Precious Beginnings Midwifery
Ashley Sohler LM, CPM
Midwifery Services
Midwifery care is superior holistic care. It extends beyond vitals and fetal heart tones, it cares for the WHOLE woman, body, mind, spirit and the life she is carrying. I recognize babies as aware and sensitive people before and after birth. I believe they should be welcomed with a loving and precious beginning.
Prenatal Care
Prenatal care is the cornerstone of midwifery care. My clients enjoy one hour visits to discuss nutrition, body work, supplementation, supportive care, siblings at the birth, herbal medicine for common discomforts, and so much more. This time also gives us the time to get to know one another well and develop a strong relationship before your labor and birth. Partners are encouraged to participate in prenatal care to build strong relationships and get questions and concerns answered. I also love having siblings participate in prenatal appointments to learn about care, birth and what to expect with the arrival of baby.
Prenatal visits are done in home and include standard evaluations, examinations, and labs with full informed consent and evidence-based information. I offer the same recommended standard testing throughout pregnancy that is offered in the hospital setting, but believe it is a personal choice for clients to decide how they would like to proceed with their care. Clients starting care in early pregnancy come in for monthly visits until 32 weeks. Bi-weekly visits from 32-36 weeks, then weekly visits until birth. Most clients see me for 10-13 prenatal appointments before labor.
Home Birth
There is nothing that compares to the experience of birthing your baby in your own home. Clients enjoy the comfort and familiarity of their own space, they are encouraged to eat and drink as their body desires, move freely without restriction, and give birth in whichever position feels best in the moment, including in water. Partners also enjoy a familiarity and they often report feeling more in control and at ease in the home setting. I will bring all necessary equipment to monitor mother and baby's safety during labor, birth, and immediate postpartum. My assistant and student midwife attend all births as a team. We provide all immediate postpartum care and cleaning services after the birth to ensure that each new family can rest in their home without the worry of clean up afterwards.
Newborn Care
I stay for 2-3 hours following the birth of your precious baby. After the Golden Hour of bonding and breastfeeding I will perform a newborn exam that includes measurement and weight of the baby. At 24-36 hours old I will come back for a postpartum visit where I will also perform a congenital heart defect test. If desired I also provide the Newborn Screen Test at the 3-4 day visit.
Postpartum Care
Postpartum care is an important pillar of midwifery care. I come for follow-up care for all families between 24-36 hours, on day three/four, at one week, at two weeks and again at 6-8 weeks. These visits are an hour or more depending on the client and newborn’s needs. During these visits, mother and baby are both evaluated and cared for as need be. I also provide breastfeeding support as needed throughout this time.
Well Woman Care
Beyond Home birth care, I offer well woman visits that can include labs, PAP tests, STD testing, nutritional counseling, and sexual education.
Body Ready Method Services
Throughout your prenatal care with me I offer Body Ready Method body work session which can help ease pregnancy discomforts, make for a more progressive labor and easier postpartum recovery.