Empowering Women in Their Health

When peo­ple think of a cer­ti­fied nurse mid­wife, they often asso­ciate the role with preg­nan­cy and child­birth. While that is a cen­tral part of what mid­wives do, their care goes far beyond those moments. They pro­vide com­pas­sion­ate, per­son­al­ized sup­port through­out a woman’s entire preg­nan­cy jour­ney and across all stages of life.

At Quin­cy Med­ical Group, Ash­ley Stroot, our first cer­ti­fied nurse mid­wife, exem­pli­fies this holis­tic approach to care. A native of cen­tral Illi­nois, Ashley’s jour­ney into mid­wifery began in 2016, though the foun­da­tion was laid ear­ly in her life.

“I attend­ed Quin­cy Uni­ver­si­ty and Bless­ing-Rie­man Col­lege of Nurs­ing,” she shared, ​“but my call­ing to mid­wifery start­ed when I wit­nessed the birth of my youngest sis­ter at age 11. That expe­ri­ence was life-chang­ing and set the wheels in motion for my future.”

When it comes to preg­nan­cy, Ash­ley believes mid­wifery isn’t just about ensur­ing a healthy delivery.

“Preg­nan­cy and birth are trans­for­ma­tive expe­ri­ences, and my goal is to help women feel empow­ered through­out the process,” she said.

While preg­nan­cy and child­birth care are cen­tral to her work, Ashley’s role extends far beyond those moments.

“Mid­wives aren’t just for preg­nant peo­ple,” she explained. ​“As a mid­wife and nurse prac­ti­tion­er, I focus on whole-per­son well­ness, from menar­che through menopause and beyond.”

This means that whether she’s guid­ing you through child­birth or sup­port­ing you through health chal­lenges lat­er in life, Ashley’s approach remains the same: to pro­vide per­son­al­ized, com­pas­sion­ate care that focus­es on the whole person.

To learn more about Mid­wifery Care at QMG, click here.