Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Makan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear stories from your time in school/training/etc.

Studying Birth Psychology changed my life. It changed the way I connect with myself, with my partner, the way I parent my child, and the way I interact with others around me. I never expected that! What I love most about this subject is that it’s not specific to families moving through pregnancy. This information benefits anyone who’s ever been born! By exploring this material in curiosity we can bring massive change to our personal experiences and those of our children, and their children. It’s such empowering material that has a unique benefit to anyone at any stage in their lives.

The study of Birth Psychology is essentially early human and nervous system development. When we understand early development, we can gain a greater insight into how our earliest experiences influenced our development. Understanding the inner workings of the nervous system allows us to look more deeply at how we operate. It gives us the power to choose how we respond to the world around us… this is especially helpful to new parents. Birth Psychology encourages us to explore our own lived experiences, which helps us to learn the attachment styles of ourselves and our partners, and helps us better understand our unique parenting styles. Doing this brings the clarity of awareness and opens the door to personalized self-regulation. It also helps us understand what to expect in the processes of our children’s early human development, and the most exciting thing we can learn from this education is that parenting begins in the womb. We can actually influence our children’s intelligence scores, emotional intelligence, fine motor skills, mental acuity and physical development, just by interacting with them in the womb!

I’ve seen the benefits first hand. My doula clients who participated in regular prenatal bonding exercises had babies who were more responsive in their earliest hours. These babies seemed to recognize their parents and surroundings on a deeper level, and readily participated in the primal responses of early bonding, like crawling to the breast and self-latching. Parents who studied Birth Psychology with me felt more prepared in their early postpartum experiences and the transition into parenthood. It’s been extremely moving to witness this unfolding.

Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was drawn to Birth Psychology after experiencing birth ten years after a traumatic pregnancy loss. I had done all of the work to “move past” the previous experience and I never expected my trauma to follow me through my subsequent pregnancy. I was riddled with anxiety, and I became hyper-vigilant in my childbirth preparation. I took a comprehensive childbirth class and prepared as well as I could for my birth. After moving through childbirth I was shocked that we hadn’t covered the psychological aspects of this experience in class. My birth experience was extremely healing and transformative, and I was so fascinated with the psychology of this transition that I began collecting every book I could find on the subject.

Two years later my husband pointed out my massive hyper-focused book collection and suggested I do something with the subject. I became a doula. As I worked with more and more clients, I found that I really enjoyed the educational component to my work and decided to explore becoming an educator. Every program I looked at was too generalized for my interest, and I really wanted to bring a new lens of childbirth education to my area. I wanted to find something that focused more on the psychological aspects and the transition into parenthood, but I fell short in my efforts, so I decided to let it go for a while and keep reading. It wasn’t long after that I happened across the Pre-/Perinatal Educator Program through the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH). I dove in head first and spent nearly two years in full immersion.

I’ve since created a comprehensive childbirth education program called The Mind Body Birth. It marries the general physiology of birth with Birth Psychology through education and the exploration of prenatal bonding and nervous system regulation techniques. I’ve also recently created a program for birth workers that explores Birth Psychology through a trauma-informed lens. I work with clients individually to dive deeper in their birth preparation and I offer mentoring options for new doulas in my community. I’m really excited to reach as many people as I can with this subject!

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Connection! The fact that my profession exists today is a direct result of the modern breakdown of community. Doula support is on the rise, and it is because we have lost connection to the community systems we used for ages. We no longer have access to the generations-deep village wisdom we once had, and because of this I feel strongly that the greatest charge of this professional work is to build community. I’ve found that networking locally with other likeminded individuals benefits everyone: it builds a stronger community for my clients and it connects me with new clients who resonate with my work. I’m so passionate about bringing everyone together! I can only do so much as an individual, but together, we can bring massive change! I genuinely believe that the more we contribute to our communities the more fulfilled we are as human beings, and the more our communities reciprocate that support.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Honestly, everything in my past has brought me to this very moment. I couldn’t see myself choosing any other trajectory. I love my work and I love that I found it in the process of my own healing. My greatest hope is that I can make a difference for others and offer support, education, and resources that I wish I’d had access to when I was moving through birth and into parenthood. This process is such a massive paradigm shift in our lives and helping parents find personal transformation as they navigate this journey is a beautiful thing to be a part of… I’m grateful to have found this calling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bodhibirthandwellness.com
• Instagram: @bodhibirthandwellness
• Facebook: Bodhi Birth and Wellness
• Other: You can access my classes directly at: www.themindbodybirth.com IG: @themindbodybirth FB: The Mind Body Birth

Image Credits
Leslie Lowe with Green and Grey Photography