18)

15. Her retreat (00:33:11)