Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Cavender
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts with my birth, at home, with a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), in Washington state 30 years ago. I was my mother’s 4th out of 6 home births! I was raised with the understanding that birth is a normal physiologic process, and not a medical emergency.
As a little girl I was curious about everything birth and breastfeeding related, and interested in being the nurse to inspect any wounds my brothers got from playing basketball. I thought I was going to grow up to be a nurse, but eventually realized hospitals are not my happy place.
As a young adult, I moved with my family to Oklahoma, where I had the opportunity to attend EMT training at the local career tech center. I LOVED it! My instructor was phenomenal and I received a baseline education in medical care. While attending my EMT classes, I ran for office for our student organization and became a state officer for Oklahoma HOSA Future Health Professionals, taking on the role of Chaplain.
I married my wonderful husband, moved to the Kansas City area, and started working as an EMT with a transport service. While not as glamorous as a 911 job, I was really able to make warm connections with my patients and gained invaluable experience. I loved caring for my patients and worked that job 3 years until my son was born.
While working as an EMT, I finally started seriously considering my options for midwifery schooling. Receiving my EMT training had been just the boost of confidence I needed to realize I could take on the role of a primary midwife, safeguarding the birth process.
I met with local midwives and decided my best path to serving our local community as a home birth midwife was to attend Midwives College of Utah and become a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM).
I was a student midwife here in the Kansas City area for 5 years, attending over 150 births with local midwives, gaining invaluable experience in the impactful work of midwifery!
I birthed my own two babies at home during the course of my training, and it was amazing! Finding balance with online college, little ones at home, and attending births was a juggle, but I was determined to enjoy life along the way!
I officially completed the bachelors degree program virtually with Midwives College of Utah earlier this year. I passed the NARM Exam and became a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) with a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery in May, 2024. After graduation and becoming a midwife, I officially launched my business, No Place Like Home Birth.
A special experience I had this year was being invited to a career tech center to discuss birth and birth emergencies with an EMT class. It was really a full-circle moment for me! My baby napped in her carrier and my son played on the floor while I taught.
Once I am eligible to become a preceptor, I look forward to taking on midwifery students. I am passionate about teaching and education, especially about birth-related topics! There have been multiple instances of my sitting on an airplane taking with a complete stranger about physiologic birth.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My path has been pretty clear in that I knew from a young age I would inevitably become a midwife, but the path has also been winding. Each step along the way ultimately was important and brought me closer to my goal.
I would say the biggest struggle was finding balance in being a young mom, wife, and getting a college education while living the unpredictable lifestyle of being an on-call birth worker. Also, paying my way through college was a sacrifice for our family.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At No Place Like Home Birth, I provide comprehensive maternity care and birth services in our community from early pregnancy to 6 weeks postpartum. I care for healthy, low-risk pregnancies.
I include birth pool rental in the cost of care, so my clients can have a comfortable waterbirth option in their home. Waterbirth is unfortunately not offered in any of our local hospitals at this time.
Home births and midwifery care are booming here in the Kansas City area, with literally hundreds of babies being safely born at home with the skilled care of our local midwives. My own practice is small and close to home, so I can keep enjoying this special season with my own small children. There is also a value for my clients in knowing that I only take up to two due dates per month and that they don’t have to leave their home for their appointments, which is hard to find. It’s very intimate, individualized, and warm care.
I’ve been told that I’m good at putting people at ease and I’m very good at staying calm under pressure. I have experience managing emergency complications well.
I’m passionate about ensuring people are provided with current, evidence-based information, and are supported in making informed choices that are best for them. I’m proud of the attention I’ve put into my informed choice documents. I believe everyone deserves to know their options and birth wherever they feel safest.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Informed choice. People need to be better educated about physiologic birth to begin with, and provided with options for care. You can’t have informed choice without options, such as the option to birth at home with a midwife.
Respect for the physiology of birth is import to me. Pregnancy and birth are normal functions of the body and are generally appropriate for a low intervention setting without the need for medical management. Intervention without indication often leads to interruption of the normal process (causing complications), while the infrequent and necessary intervention saves lives. Midwives are experts in normal and are able to quickly identify when something is wrong and refer appropriately as needed.
Pregnancy and birth are physical, emotional, and spiritual processes and should be cared for holistically.
How you are born matters. Babies and moms deserve to have birth occurring in a safe and supportive environment.
Pricing:
- Comprehensive midwifery care and birth services – $5000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.noplacelikehomebirth.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noplacelikehomebirthkc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556662741526
