Today we’d like to introduce you to Jena Ashwill.
Hi Jena, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I got pregnant with my daughter 8 years ago, I knew nothing about birth. I had been doing yoga for many years, and started attending prenatal yoga, which led me on a whole journey of exploring home birth and other options outside the hospital system. I had a home birth and it was completely transformative and empowering. After that experience, I felt like I could do anything. I became really fascinated with birth and hearing birth stories, but hearing these stories made me realize how much more birth support and systemic change is needed. I have a whole vision for this, but decided to start by taking doula training after I moved back to Cleveland. I started my birth work journey in 2021, eventually expanding my birth doula services to include postpartum support, teaching prenatal yoga, placenta encapsulation, and assisting home birth midwives!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a pretty smooth road in the sense of I connected early on with some other awesome birth workers in Cleveland who helped mentor me on my journey, which has been so beneficial. Of course finding my way in doula work has come with a lot of learning that comes with time and experience. There has been struggles with finding balance with the on call life, and not taking too much on. I have learned to intentionally schedule in rest and breaks, and have gotten better at saying no. I am grateful for my community to help with childcare, backing each other up and processing things together!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a holistic doula in Northeast Ohio offering trauma informed, full-spectrum support through pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. I’m an experienced guide, providing emotional, physical, informational, and advocacy support every step of the way.
I teach weekly prenatal yoga classes at Lakewood Yoga Studio, as well as private yoga sessions. I love holding birth and postpartum circles, and mother blessing ceremonies. I am a placenta encapsulation specialist and love to create custom placenta art. Whether you’re birthing at home or in a hospital, I offer grounded, affirming guidance tailored to your values. I collaborate with other doulas, midwives, and lactation consultants, to ensure you are resourced and fully supported.
I believe that birth is a transformation, and an event that has a lifelong impact. I believe pregnancy can be a sacred time to connect with our intuition, the earth (which we are part of), and our whole selves- body, mind, emotions, and spirit. I believe that our bodies know how to give birth, and as a supportive guide, I will encourage you to tap into your inner source of power. I believe in embracing the child birthing year as a spiritual experience, to whatever degree you want to. I integrate birth work, yoga, and meditation, to support you holistically in connecting with your breath, body, and baby.
I am very proud of the intention I put into my work, it is deeply fulfilling and I feel very honored to do this work and to get to connect with such amazing people during such a special time!
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I feel lucky to have connected with wonderful people who have connected me to my mentors. I love connecting with other birth workers at community events and workshops. Social media can be helpful as well. Just putting yourself out there with an open heart and mind!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenaashwill.com
- Instagram: @JenaAshwill_Doula
