We are on a mission to make high-quality postpartum and infant care available for all.

The Postpartum Problem

After one of the most medically and emotionally intense moments in life, support systems for infants and recovering parents quickly fall away. Typical postpartum care consists of a single six-week checkup for the mom, leaving families to manage recovery, feeding, sleep, infant care, mental health, and everyday life largely on their own.

  • For 1 in 3 mothers in the US, postpartum recovery follows major surgery.

    1 in 3 US births are C-sections

    C-section recovery includes significant driving and lifting restrictions, including essentials like car seats

    CDC | MedlinePlus/NIH

  • Maternal health risks continue after birth. Outcomes are not equal.

    Pregnancy-related health risks can extend through the full year after birth

    80% of pregnancy-related deaths are considered preventable

    In 2024, Black women had 3 times the maternal mortality rate of White women

    CDC

  • Postpartum depression is common and can emerge months after birth.

    1 in 8 women having recently given birth report symptoms of postpartum depression

    57% of mothers experiencing depressive symptoms at 9-10 months had not reported them at 2-6 months

    CDC

  • Lack of support affects infant safety & health.

    59% more emergency medical care through age 2 among families not offered postpartum home visiting support

    64% more child protective services investigations through age 5 among families not offered postpartum home visiting support

    Based on randomized postpartum home visiting trials

  • The societal cost is enormous.

    Untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders cost society an estimated $14 billion, from conception through five years postpartum, for one US birth cohort (all babies born in a single year).

    Failing to treat these disorders costs society an estimated $31,800 for a single affected mother-child pair.

    AM J Public Health, 2020

The Infant Care Problem

The stakes are high for an infant in their first year. Over one million neural connections form every second. Secure attachment via early responsive relationships shapes brain architecture and is associated with stronger social outcomes. The first year requires intentional development, not just supervision. Families need intensive, reliable infant care, but high-quality options are hard to access.

  • Work and infant development run on different timelines.

    57% of US mothers who return to work after their first child are back before 3 months

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 SIPP; Hernandez (2026).

  • 1:1 in-home infant care is exceptionally expensive and lacks accountability.

    $46,000/year - Approximate wages for full-time Twin Cities nanny

    Sources: Indeed (2026); Nanny Lane (2026).

  • Group care is expensive and brings tradeoffs like increased illness exposure and higher infant-caregiver ratios.

    $23,452/year - Average center-based infant care in the Twin Cities

    Source: Child Care Aware of Minnesota (2025).

The Workforce Problem

Caring for infants is skilled, consequential work. But the infant care industry is characterized by low pay, minimal career advancement, high turnover, and uneven access to training.

  • Caregivers are underpaid.

    $31,000/year - Average annual wage across Minnesota’s child day care services industry

    16% of Minnesota early educators live below 200% of the federal poverty level

    Minnesota DEED, Minnesota Child Care Overview; Wilder Research, Minnesota’s Early Childhood Educators (2023).

  • Caregiver turnover is frequent.

    24% - Annual turnover of infant teachers in Minnesota

    2.7 years - Median experience in the field among infant/toddler educators nationally, compared with 4.2 years for preschool educators

    Wilder Research (2023); National Workforce Registry Alliance (2020).

  • Few infant caregivers receive coaching, education, or career development.

    31% of infant/toddler teachers receive coaching or mentoring

    24% took a relevant college or university course in the prior year

    1 in 3 received paid time to pursue professional development

    Urban Institute, Infant-Toddler Teachers from 2012 to 2019 (2023); Wilder Research, Minnesota’s Early Childhood Educators (2023).

The Infant Season Solution

The Infant Season employs a workforce of professional postpartum and infant caregivers to provide evidence-based and responsive services in the home at a price each family can afford.

  • Our workforce is part of our mission.

    We work with partners to create caregiving career pathways for people facing barriers to employment — particularly young parents and those re-entering the workforce after years of unpaid family caregiving.

  • Care at home.

    A team of caregivers provides in-home support through the baby’s first year, combining postpartum help for parents with hands-on infant care when families need rest, time to recover, or coverage for work. Services include birth recovery support, feeding and sleep assistance, mental health support, resource navigation, on-call relief, and newborn care and education.

  • Professional caregivers.

    Highly skilled postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists provide direct care and facilitate connections to clinicians. Apprentice caregivers accompany the experts and receive mentorship, technical instruction, and a competitive salary while working towards Postpartum Doula (CPD) and Newborn Care Specialist (NCS) certifications.

  • Affordable.

    Postpartum and infant care supports, critical for families navigating one of the most significant and vulnerable times of their lives, are made affordable through grants, donations, and government subsidies.

Affordability

Providing high-quality services is costly, especially since we are committed to providing our caregivers competitive compensation. However, we’re assembling an innovative stack of public and private funding sources so that families bear as little of the cost burden as possible.

Stacked Funding Sources

Family Co-Pays (if applicable)
Community Partnerships
Charitable Giving
Workforce Development Funding
Government Reimbursement & Subsidy
The Infant Season Subsidy
Full Cost of Care

We don’t factor a profit margin into the amounts we charge. Prices are based on the actual cost of services. This lets us keep prices as low as possible and serve more families.

Nonprofit Values

Care + Operations Actual Cost