Sister Support Doula Care

Penny Simkin‘s life was a gift to doulas and birthing families everywhere. So much gratitude for all you taught us! May you rest in peace ❤️

In Memoriam: Penny Simkin, PT

With profound sadness and a heavy heart, DONA International announces the passing of our esteemed co-founder, Penny Simkin, PT, after a brief battle with cancer. Her departure on April 11, 2024 marks a tremendous loss not only to our organization but to the global doula community, childbirth educators, perinatal researchers, families she supported, and the countless lives she touched through her pioneering work in childbirth and maternity care.

Penny's unwavering dedication to supporting families during one of the most significant moments of their lives has left an indelible mark on the field of labor support and childbirth education. Since 1968, Penny, a skilled physical therapist, embarked on a mission to transform the childbirth experience, making it more empowering, informed, and supported. Her tireless commitment to this cause led her to prepare over 15,000 individuals, couples, and siblings for childbirth, directly assist hundreds of families through labor as a doula, and author several influential books that have become staples in the field that have been translated into several languages.

Penny was a visionary and a luminary in every sense. Her work has paved the way for a new generation of doulas and childbirth educators, instilling in them the values of compassion, evidence-based practice, and relentless advocacy for birthing people and their families. Through her profound contributions and co-founding of DONA International, Penny has revolutionized doula care and childbirth education across the globe, leaving a legacy that will undoubtedly endure for generations to come.
Her book, The Birth Partner, remains a beloved resource for anyone involved in the childbirth process, illustrating her commitment to not only the physical but also the emotional well-being of doulas and families during childbirth.

Though she recently stepped back from her professional endeavors to focus on her family, Penny's legacy continues to thrive through the work of the many doulas she trained, the families she supported, and the impactful works she left behind. Her life was a testament to her passion for making childbirth a positive and supported experience for all.

Penny's life was rich not only in professional achievements but also in love and joy. She and her husband, Peter, were blessed with four grown children, eight grandchildren, four many grandchildren-in-law, four great-grandchildren, and a beloved dog, Casey. Her family was her pride and joy, and she cherished the time spent with her loved ones.

As we mourn the loss of Penny Simkin, we also celebrate her extraordinary life and the countless ways she has enriched ours. Her legacy will continue to inspire and guide us as we carry forward her mission to improve childbirth and support families around the world. Penny's spirit lives on in the work of DONA International, in the lives of the families she has touched, and in the hearts of the many who loved her.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to DONA International in Penny Simkin's memory, to continue her life's work of supporting and educating doulas and families. For more information on how to make a contribution, please visit https://www.dona.org/impactprogram/

We invite all who knew Penny, were touched by her work, or wish to share their thoughts and memories to do so by sending them to [email protected]. Your stories and memories will be a great comfort and a cherished collection for her family during this difficult time.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Penny's family, friends, and the many individuals whose lives she has touched. May her soul rest in peace, and may her legacy of love, support, and education continue to flourish in the years to come.

Be sure to add your anonymous review of your local birth service on the Best Birth Finder website, a project of Maternity Choices Australia. Maternity Choices Australia. (MCA) has been Australia's leading maternity services advocacy organisation for the past 30+ years.

Best Birth Finder | maternity service reviews Use Best Birth Finder share your birth experience, find reviews of your local maternity services, improve birth, Australian maternity care

To provide the best care to postpartum parents, we need to consider and accommodate the additional support needs they may have due to ADHD.

Postpartum Care for Mothers with ADHD: A Guide for Clinicians To better serve postpartum mothers with ADHD, clinicians should understand the unique facets of ADHD in women, how symptoms change in the weeks after childbirth, and how to help new parents make decisions around medication use and ADHD symptom management.

Absolutely appalling!
“…the Victorian government acknowledged that over half of all child protection notifications made against Aboriginal families were unsubstantiated, and that racism was a contributing factor.”

Pregnant Aboriginal women are living in fear due to Victoria’s unborn child protection notifications | Sue-Anne Hunter In evidence to Yoorrook, the Victorian government acknowledged more than half of all child protection notifications made against Aboriginal families were unsubstantiated

It's amazing how few medical professionals seem to be unaware of this important fact. There's too much fear-mongering about (supposed) weight loss and resulting interference with breastfeeding establishment.

