Dr. Ashley Shea joins Methodist's maternal-fetal medicine team

Ashley Shea, MD, declared her future profession when she was just in preschool. And she never once changed her mind. 

“I would always come home with papers that said, ‘I want to be a doctor when I grow up.’ And because I come from a non-physician family, my parents would laugh and say, ‘We have no idea where that came from.’”

Growing up as an “extremely accident-prone athlete,” and constantly finding herself in a doctor’s office, her dream job grew all the more intriguing over the years. But it wasn’t until medical school – when she spent time learning from Methodist’s maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) team and meeting patients who needed “not just a physician, but a steady, compassionate advocate” – that she felt called to specialize in perinatology.

“Being present during some of the most vulnerable moments in a person’s life is an honor and something I get to do every day as an MFM,” said Dr. Shea, who sees patients at the Methodist Hospital Perinatal Center – located on the Methodist Women’s Hospital campus.

She enjoys every aspect of MFM care, but she’s especially passionate about helping patients navigate difficult outcomes. In fact, she’ll never forget giving a tough diagnosis to one of her first patients – and the pregnancy loss that followed.

“Despite all the trauma and things they likely associated with me giving them that diagnosis, they got pregnant again, and they asked specifically to come back to me. They wanted to see me,” Dr. Shea said. “And to have someone choose me after walking them through something really hard was my ‘aha’ moment, like I’m doing something right.” 

Dr. Shea, a Lincoln native, has a master’s degree in public health and is passionate about efforts surrounding underserved care. As a busy mother of three, “my hobbies are my kids.” But when she does find free time, she enjoys playing and watching a variety of sports.