Online courses, guides, podcast episodes, and other tools to use with your clients to support their mental health

RESOURCES
FOR professionals

Online courses, guides, podcast episodes, and other tools to use with your clients to support their mental health

Resources - FOR PROFESSIONALS

"As an expecting parent, I wanted to make sure that not only I knew about the best and most convenient items to have for both the baby and me, but I also wanted it to be safe. Going down the rabbit hole of Dr. Google was exhausting and I felt incredibly anxious and unsure about what I actually needed. Thank GOD I found this guide! Not only is everything laid out in a super digestible way, it also explains what is actually needed in a transparent way so I can understand WHY something is needed (or not). It's so easy to get wrapped up in the "latest and greatest" items that every Instagram mom is sharing, and product safety information can fall to the wayside. By using this registry guide, I know that every item is safe and has a purpose rather than falling victim to all the marketing schemes trying to prey on my new-parent worries. I recommend this to all expecting parents - you will breathe a sigh of relief!"
- Ally

This version of my Postpartum Care Plan and Workbook is specifically for other professionals, and includes a customizable intro section that you can edit to fit your business/branding and write a personalized message for your clients.

This Self-paced online course helps differentiate between AND clarify common misunderstandings about normal postpartum adjustment, the “baby blues” and PMADs, and describes each PMAD in detail using the language and experiences of actual parents rather than in clinical terms.

“Dealing With the Crying” Mini-Workshop
Prenatal Visit/6-Week Check-up Discussion Tools
Amazon Book List
GUIDE: Managing Client Expectations for Sleep Consultants
Real Talk podcast episode
Becoming a Sleep Consultant podcast episode

Free Resources

Postpartum Care Plan:
Customizable Canva Template

This version of my Postpartum Care Plan/Workbook is specifically for postpartum professionals, and includes a customizable intro section that you can edit to fit your business and branding and write a personalized message for your clients.

Postpartum Care Plan and Workbook
Customizable Template for Professionals

Even with the best professional support, the first few weeks are exhausting and terrifying for every new parent, but I am dedicated to changing the narrative that parenthood, and motherhood in particular, requires sacrificing your sleep and your sanity. In tandem with your services and support, this plan will give your clients concrete information and tools to help them to maintain both their sleep and sanity as much as possible while they adjust to their new life with baby!

* This guide/workbook is most helpful if provided to clients during the 3rd trimester, though the information and resources will be useful to any newly postpartum parent in supporting their initial adjustment!

Helping Your Clients Maximize Their Sleep and Sanity During the 4th Trimester

Postpartum Care Plan and
Workbook - Customizable
Template for Professionals

"Normal Postpartum Adjustment vs The 'Baby Blues' vs PMADs"

Purchasers of this digital product have permission to edit the customizable portion of the second page and then download the entire resource for personal use or to be distributed in use with individual clients. No other part of the resource may be altered, and the resource may not be reproduced, shared, or distributed outside of sharing directly with clients, without written permission from the author.

$59

You want to set your clients up for success even before your services begin

This guide is for you if:

You believe you will be able to communicate more effectively with your clients about their goals and provide more individualized education and support if they have researched and talked about several key topics with their partner, and clearly written out their plans and preferences for you to review

You want to improve your ability to support your clients’ mental and emotional well-being, both through providing quality information and resources, but also by laying a clear foundation for having future conversations if your client is struggling with postpartum mood issues

“Tara’s Postpartum Care Plan and Workbook is a very thorough and well-organized resource for postpartum professionals that covers practically everything our clients and their families need to know for after baby comes home!”

Here’s What’s Inside

- Amanda K., Certified Newborn Care Specialist and Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant

how your clients can build up their support system
planning for how your clients want to handle visitors and making sure they are able to meet their basic needs in those early weeks
identifying resources and support available (in addition to you!) if your clients want extra help during your off-hours, or need expert guidance with feeding, sleep, or with their physical recovery
planning for how your clients will engage in emotional self-care and resources for if your clients are experiencing postpartum mood issues
planning for getting help with household tasks and pet/sibling care (if that is not part of the services you provide)
how your clients can nurture their relationship with one another during this period of transition

“In dealing with new parents, we've all witnessed first hand the impact of the new parent brain. Tara's postpartum care plan is an amazing tool that allows a simple way to add value to our services. This plan provides clear, well structured direction and thought provoking prompts for new parents, as well as space for important contacts that can be easily found on those days where you need a quick reference.”