Several studies have found that the larger the volume of IV fluids a mother receives during labour, the more weight her baby loses in the first 24 hours. This is because the IV fluids pass to the baby’s body and increase the baby’s birth weight. In the first 24 hours after birth babies, whose mothers received IV fluids during labour, produce more wet diapers than babies, whose mothers do not receive IV fluids. The extra wet diapers result in an extra weight loss.

"The core of feminine power is intimate connection to life. In that connection, Ember knew intuitively that no vacuum suction was needed. She knew the birthing woman could do it without intervention, just as she would also have known if intervention were needed.

Those disconnected from life can always find a reason to use the suction, the scalpel, the bomb, the excavator, the sword. What could make the elves with their swords different from the orcs with theirs? Only a difference in their knowledge of when to use them. When this knowledge is sourced from intimate connection to life, then matriarchy is operating."

Feminine Power Matriarchy is not women exercising the kind of power that men have in patriarchy. Matriarchy enacts another kind of power entirely, one that the modern mind cannot easily recognize.

Don't miss out on this fabulous offering by Nisha Gill! Can't recommend her work highly enough.

I recently had the pleasure of presenting on the topic of Co-regulation at the Australian Doula Conference 2023. I view Co-regulation as a “superpower” that is not fully understood or harnessed among birth professionals.

Perinatal professionals have unique opportunities to help reduce the potential for anxiety and trauma in families during the journey from pre-conception to the postpartum.

There is growing recognition in the therapeutic world that trauma is an ‘inside-out experience’ - less about the details of an event, and more about how our survival physiology responds in attempts to protect us from perceived harm. From a Polyvagal or neuro-physiological perspective it is also clear that we derive our sense of safety in large part via signals from our internal and external environments including the autonomic nervous system states of other humans in our space.

And so birth workers simply through their own regulated presence can influence the nervous system states of the entire birthing family and birth team. This is known as Co-regulation. It is a biological imperative which occurs on a primal level, often below the level of conscious awareness. It allows them the benefit of BE-ing with their clients rather than having to always actively DO for them.

However, the capacity for effective co-regulation is not a given.

What does it take for you as a doula to cultivate and harness this superpower?

How can you ensure that your presence becomes an anchor for calm and regulation rather than fear and dys-regulation?

Are you aware of your own nervous system state shifts, triggers, cumulative stress and unresolved traumas?

How do you currently address challenging work-related experiences so that you can show up for the next birth, and the one after?

And do you clearly see yourself as part of the solution to birth trauma prevention?

These are some of the questions I will explore in greater depth in the two-day workshop BIRTTH TRAUMA PREVENTION STARTS WITH YOU – 6 & 7 May 2023 in Melbourne.

Link to details and booking page here:

https://feminineinstincts.com.au/birth-trauma-prevention-event/

Come join us for a deep dive to take your practice to a whole other level.

Nurtured parenting comes from our new parent brains. As new parents we develop incredible abilities to hear, empathize and respond to our babies. These abilities become our intuition. When we spend lots of time holding, smelling and interacting with babies our parent brains change more and we strengthen our intuition.

Our intuition rooted in neurobiology drives us to play with our babies, respond to cries and distress and empathize.

A long time ago a bunch of male doctors created patriarchal parenting (based on their beliefs and nothing else) and decided that these beneficial parenting behaviors were weak, spoiling and wrong.

They said:
If you kiss too much you’re spoiling.
If you empathize you’re weak.
If you respond you’re being manipulated.
If you help babies sleep you should be ashamed.

They were saying that neurobiological mothering and fathering were wrong. They made parents feel like their normal behavior and intuition were shameful. And that babies normal behavior was shameful.

They put these insidious ideas into our culture and they are still here. They are disconnecting parents from themselves and their babies. They are shaping infant brains and bodies towards challenging lifelong health, relationships and joy.

I’ve heard countless stories about a baby crying alone. One parent is conflicted about going in to help - their body says run to your baby and these horrible ideas say you’re weak if you do it. Or one parent wants to go in and the other physically stops them firm in their outdated belief that they will spoil the baby.

I caught myself thinking several times while supporting my baby - worried that others were judging me as weak or doing it wrong or that there was something wrong with my baby. Even though I knew with every cell in my body that I’m following my intuition and building health for my family.

