Hello!
I’m Ashley
your midwife
Ashley Cavender CPM, BSM
Ashley has been a student midwife in the Kansas City area for 5 years, attending over 150 births with local midwives, and birthing her own two babies during the course of her training. It has kept her quite busy! Ashley was birthed into the hands of a home birth midwife herself, so her passion runs deep.
Ashley worked as an EMT for a transport service for 3 years prior to diving into motherhood. She thrived in making warm connections with her patients and gained invaluable experience.
Ashley completed the bachelors degree program virtually with Midwives College of Utah. She passed the NARM Exam and became a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) with a Bachelor of Science in Midwifery in May, 2024.
Ashley is well-supported in her community in launching her own small midwifery practice. She is accepting into care up to 2 clients per month within a 30 minute radius of her home in west Lenexa.
Ashley is an educator at heart, always excited to teach and provide informed choices. She loves questions and will “geek out” about birth topics to both clients and to strangers on airplanes.
My philosophy of practice
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, while the infrequent and necessary intervention saves lives.
Pregnancy and birth are physical, emotional, and spiritual processes. Midwifery care should create an open environment to assess and address the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of the client and baby throughout prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. The midwife should refer to the appropriate provider when necessary to maintain the safety of the client and baby in each of these areas.
In midwifery care, the client is in charge of their health decisions and makes informed choices based on the best evidence available and their personal needs and beliefs. The midwife’s role is to provide options and education throughout the process. The midwife has the right and obligation to maintain certain ethical boundaries and standards of care that are clearly communicated to the client in order to maintain safety for all parties involved.
It is the client’s responsibility to learn about and work with their body and to communicate honestly with the midwife in order to maintain their health and the health of their baby, while preparing for the best outcomes.