Ashley made such a meaningful impact on the birth of my daughter, M. As a NICU nurse, I was constantly thinking of the negative things that could happen during delivery. The day of my induction, I was filled with excitement but also a lot of stress. My husband and I instantly felt at ease talking to Ashley. She spent a lot of time getting to know us and our preferences and making sure I was comfortable. My husband was just as anxious as me and was super nervous to pass out during the delivery. The whole night before M was born, Ashley made sure to joke around with him and even put on the board "keep dad off the floor" for our preferences. I couldn't be more thankful for all the laughs we had together to keep our minds from stressing about every little thing.

After my water broke, M's heart rate was intermittently going low. Every single time I heard her heart rate go lower than it should, Ashley would pop in the room and change my position and reassure me that everything was ok. She was a constant advocate for me and my little girl. When I started pushing, Ashley had such a calm demeanor that I thought I was just practice pushing. I never once felt stressed during the pushing process due to Ashley being right next to be cheering me on.

I will never have enough words to thank Ashley for being my constant advocate, cheerleader, and calming presence that I needed during such an important time in my life. I now have such a different outlook on delivery and feel that Ashley made my birthing experience so beautiful.