Post Archive by Month

Below you'll find a list of all posts from August, 2015

Newborn James - Corvallis Oregon Midwife

Meet James

AE Johnsdottir August 4, 2015 Uncategorized 3 Comments

If you are visiting this blog, you likely have already met James, better known as the face of Willamette Birth. She also is the niece of Corvallis, Oregon Midwife Ash Johnsdottir. Here is a photo of James, more recently, enjoying the summer sunshine. James with her other Aunt.

We chose to have a home birth for our third baby, and could not have made a better decision going with Willamette Birth! I never thought a birth experience would leave me feeling so empowered and whole. My previous two births took place in a hospital, and when we found out we were having a third, it felt like the perfect opportunity to get the healing birth experience I deeply wanted. We transferred to Ash’s care just before the third trimester, so we did not get to walk through the early prenatal appointments together. Nonetheless, Ash treated my partner and I with so much respect, and took extra time with us to answer questions and explain things. Ash offered new perspectives, shared research and evidence based information, and helped me process and make sense of my previous prenatal and childbirth experiences. She is a great listener, and makes no assumptions about what I wanted or what I knew/didn’t know about pregnancy and childbirth. Ash brings a depth of knowledge with so much passion. Her confidence and experience increased my own confidence in my body’s ability to do something incredible. Every time we walked away from our prenatal appointments, my partner and I had a new energy and confidence in our decision. Our excitement and anticipation grew and grew after every appointment.

My partner was an incredible birth partner for our previous children, and Ash complimented our dynamic perfectly. She read the room, and supported at all the right moments to help me progress. Ash allowed my partner and I to share this incredibly intimate process, but knew when to step in, creating a really great balance. I think it's really special that she is able to carry so much knowledge in an area, and still trusted me as the expert with my body.

One thing that really stood out to me was how Ash would ask permission to do anything related to my body. I think I had grown so accustomed to relying on medical professionals to do whatever they deemed necessary, but learning how to trust my body, listen to myself, and be in charge of what I needed was one of the most empowering experiences I’ve ever had. She allowed that growth for me, and there are not enough stars in a review that can thank her enough for giving me that gift. Ash is a talented and knowledgeable midwife, but she also has a depth of skills that can’t be learned from books. She is gentle, caring, genuine and safe, and choosing her for our home birth helped us achieve so much more than the birth of our sweet baby – it gave us this beautiful life experience that we can be proud of and cherish forever.

Billie Cannon
12/16/2021
And the year was 2020....
I was hoping to have a homebirth with my daughter that ultimately ended up a hospital birth and a very traumatic one at that. When I found out I was pregnant in late 2019 I was 100% going to respect my partner and his wishes for a hospital birth, I guess to make us both feel better just in case something went wrong this time around and then a pandemic hit and everything I wanted for my secure hospital birth went out the window and I started seeking out midwifes to have a homebirth.
When I realized I would have to wear a mask in labor and delivery and my daughter wouldn't be able to meet her sibling immediately after birth I was pretty upset by both these factors and to add in only one support person or no support person could be present, I threw the idea of a hospital birth out the window and knew a homebirth was the way to go for me, personally.
In a way I wanted to redeem myself and say "I did it, I birthed my baby at home, my way!" And I 100% did and it's all thanks to Ash!
When I first met Ash I really felt I vibed with her and she was definitely going to be the midwife to help me deliver my sweet babe. I contacted her at about 35 weeks and was uncertain if I'd be able to have a homebirth due to insurance but I was very low risk and passed with flying colors. At about 37 weeks my partner and I weren't in a great place and I didn't think I would be able to continue care with Ash but when I talked to her she put my mind at ease, told me everything was going to be okay, that this was my path and it'll all work itself out, and it absolutely did.
Ash is so special and a kind soul and she got me through a very rough time in my life and this pregnancy and I absolutely recommend her.
Ash has an assistant midwife, Anita. When my doula didn't show both Ash and Anita kept me calm and helped me birth my little guy. At one point during contractions I didn't think I could really do it and was ready to throw in the towel and go to the hospital, I was already invested at this point. Ash reassured me everything was fine, it was going to work out and everything in this moment is perfect and she was absolutely correct. Everything worked out the way it was supposed.
I'm so thankful and grateful for both Ash and Anita. My baby had a shoulder distocia, they knew exactly what to do when to do it. I feel if I was in the hospital things might have not worked out the exact way it was supposed to and ultimately I'm not sure what would have happened.
I completely redeemed myself with this birth and am overjoyed with the way things fell into place, in a way this birth helped me heal from the traumatic one I had with my daughter and 100% of that goes to Ash, she got me through it and knew I could do it when I doubted myself. Ash absolutely knows what she's talking about and can help you birth your baby, your way!
Thank you Ash for all you do, you're a saint and an absolute asset to the community.

Brytney Gillingham
7/15/2020
Had a great experience with Ash, this was my second baby and decided to do something different as it was not a good experience with my first in a hospital. I am happy to say home birth and everything was awesome. Ash is very informative and takes time to explain, she helped and guided me on things that helped during pregnancy and labor, was always reassuring and making sure I knew what my body was capable of. Would not change anything.

aide novella
5/15/2022
Ash was an absolutely wonderful doula. She supported me before, during and after my baby's birth by meeting with me to work out my birth plan, attending an appointment with me, answering any questions that I had from her strong knowledge base, and helping me to stay grounded and focused during labor for my successful unmedicated VBAC. She shared excellent resources with me including a binder of birthing and postpartum info and websites with current research to help me make decisions. She always responded right away to any communications and got to the hospital very fast when my labor was moving at lightning speed. She stopped by for her postpartum visit and jumped in to doing chores around the house. She was both friendly and professional. I would highly recommend her doula services and imagine that she is an excellent midwife as well.

Emmy Woessner
1/21/2016
Both of my children were welcomed to the world by Ash, and I would choose her again in a heartbeat.

She gave me tough love when I needed to do my part in setting up for the easiest birth experience possible, she stayed cool headed yet compassionate when issues came up, and was consistently respectful of my physical being and my choices for my child. (The latter of which is especially important to me and rather hard to find in a health care provider.)

Ash is incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, and was an invaluable guide through both of my pregnancies and into motherhood. I couldn't be more grateful to have found her.

nashira bohlman
5/15/2022

Willamette Birth Ash Johnsdottir, MIDWIFE Serving the greater Willamette Valley.

Call 541.908.9188 to talk about midwifery care or submit this form to ask a question or request a consultation with midwife Ash Johnsdottir, BSM CPM LDM.