Penny Simkin, “mother of the Doula movement”, dies at 85

As a childbirth educator and mothers' advocate, she has promoted a profession that provides comfort to women giving birth and also provides postpartum care.

Penny Simkin, a childbirth educator and author often described as the “mother of the doula movement,” died April 11 at her home in Seattle. She was 85.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, said her daughter, Linny Simkin.

Mrs. Simkin, a physical therapist turned childbirth educator, has been a pioneer in helping women have a better experience during and after childbirth. Doula is the Greek word for “servant,” and it was adopted by alternative birth professionals in the 1970s or 1980s to refer to someone who supports mothers during labor. In books, workshops and training organizations, Ms. Simkin helped popularize the role and worked as a doula herself.

Doulas are not healthcare professionals; their role is to provide comfort to women in the delivery room as well as postpartum care at home. This care may include snacks, massages or warm compresses, but also more substantial help, such as suggested movements to relieve labor pains or facilitate breastfeeding.

Mrs. Simkin's innovations included a device called a squat bar, which is attached to a hospital bed so the mother can hang on it and squat, a position that opens the pelvis and allows gravity to facilitate the delivery of the baby.

Her work grew out of the natural childbirth movement of the 1970s, when alternatives to standard hospital birth were being explored. But she was agnostic about home or hospital births and pain relief measures. She always focused on the mother.

Mrs. Simkin surveyed thousands of women about their childbirth experiences, to better train doulas to prepare women for childbirth. “How will she remember this?” » she urged her students.

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