Maternity Unit Closure, Pandemic Boost Interest in North Country Home Birth Practice
Amanda Wilson ’20 is anything but a traditional student. Her roots firmly planted in Hopkinton, N.Y. soil, she balances her obligations to four children with her passion for helping expectant mothers navigate one of the most important and transformative periods of their lives. Two of her children were birthed from her own body; the other two are adopted. Her life unfolds in a cascade of academic and home life.
Wilson is finishing her bachelor’s degree in community health from SUNY Potsdam. Her final duties before graduation include an internship with Sunday Smith and the non-profit North Country Baby Blessings, where she assists the busiest midwife anywhere in the North Country — a territory where in-home midwifery services are as rare as proverbial hen’s teeth.
Amanda Wilson ’20
“I do the things Sunday doesn’t have time for because she is traveling and catching babies,” said Wilson.
Her own first hospital birth at age 20 was problematic, and ended in a cesarean section. Unhappy with this experience of bringing her daughter into the world, she looked for a natural alternative for delivering her son, and could find none.
“The North Country has a lack of access to care, especially for pregnant families in search of a less medical, more natural delivery,” said Wilson.
Smith says that’s more the case now than ever. She has delivered 81 babies in the past 12 months, and the need continues to grow. The closure of the Tender Touches Birthing Center at Massena Memorial Hospital in July brought new clients to Smith’s practice. She is also serving increasing numbers of families wanting to avoid hospital births during the COVID-19 crisis.
“There are not enough midwives anywhere,” Smith said. “And 90 percent of those who are there, are hospital-based. I am on call 24-7. I just took my first vacation in seven years.”
Smith, an advanced practice registered nurse, will travel up to 100 miles from Potsdam to assist mothers in their homes across the North Country. The size of her service area makes for a full schedule and a lot of time on the road. Her obligations leave little time for office work and administrative tasks that make up the majority of Wilson’s internship — including business planning, fundraising and searching for a site for a birthing center Smith plans to build.
“I currently see the majority of my clients in their homes,” Smith said. “This limits the number of families that I can serve. I simply can’t serve any more clients without a building. In order for these women to have access to community birth and patient-led care, we need a place where we can provide that care. What hurts my heart is the idea of starting to say, ‘I can’t take you in, I’m full.’ That doesn’t feel right.”
The birthing center would serve as a central location for midwifery services and women’s wellness in Potsdam, enhancing access for North Country mothers looking for an alternative to hospital births. Still in the planning and fundraising stages, the center could attract other providers to the region while making space for several midwives and RN birthing assistants.
That staff could include SUNY Potsdam alumna and birthing center board member Kayla French ’05 & ’06, who also chose to use a midwife and became impassioned about alternative child birthing through her own experiences. French, who teaches English language arts, attends births while working toward her doula certification.
“People want to give birth in a way that is positive, empowering, and normal,” French said. “The birth center is crucial. For one, Sunday's territory is too large for one person to sustain for the long haul. She’s doing great work — amazing work — but it’s taxing.”
Wilson has been able to get to the heart of the midwifery practice during her internship, assisting Smith in a swift-moving Canton homebirth.
“It was one of the most memorable moments of my life,” Wilson recalled. “Everything was happening extremely quickly. The mother only pushed for 40 minutes. I was recording all the information that Sunday was saying, such as EPGAR scores, and I also recorded time of birth. As the baby was born, I instantly felt the calmness in the room as the mother and father met their new baby. Powerful is the word that’s coming to mind, and adrenaline rushed through my body.”
Wilson entered SUNY Potsdam without a clear plan for her course of study. Faculty within the Department of Public Health and Human Performance helped her chart a course. Professors were aware of her non-traditional status and helpful when life events interrupted her academic life.
“I fell in love with my healthy lifestyles class, with Dr. Kathy O’Rourke,” Wilson said. “Her passion about health and the human body encouraged me to major in community health. I went on to be her teaching assistant in my senior year. Internship Coordinator Sarah Lister introduced me to Sunday, who delivered Sarah’s first child. My passion for midwifery and helping out mothers who are expecting came rushing back the more I learned about Sunday and all the wonderful things she is working for.”
A degree in community health from SUNY Potsdam prepares graduates to identify health risks facing communities, advocate for solutions and work at the grassroots level in education and substance abuse prevention. The training lends tools for shaping health legislation, programs and policy. The college also offers a master’s degree program in community health. Wilson would like to use her experience to pursue the certifications necessary to work as a childbirth educator, lactation consultant and doula. She also hopes to continue as Smith’s assistant after her internship has ended.
“I would like to be working to make a change in the North Country, ultimately,” she said. “This just happens to be the perfect opportunity to do what I have always wanted to do.”
Article by Bret Yager