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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “homebirth”

Waterbirth- Nature’s Epidural?

AE Johnsdottir June 11, 2015 Corvallis Midwife Blog Leave a Comment

Have you ever gotten into a hot bath or jacuzzi after a vigorous workout? If you have, you probably remember how the water soothed your aching muscles and melted away any tension that you felt. Giving birth is a lot like a vigorous workout, and the pain (sometimes) experienced in both is the result of your healthy muscles working hard! Numerous studies …

I made the decision to switch from an OB to a midwife at 20 weeks because I was determined to receive personalized and gentle care, and that is exactly what I received from Ash! I never once felt rushed during any visit, she answered all of my questions professionally and unbiasedly. Ash was incredible throughout our home birth... Calm, patient, and supportive. I appreciated her extensive knowledge and techniques, and her unique combination of classic midwifery and modern medicine. If you are searching for an intelligent and encouraging midwife, Ash is your gal.

Kasey Eames
2/08/2017
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
I originally planned to have a regular hospital birth with my first daughter since I couldn’t find a midwife in my area that I was excited about, who would also accept my insurance.
I resigned myself to the whole hospital experience but could not shake the discouraging feeling I had before and after every OB visit. I had imagined pregnancy to be a special time in my life but left all my appointments feeling like I was being treated for just another medical condition.

Halfway through my pregnancy, I decided to scrap my hospital birth and search for a midwife and by some luck found Ash! And she accepted my insurance! Switching to Ash was the best thing I could have done for my daughter and I.

Ash was very accommodating and had no problem taking me on halfway through my pregnancy. She was exactly what I was looking for: extremely knowledgeable regarding the medical side of pregnancy and childbirth but also very in touch with her intuition. Many of the midwives I had looked at initially seemed to lean too far to the woo woo side for me personally. Ash is the perfect blend of everything, down to earth, spiritual, with heavy emphasis on medical practice, while also being very well versed in holistic care.

During my appointments with Ash, she thoroughly explained all the medical tests and procedures in a way that was easy to understand. She never jumped to worst case scenario, but instead outlined all the possible outcomes, how likely they were to occur, and what could be done to have a healthier pregnancy.
She always took my questions and concerns into consideration so I never felt silly asking her about anything, although she honestly does such a good job explaining everything that I rarely had many questions!

Ash’s home office is a breath of fresh air! Clean, comfortable and nicely decorated with soft lighting. Appointments with Ash always felt more like visiting a friend who also happens to be extremely knowledgeable in all things pre and postnatal. I really appreciated her attention to detail about what might make a pregnant woman more comfortable such as little pillows for lower back support, beverage offerings, as well as the light but not overpowering scent of citrus to calm a nauseous stomach.

During labor, I could not have asked for better support. Ash gave me plenty of space to labor alone with my partner during the early phase, as I had requested. When I went into active labor she never left my side and was the best cheerleader! She was gentle yet firm in her encouragement and never ran out of new positions or techniques to try if one wasn’t working for me.
All of her encouragement was true and genuine. I never felt like she was trying to give me false confidence or say something just to make me feel better.

Ash is not only stellar during pregnancy and birth, but exceptional during post delivery and the weeks after. I always felt like my babies were in good hands during post birth checkups. I was so impressed with the level of care I received postnatal, as it consisted of multiple visits instead of the single visit checkup so common with an OB. Even months after my care with Ash had ended, I always felt that she was available to address any questions or concerns that I might have, as well as fawn over cute baby pictures!

I’ve had Ash as my midwife for two pregnancies and couldn’t be happier. Her level of pre and postnatal care is outstanding! She is so knowledgeable, experienced and such a genuinely sweet and down to earth person.
I can’t think of a better woman to guide a child into this world than Ash 💕

Amanda Bristow
8/20/2021
Ash is the best! She was extremely informative, caring, professional, and organized. Knowing our child would be born into her hands, provided our family with the confidence necessary to have a successful, life-changing at-home birth. Thanks Ash!!!

Joseph Maurer
5/13/2022
I've had two homebirths now with Ash as my midwife. They were both wonderful experiences.

Ash is a very knowledgeable, skilled and respectful midwife. She always laid out all the information for me and then respected my decisions.

With Ash I always felt like a person first, an individual, as opposed to my previous OB experiences where to them I'm just another patient.

I really appreciated how she took the time at each appointment to not only answer my questions, but also teach me how to do certain things myself like feel for my baby's position and use the fetoscope to listen to my baby's heart beat.

She was amazing and so kind with my two littles and made sure to include them when they attended appointments with me. She even let my 5 year old use the Doppler and blood pressure cuff!

Between appointments if any questions or concerns arose Ash was available via phone call, text, or through the patient portal and was always very prompt, (most of the time immediate) with a reply.

If you're looking to step away from a hospital birth and step into the midwifery model of care I highly recommend Ash and Willamette Birth.

Elissa Carver
4/07/2022

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.