Penny Bussell Stansfield, BA(Hons), AdvCD(DONA), BDT(DONA), LCCE, CLC, LMT, MAP is a doula trainer, a childbirth educator, a lactation counselor and a Microbirth 
approved provider. She has an understanding about the importance of the microbiome during pregnancy, birth and beyond and she is committed to sharing this information with maternity healthcare providers and pregnant people. She wants the world to understand how mode of birth, skin to skin and breastfeeding will optimally seed and feed a baby’s microbiome leading to a healthy gut and a resilient immune system. She became a Microbirth Approved Provider through Microbiome Baby, a new global childbirth education initiative teaching parents and birth workers about the infant microbiome. Interestingly, most of our gut microbiota and immune system are established in-utero, during birth, and in the first year of life. Thus establishing an appropriate array of gut bacteria early on is crucial not only for individual health but for the health of populations. Penny and her Tucson colleague Camille Gonzales teach classes both on line and in person for parents and birth workers all about optimizing the infant microbiome.