We have got to say NO MORE to this! We must reconnect to our mothering and fathering intuition for our babies futures, our own health and the health of the world.

Your nurturing is transformative, beautiful, joyful, life giving, brain shaping and healthy. 💜🧠💜

Please join me in helping fabulous midwife Lindsey Sterling support the health and well-being of mothers, women, children and babies through various projects in India!

Help Lindsey Support Holisitic Midwifery in India, organized by Lindsey J Stirling Hi friends and family, Did you know that I am heading to India … Lindsey J Stirling needs your support for Help Lindsey Support Holisitic Midwifery in India

It’s just really bad news all round folks… sorry to be a kill joy but the 2022 womens and babies report shows that the Australian Maternity care system is delivering higher rates of every intervention and managed to also increase the rate of baby’s born in poor condition from 0.9% to 1.3% (apgar

I see this way too often. And new mothers often blame themselves, thinking they’ve failed because they “can’t do it all”. Mama, your only job should be to rest and recuperate, feed and fall in love with your baby. And allow all those big emotions to flow. If our societies really valued women, babies and family, we would see it in the way they were supported in the crucial weeks/months after birth.

Thanks for this brilliant post and call to action, Jojo!

I recently went to visit a new mama with a two-week-old baby. This mama wasn't a client of mine but rather the daughter of a friend whom I offered to look in on. When I arrived with a pot of soup and some lactation slice in my bag, I found her trying to make a snack for her boisterous three-year-old whilst juggling a fussy newborn in her arms. Her husband was at work and would be till late, there was washing piled up waiting to be folded, she hadn't eaten breakfast or had a shower even though it was nearly midday.

As I took over the snack making duties and put the soup on to warm, I asked how she was getting on even though I had a fair idea just by the look in her eyes. She forced a smile as she spoke about how she was 'ok' and 'a bit tired' but I could see the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes and it broke my heart to see her try to put on a brave face, trying to cover up a situation that was far from ideal. This was a new mother who was alone, isolated, lonely, exhausted and overwhelmed and despite all of this, was still trying to pretend as though she was coping and even enjoying this time.

I also noticed that the house was full of cards and bunches of flowers ...... dead ones ......

When I mentioned all of the gifts, cards and bouquets she said 'yes, people have been so kind'.

Hmmmmmm I thought. They might have been kind, but they've also been completely thoughtless.

This new mother didn't need cards and bunches of flowers to slowly wilt and die on the mantelpiece. She needed support, she needed love, she needed another pair of hands to take the weight off her shoulders. She needed healthy food, she needed a caring touch, she needed a listening ear and she needed practical help.

I'm sorry but dead flowers don't cut it ....

The care of new mothers and parents is so woefully underappreciated and overlooked that cards and flowers rather than support and practical help have become the norm in our culture. However, as I explained to this new mama as I folded her washing and cuddled her baby so she could eat her lunch, if she had lived in India or China it would have been totally different. Historically in these cultures (and in most other indigenous cultures worldwide), there would be no snack making for the toddler or washing to fold. Instead, she would be snuggled in bed resting with her baby as others took care of her every need. She would be having a daily massage and have her belly bound for comfort. There would be delicious and nutritious meals served to her and her toddler would be amused and cared for by others giving her time to rest and recover from her birth and to fall in love and breastfeed her newborn.

The difficult truth is that the leading cause of death for new mothers after birth in most Western countries is now su***de. Let that sink in for a moment.

It is my opinion that this devastating statistic is a direct correlation to our 'bounce back' culture that doesn't honour a 'slow postpartum' but instead insists new mothers rush back into their old lives, their old jobs, their old jeans. Insta perfect. But to what cost?

How have we got it so wrong? And what can we do to reverse this damaging trajectory?

I believe that education is the key. Education about the importance of the postpartum weeks. Education about the fact that a newborn baby cannot be optimally nourished and nurtured by a mother or parent who is exhausted and depleted and whose cup is empty. Education about the value we should place on the care of new mothers and parents so that they thrive rather than just survive the weeks following birth, setting them up for a positive start to their parenting journey.

I'm determined to make this happen. I would love for you to join my Slow Postpartum revolution. Let's make the world a better place, one mother, baby and family at a time ...