- Maren S., Newborn Care Specialist

Online Course

Defining “Perinatal” and “PMAD”
Risk Factors
Normal Postpartum Adjustment vs Baby Blues vs PMADs

“Understanding the Difference Between Normal Postpartum Adjustment, the “Baby Blues,” and PMADs”

This course helps differentiate between and clarify common misunderstandings about normal postpartum adjustment, the “baby blues” and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).

The course also describes each PMAD (Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, OCD, Bipolar and Psychosis) in detail using the language and experiences of actual parents rather than in clinical terms, to help you better recognize them in the families you work with.

4 Most Common Misunderstandings
Prevalence Rates
Non-Birthing Parents

PMADs

Anxiety, Panic, and Intrusive Thoughts
Depression
PTSD
OCD
Bipolar

PMAD or Sleep Deprivation?

I designed this course because I have seen so many new parents negatively affected by either a lack of information or misinformation about what is normal and what isn’t as far as what the 4th trimester looks like and feels like mentally and emotionally.

Too many parents feel guilty or crazy or like something is wrong with them for things that are actually completely normal! On the flip side, society has normalized a lot of symptoms of PMADs as what it means to be a “good parent” and well-meaning friends and family will often dismiss or minimize a new parent’s concerns and so these parents are suffering far too long before seeking help. Sometimes parents are receiving misinformation from medical and other birth and postpartum professionals!

My intention for this course is to equip professionals with the knowledge they need to empower the parents they work with to be able to actually enjoy those early months - whether that’s through shutting out the noise of unhelpful, and untrue narratives about parenthood, or by realizing that what they are experiencing isn’t normal and allowing them to get help and start feeling better much sooner.

Curriculum:

Online Course in the Welcome Home Baby School

“The most valuable thing I learned from the course was a way of clearly and relatably explaining PMADs and their symptoms.”

- Postpartum Doula

“This course greatly improved on previous training I’ve received - it really fleshed out details differentiating PMADs from what’s normal and everything in between.”

- Newborn Care Specialist/Infant Nanny

Free Resources

“Dealing with the Crying”

“Dealing With the Crying” is a quick watch - just 15 minutes in length - but full of information to help your clients understand their reactions to the baby crying and how to cope effectively! This workshop covers the basics of how the brain works so the parent will have insight into their specific reactions and know when and why to use different strategies. The workshop through my top five tips to feel calmer and more connected to the baby in the midst of the crying, allowing the parent to more quickly recognize and meet the baby’s needs.

Prenatal Visit/6-Week Checkup Discussion Tools

These discussion tools are designed for a new or expecting parent to bring to a visit with their healthcare provider to start a conversation about their mental health.

The "prenatal visit" tool includes a checklist of risk factors to help the provider understand more about the parent’s situation and get a better sense of their personal risk, and also has a checklist of common symptoms of PMADs that present during pregnancy, so the provider can help the parent determine if starting therapy or medication now would be the best course of action for their own health and the health of their baby.

The “6-week checkup” discussion tool can actually be used at any time postpartum, with any provider. It has a checklist of different descriptors of a parent’s personal situation, including things they may have experienced as part of their birth or since their baby has been born that increase their risk of developing a PMAD. It also has a checklist of symptoms - ways that PMADs often present during those first few months and weeks - so the parent can more easily communicate the ways they are struggling so their provider can better understand what kind of help they may need.

Managing Client Expectations: A Guide for Sleep Consultants

This guide covers my top five tips for managing your clients’ expectations effectively, allowing you to make the most of your time and energy as an entrepreneur and set your clients up for success!

Book List

This is my full list of all the books I recommend to support parents during the postpartum period, including everything from books about baby care, workbooks, relationship-strengthening books, books for dads and queer parents, and books that are personal accounts of postpartum depression and postpartum rage.

“Real Talk” Interview with Tanya Sakowicz from Newborn Care Solutions

In this video I discuss how non-clinical postpartum professionals can best support a parent’s mental health, including how to encourage parents to open up about their thoughts and feelings, the most helpful things to say in response to the different things they may share, and a simple, stress-free way to encourage a parent to seek professional evaluation or treatment.

“Supporting a Postpartum Parent’s Mental Health”

In this episode I discuss the best practices for sleep consultants to support clients in ways that ultimately lead to higher success rates and less burnout, including learning to view your work as a collaborative project with your clients, how to set reasonable goals and expectations, and the importance of using a strengths-based and solution-focused lens when looking at your business.