A postpartum support plan is a short agreement about what your household needs and who can help. You can start during pregnancy or make one today, even if your baby is already several months old. The plan should be easy to change as recovery, feeding, work, and family needs change.

Start with the next seven days. Choose a few essentials, give each one a named person and a time, and identify a backup. If support is limited, a smaller plan with reliable help is still useful.

1. Name your people and their limits

• Write down who can help in person, who can help remotely, and how to reach them.
• Ask what each person can realistically commit to. A confirmed grocery order may be more useful than an open-ended offer.
• Choose one person to coordinate offers if you want help doing that.
• Agree on what information can be shared. Helpers do not need access to private health details to bring a meal or give a ride.

2. Cover the everyday essentials

• Food: who handles meals, groceries, and cleanup, including any dietary needs?
• Rest and baby care: who is available at each time, and how will the plan fit the baby's feeding needs and safe-sleep guidance?
• Home: who handles laundry, dishes, pets, and essential errands?
• Other children: who can manage school, transport, meals, or a predictable block of time together?
• Visitors: when are visits welcome, how long should they last, and who will communicate the boundaries?

3. Make appointments easier to attend

Keep the contact details and follow-up instructions your own care team gives you. Ask about postpartum care before leaving the hospital or birth setting, and confirm what to do if a concern comes up before the next visit.

For each appointment, decide who will arrange transport, handle childcare, and help record questions if wanted. Tell the team about barriers such as cost, travel, or a lack of help so you can discuss available options.

• Search for care and practical support

4. Keep a short backup plan

Write down who to contact if a helper cancels, if an adult is too tired to care safely for the baby, or if someone needs an urgent appointment. Keep the care team's daytime and after-hours numbers somewhere easy to find.

For immediate danger, call 911; for a mental health crisis, call or text 988. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, 1-833-852-6262, offers free, confidential support 24/7. Urgent maternal warning signs require immediate medical care, rather than waiting for a scheduled visit.

5. Turn an offer into a specific commitment

Use this simple format: 'Task: __. Person: __. Day and time: __. Backup: __. Anything they need to know: __.' For example: 'Groceries: Alex orders Wednesday morning. Sam is the backup. Check the shared list first and leave bags by the kitchen.'

At the end of the week, ask what actually helped. Remove tasks that do not matter, change what was unrealistic, and make the next week's requests. Needing to revise the plan is expected.

• Start your Family Support Plan
• Invite practical help through Village
• Use Navigator to choose a next step

If you have very little support

Begin with the one gap making daily life hardest. Ask your care team or a community resource service about options for that need. A friend who lives far away might coordinate deliveries or research services with your permission. Paid help is an option for some households, but it is not a requirement for making a plan.

• Read support ideas for solo parents
• Find postpartum resources in Pennsylvania