Stephanie Penner Doula

My very last solo baby came in November! Feeling very grateful to all of the families I have worked with here!

You deserve more than just safe. Safe is the floor, what we should ALWAYS be aiming for is the ceiling in birth. Respectful, empowering, supportive, loving care.

Uterine massage involves placing a hand on the birthing person’s lower abdomen and stimulating the uterus to contract by rubbing and squeezing. (Massage is real...ly a misnomer, since the forceful rubbing can be quite painful!) Two large randomized trials have compared blood loss between people assigned to synthetic oxytocin alone or in combination with uterine massage. The uterine massage in addition to synthetic oxytocin did not reduce blood loss compared to synthetic oxytocin alone. In one of the trials, 378 (32.3%) of people reported pain when receiving uterine massage and 16 (1.4%) people asked to stop the massage because of pain. So, not only was the procedure unnecessaryit was often painful! None of the randomized trials compared expectant management with and without uterine massage, so all of this research is on active management. In other words, we do not have evidence to guide the use of uterine massage with people who do not receive Pitocin in the third stage of labor. Uterine massage is distinct from the postpartum assessment of fundal tone, which is recommended to identify uterine atony. Uterine atony is loss of muscle tone in the uterine muscle, which means the uterus is not able to contract as well to stop bleeding after birth. It is the most common cause of postpartum hemorrhage. To assess fundal tone, the care provider places their hand lightly on top of the uterus to feel whether or not it’s contracting regularly. For more info visit evidencebasedbirth.com/thirdstage References 1) Hofmeyr, G. J., Abdel-Aleem, H. and Abdel-Aleem, M. A. (2013). Uterine massage for preventing postpartum haemorrhage. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD006431. 2) Chen, M., Chang, Q., Duan, T., et al. (2013). Uterine massage to reduce blood loss after vaginal delivery: a randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 122(2 Pt 1), 290295. #evidencebasedbirth #ebbirth #evidence #uterinemassage #Pitocin #thirdstage #labor #birth

This little cutie made her appearance on Labour Day. The irony was not lost on us Welcome to the world baby Skye! . . #labourday #birthdoula #strongasamother

This is a great article highlighting the difference between science and technology, and how the use of technology in pregnancy can actually lead to more harm th...an good. . . ...most decision-making when it comes to medical issues involving a pregnant woman or baby are not well informed and not based on rational thinking. We’re all very interested in having healthy babies and it is pretty easy to make the kind of cognitive errors that people make, and attribute to technology benefits that don’t exist. . . https://www.theatlantic.com//the-most-scientific-b/254420/ . . . #evidencebasedbirth #homebirth #ilovebcmidwives #birthdoula #choicesinchildbirth #fraservalley #wildflowerbirthcollective See more

Happy 7th birthday to the kid who made me a mama . . . And thank you @lifestylesbyeveline for the beautiful photos.

Taking a moment today, to acknowledge the men who have been supporting these two wildflowers from the get-go. . . Meet my wonderful husband and partner in this... wild thing called parenting, Andrew. His journey into fatherhood hasn’t been simple or easy. He is the proud step-dad to my son Mason (that funny kid with the pose who I’m laughing at), but of course step-parenting comes with its own unique challenges. And our journey into making babies of our own has been tough, to say the least. Andrew was the most amazingly supportive partner through the loss and birth of our daughter Layla, and continues to be such a positive presence through the ups and downs of our fertility journey. I couldn’t have asked for a better human to do life with, so thank you @ajpenner. . . And to all of the dads and partners out there, however you come into fatherhood, we see you. You may not be the ones growing a human inside of you, eating pickles dipped in ice cream, or peeing just a little bit when you sneeze, but your role is so important. . . #dads #dadsofinstagram #stepdad #birthsupport #fertilityfriday #fraservalley #lowermainland #wildflowerdads #wildflowerbirthcollective See more

Hey, Steph here . . I live on a farm in the Fraser Valley with my husband, son and our two crazy dogs. I have always been drawn to everything pregnancy birth... and babies: I was a doula before I even knew what a doula was 11 years ago when I was invited to be a part of my nephew’s birth. Since then, I have given birth to two babies of my own (one that I raise, and one that I remember), finished my B.A. in Psychology from UBC, trained as a birth and postpartum doula and had the amazing opportunity to mentor with one of the most highly respected doulas in the Lower Mainland @doulaonthemove (I love you by the way, I wouldn’t be here in this moment without your support and encouragement!) . . I believe the way that we treat pregnant people and their families in their parenthood journey not only impacts them as individuals, but has implications for the well-being of our society. I am passionate about empowering families and educating them about all of their options in pregnancy, birth and postpartum so they can make decisions that feel right for THEM. I have a deep trust in womxns’ bodies and their ability to birth intuitively. . . I love birth work as I get to be a forever student and learner and it is such an honour to join families in their pregnancy and birth journeys! . . #birthdoula #homebirth #hospitalbirth #knowyouroptions #variationsofnormal #birthworkisfeministwork #fraservalley #lowermainland #wildflowerbirthcollective See more