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Below you'll find a list of all posts from January, 2016

Birth Affirmations for the Skeptical Mother

AE Johnsdottir January 15, 2016 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

I love these birth affirmations, made by artist and doula Tina Ziegenfusz. Thanks to Tina for giving me permission to share them with Willamette Birth mothers! Print and decorate your birthing space at home with these beautiful affirmations.

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
Ash is a very medically minded midwife who will provide the optimal medical experience in the comfort of your home.

Ash helped me question all my birthplan intentions and helped me dig down deep to make sure I was confident in all my choices. Frustrating and rewarding at the same time.

Ash respected my birth plan intentions even when they went against common practice and provided an atmosphere of acceptance and respect which is something I’m very grateful for.

Aah is a great midwife for someone who wants an out of hospital birth experience but wants the optimal medically minded midwife with a holistic caring provider.

Elizabeth Roemhildt
10/23/2018
Ash is such a great midwife! She made me feel secure and knowledgeable about our home birth. She also adapted very well to my family's needs and performed her services up and above the standard midwife. 10/10! See you next time!

James Lewis
7/12/2016
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
Ash was my midwife for my second child. She was great, always highly responsive whenever we needed to get a hold of her and she was great with my 4 year old. I gave her a 4 out of 5 stars only because she is medically minded and we had different beliefs in medicine but overall, my home birth was a success thanks to her!

Carolina Barajas
6/25/2019

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.