Meet Your Doula, Childbirth Educator & Yoga Instructor
My Philosophy
My name is Ashley Munger and I am joyfully dedicated to helping families achieve the best possible
experiences before, during, and after the birth of their child.
I approach my life and work holistically, honoring the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit and the connection we, as human beings, have with one another. Science is beginning to recognize this truth of interdependence and I honor the science as well as the spirit behind the amazing birth and mothering process. I believe that the whole person must be acknowledged and supported and that women are born knowing how to give birth, just as we are born knowing how to breathe. I view pregnancy and childbirth as natural expressions of the Divine potential in the female form, not as medical conditions. Although I specialize in natural childbirth, there is no one-size-fits-all for birthing and mothering and I am joyfully dedicated in supporting families down whatever path they decide is right for them. I love to nurture the entire family and believe that the birth experience is vastly improved when everyone involved is honored and supported. Birth, like everything else in life, is not always predictable or controllable. For those times when the path gets rocky, I can serve as a loving and knowledgeable guide, helping the birthing mother and family to open up and surrender to the experience of Life as it presents itself.
My Training & Experience
- In November 2006, I completed the training and became certified as a doula through Childbirth International, which provides the most comprehensive and extensive training available for doulas today.
- I completed birth doula training in March 2007 through the Doula Association of Central Oklahoma (DONA International workshop).
- As a psychology student (graduated May 2007), I electively studied perinatal psychology extensively, writing several research papers on topics such as pain in labor, attitudes and beliefs about childbirth, postpartum mood disorders, practices for empowering and satisfying childbirth experiences, postpartum attachment and bonding, and much more.
- I have extensive academic and personal experience in religious and philosophical studies and incorporate many different teachings in my work, as is appropriate for the situation and the families I am working with.
- I am a currently a member of Childbirth International, Colorado Doulas Association, Doula Association of Central Oklahoma, and DONA International.
- In July 2007 I trained with Janice Clarfield from the Prenatal Yoga Advisory Committee of Yoga Alliance and earned certification to teach prenatal yoga.
- I have attended births in the hospital and at home and have experience with natural childbirth and VBAC.
My Story
I have always loved to pamper pregnant women, new mothers, and babies, but it wasn’t until the birth of my niece in 2003 that I discovered my passion to work professionally with women before, during, and after birth. My sister-in-law, a first time mother, had no one at her hospital birth who was able to give her the support she needed and desired. She had wanted a natural childbirth, but unsupported and uneducated, she ended up with numerous interventions that left her in intense pain and separated from her newborn baby. Traumatized for her as well as myself as a fellow female, I began to educate myself on how to achieve a safer and more satisfying birth for mother and baby. At that time I had no idea that there was such a thing as a doula, although I knew intuitively that I was one at heart—I just didn’t have a name for it.
Once I discovered the profession in 2004, I enrolled with Childbirth International in the combined program for certification as a doula and childbirth educator. I became certified as a doula in 2006 and I will be finished with my childbirth education training in fall of 2007.
I graduated from Oklahoma State University in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Minor in Philosophy (emphasis in Eastern philosophy).