While an excitement is present for a baby’s arrival, many expecting and new parents in today’s society are juggling with fear, uncertainty, over loaded schedules, challenges and stressors that can easily negatively affect the pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience. This includes overwhelming thoughts of all the tasks that have to get done, organized, scheduled, and bought; and a variety of mixed emotions — some easy to cope with, and some not.

 

A lot of questions and uncertainties may weigh on one’s mind such as: “Will I feel pain?”,” How long will my labor last?”, “Will my baby be, OK?”, “What if my baby is not breathing?”, “What if the cord is wrapped around their neck?”, “What if I have complications?”, “What if my baby needs to separate from me?”, “Will I be able to handle motherhood?”

 

According to a Stanford study, women's risk for depression during pregnancy doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Liz Szabo of Kaiser Health News, studies consistently show that infants born to mothers who experience significant stress during pregnancy have higher rates of short- and long-term health damage — including heart defects and obesity — than babies born to women with less stress. Therefore, having the most positive and effective support in place for expecting and new parents is crucial.

 

Enter in Mar De Carlo, founder of the International Parenting & Health Institute and International Academy of Baby Planner Professionals who has revolutionized the professional world of pregnancy and postpartum by introducing the first Baby Planner Certification program and book, “The Baby Planner Profession: What You Need to Know”, in 2009 that trains professionals to support families during pre-conception, pregnancy and postpartum.

 

Baby planners are pregnancy and postpartum coaches who perform a thorough evaluation with their clients in order to tailor their services to suit their clients’ specific needs, lifestyle and preferences. By evaluating the specific needs of clients and providing them with the appropriate information, education and resources, baby planners enable their clients to make the best decisions for their growing families. As a result, baby planners help clients to determine the types of resources, services and products that will be essential for them to utilize on their journey towards parenthood and beyond, saving them time and money. They help families face their fears and challenges with a practical, positive and realistic plan of action, advise them of all their options, beyond the common childbirth education class, so that they may make informed decisions. They also help clients prepare for postpartum by offering parenting education consultations relating to all aspects of pregnancy, parent care and newborn care. They cover what best fits with their client’s values, beliefs or needs and discuss what additional services may be needed such as the support of a doula, newborn care specialist, lactation consultant etc. The final decision is always the clients’.

 

Mar De Carlo’s Baby Planner book, thanks to Ana Maria Anselmo who is the International Parenting & Health Institute’s first Baby Planner graduate, Baby Planner Portuguese instructor & Brazilian Baby Planner Pioneer, is now available in Portuguese. “Baby Planner Uma Nova Carreira” is a book tailored for baby planner professionals or those interested in a baby planning career with all the tools and resources necessary to get started in the new industry of baby planning. The book defines the role of a baby planner, the history of baby planning, establishes a scope of practice, and covers a wide variety of topics: birthing basics, green basics, childproofing, child care, sales and pricing, breastfeeding basics, sleeping basics, product basics, business basics, liability, and much more. It also provides professionals with all the business tools and resources necessary to get started in the new industry of baby planning.