Our Instructors
Louise P. Ward, MSN, RN has been teaching women how to prepare for labor and birth since 1979. She graduated with a BS in Nursing in 1977 and a Masters in Parent/Child Nursing Education in 1985 from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. She has been an obstetrics nurse since 1977, practicing in MA, NY, and FL before joining the Labor and Birth team at Yale-New Haven Hospital in 1987. Her professional current and former certifications include: AWHONN Intermediate Fetal Monitoring Instructor, AAP Newborn Resuscitation Instructor, NCC Inpatient OB nurse, NCC External Fetal Monitoring, and Lactation Counseling. In the past, she was an OB Nursing instructor at Quinnipiac University and Fairfield University in CT and Russell Sage College and Samaritan School of Nursing in Troy, NY.
Louise has been married to Kevin, (USAF Ret Major), for 35 years and is the mother to two beautiful daughters who were born at YNHH. She recounts her birth experiences as wonderful events though both were very different. Louise retired from YNHH in 2020 and is excited to continue her work as a childbirth instructor and sole proprietor of Childbirth and Parenting Education of Greater New Haven.
Louise has been married to Kevin, (USAF Ret Major), for 35 years and is the mother to two beautiful daughters who were born at YNHH. She recounts her birth experiences as wonderful events though both were very different. Louise retired from YNHH in 2020 and is excited to continue her work as a childbirth instructor and sole proprietor of Childbirth and Parenting Education of Greater New Haven.
Asha Evans, BS, LCCE, CLC is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, Lactation Counselor, and doula who has been working with Louise since 2014. She loves the chance to support families as they prepare for childbirth and parenting. As a mom to three girls herself and the Family Pastor at her church, Asha can often be found trying to "practice what she preaches" while caring for her family and those around her. With a background in the sciences, education, and international non-profit work, Asha came to childbirth education after the birth of her first little girl, where she not only fell in love with her daughter, but also with birth itself. She has led support groups for moms, play groups for toddlers, and life story groups for folks of all ages. She continues to host our 4th Trimester Moms' support group where women gather to share their stories from childbirth. Asha and her husband, Robb, are natives of California and are happy to call New Haven home for the past 8 years.
Louise Dunphy, BSN, RNC-NIC has been a neonatal intensive care nurse for the past 37 years at Yale-New Haven Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the first unit of its kind in the U.S. For 32 of those years she was a bedside nurse, caring for the hospital's tiniest patients while comforting their nervous parents. For the past 3 years she has worked as the service line educator for the NNICU. In this role she helps educate the unit's nursing staff by developing programs in response to patient and healthcare trends, regulatory requirements, and strategic priorities of the hospital. Louise has been a CPR instructor for over 25 years and regularly teaches infant CPR to families at YNHH in English and in other languages with the help of language services. She and her husband have 2 daughters and live in Guilford, CT.
Ashley Minihan, CD(DONA), CLC, CPST, ICCE has been working with families for 15 years. She is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, Certified Lactation Counselor, Certified Childbirth Educator, certified Spinning Babies® Parent Educator, and works as a DONA trained doula. Ashley also provides in-home parent education for families in the New Haven area. She has led groups for teen moms, parent and child playgroups, and taught in preschool settings. Ashley is a mom to a blended family of five- including adopted, step and biological kids! To hire Ashley as your doula or attend a private class with her, visit her website for more information: https://www.ebdoulas.com/
Samantha Heenan, CD(DONA), CPST-I, CPES has been working as a doula for 4 years. She is a Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor at Yale New Haven Hospital and Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist. Samantha travels throughout the state to work with families on car seat safety and does placenta encapsulation nationwide. Sam also worked as a postpartum doula for multiple years and found such a passion watching families grow into their new roles as parents. Sam lives in West Haven with her partner Nicholas and two kids a dog, cat & pig. If you’d like to know more about Samantha’s services please visit www.pixiedustbirthservices.com
Deanna Martin is a former L&D colleague of Louise Ward and graduated from her childbirth class in 2014. Now a work-at-home mom, she assists Louise with class scheduling and web maintenance. Deanna grew up in West Haven and currently resides in Philadelphia with her husband, Ryan, and their active 7-year-old.