With love Jojo # # #

PS: You can find out how to join my Slow Postpartum movement in the comments

In honour of the International Day of the Midwife, here is some wisdom from one of the most brilliant midwives alive today, Dr Sara Wickham. I have learned so much from Sara’s courses, books and blogs and recommend her work highly to birthworkers and birthing families alike.

Happy Midwives' Day!

I'm 1 of only 4 Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educators in Australia and I love teaching this class!
Some praise from one of my class participants..."I was so blown away by the information Laura Lee was able to give us in the 3-hour class... this was a lesson on anatomy and biomechanics as well as an incredible support service. Having had a cesarean in my first pregnancy due to a breech baby I am now extremely determined to do as much as I can in my current pregnancy to ensure that my baby is in the ideal position for birth so I can achieve my strong desire for a VBAC. Thank you, Laura Lee, what a life-changing experience! I only wish this kind of education could be spread through all hospitals and known by all midwives and obstetricians."

The Spinning Babies® Parent Class will help you and your birth partner do the activities and techniques to help birth be less painful and more empowering. Learn how to make room for baby to turn and fit more readily. Find a Parent Educator to guide you to a more confident birth. Spinning Babies® Certified Parent Educators offer in-person classes or online including access to the Parent Class Video.
https://www.spinningbabies.com/parents/find-a-parent-educator/

Thank you, Ibu Robin, for your words of wisdom about the miraculous placenta!

The placenta, the root of your origin, is a miraculous organ that shares and protects your life.  It is the conductor that unites you with your mother and serves as the control panel of the womb-ship that sustains you until you are born. It was conceived at the moment of your genesis.

Your placenta is genetically identical to you. Though you share some of your parents’ genetic identity, unless you have a monozygotic (identical) twin, no one, except your placenta, has ever been so perfectly, exactly you.

Sexual reproduction, the act of creating new life, only works because of the placenta. As mammals, we reproduce s*xually, so s*x is the reddest, hottest tile in the mosaic of our earthly lives, and the placenta is the mandala in the center of this miracle.

Historically, our creation stories tell of the Earth Mother birthing the world: her amniotic fluid became the oceans, the placenta became the Tree of Life. This demonstrates how essential the placenta is to our survival and how embedded it is in our psyche.

- placenta the forgotten chackra
By ♥️

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Women (of all sizes) can indeed birth big babies!

Yip this bub was born va**nally at home in the birth pool.
5.46 kg
12 pounds
3 hour labour
Intact Perineum
🌈
The midwife had this to say.
“Stop telling women they can’t birth big babies va**nally “
👏
Midwife

"We don’t want you to be confused about your baby when they come" - Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum Ph.D. The most popular expectations parents learn set them up to be confused when they meet their baby.

Some of the confusing expectations are:

▶️ Babies should be calm when they are put down
▶️ You don’t need to hold your baby all of the time
▶️ You don’t need to sleep close to your baby
▶️ You should not hold your baby when they sleep
▶️ Your baby needs to learn independence
▶️ Don’t respond to all of your baby’s cries
▶️ You can wait before responding to a cry
▶️ Babies should sleep long stretches and need to learn to do this
▶️ Babies don’t need to eat frequently
▶️ Babies should sleep on a schedule

All of the expectations are in strong contradiction to a baby’s neurobiology, so babies don’t do these things and parents get confused.

We want to end the confusion and support parents to parent the baby in front of them. We want to help parents work with their baby’s biology and not be constantly fighting it to fit these ill fitting expectations. Research in the last 30+ years teaches us realistic expectations for babies and shows us that meeting these expectations grows the infant brain towards lifelong health.

Some realistic expectations are:

▶️ Babies benefit from being held nearly all of the time
▶️ Babies and parents have better sleep when babies sleep in the same room as parents
▶️ Holding babies while they sleep is beneficial (as long as parent is alert)
▶️ Babies learn independence through dependence in infancy
▶️ Babies benefit when we respond to all of their cries
▶️ Babies have night wakings all the way up to 3 years and beyond
▶️ Babies bodies tell them when they are hungry
▶️ Babies bodies tell them when they are tired.

So if you are a parent or work supporting parents in their infant's development, we invite you to share these real expectations and raise awareness of the biology of babies.

Here's One Thing You Can Stop Doing To 'Help' New Moms — And What We Really Need "What I really needed was help that made a genuine difference to our now-upside-down-and-inside-out daily lives."