A startup called Fourth Trimester Postnatal Retreat will cater to new families during the 12-week recovery period after childbirth.
WASHINGTON — A startup called Fourth Trimester Postnatal Retreat will cater to new families during the 12-week recovery period after childbirth.
Why Fourth Trimester?
Pregnancy wasn’t kind to Megan Francis.
The board certified nurse practitioner was having a pretty rough time coping with issues tied to her pregnancy, including ribs knocked out of place from a nagging cough she developed while carrying Palmer. Megan’s bundle of joy was born at Inova Alexandria Hospital in April to Megan and her husband Benny.
Francis had heard about places that provided support to new moms, like the Boram Postnatal Resort in New York, but couldn’t find anything like that in Greater Washington. So she and her husband, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran, took matters into their own hands. The pair co-founded the Fourth Trimester Postnatal Retreat. Fourth Trimester is currently readying to welcome its first new moms in October.
The Inspiration Behind Fourth Trimester
The startup is named after the commonly used term for the 12-week period that begins after childbirth. Fourth Trimester has leased a suite at the Watergate Hotel, at 2650 Virginia Ave. NW. It has also arranged for a block of rooms for new moms to stay at while they’re making the transition from the maternity ward to their own homes. While there, new moms will have access to a host of support services. This includes pediatric speech language and feeding, mental health and nutrition, along with the camaraderie of other moms embarking on the same journey.
“It is a lot, and so that’s why I’m so passionate about this,” Francis told me. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through. I really want to create a community, where people feel like they have help and support.”
About Postnatal Retreats
Postnatal retreats are more common in other parts of the world. However, they’re gaining popularity in the U.S., where one in four women return to the workplace within two weeks after giving birth. Many new moms don’t know where to turn for answers. Additionally, they might not have enough of a support network, and that’s a void Francis wanted to fill with Fourth Trimester.
Why the Watergate?
Being located at the Watergate means they’ll also tap into the hotel’s base of amenities, including spa treatments and meals prepared by the hotel’s chefs. Francis has also come up with an at-home for moms that don’t have the resources to check into the hotel for those services.
The idea of babies crying all night or mothers breastfeeding in the lobby might have been a nonstarter for some. However, the New York-based owners of the Watergate were already familiar and supportive of the concept of postnatal resorts and were receptive to the pitch from Francis, per Reema Halabi, sales manager at the Watergate. Fourth Trimester has blocked out a set of standard rooms, but mothers will have the option for complementary upgrades and other perks depending on the time of year and how fully booked the hotel is.
What Fourth Trimester Postnatal Retreat Offers:
For a pre-negotiated room rate, families have round-the-clock access to experts in breastfeeding, lactation, mental support, nutrition and meal planning. Francis began planning the concept while still pregnant due to the complications she was facing with her own pregnancy. She honed in on the Watergate, where her mom worked, for a number of reasons, including the level of service and base of amenities. Adjusting to life as a new mom might be more than enough for some, but not for Francis, who relished the challenge while on maternity leave.
“I was determined to make this happen,” she said. “I do typically have a lot on my plate, but maternity leave for me was the perfect time to really get working. It was just really nice that I could do both.”
Room rates range between $765 and $1,175 per night, based on room size (standard vs. suite) and length of stay.
