MORRISVILLE – Area residents, employees and patients came together for a Mother’s Day weekend of action, opposing the potential closure of the Copley Birthing Center.
Beginning with a honk-and-wave event in downtown Morrisville on Friday, the weekend closed with a rally on the corner of Congress and Main, Sunday. Attendees celebrated Mother’s Day with music, face painting, a plant swap and more, in an effort to raise awareness.
Concerned patients have spoken out, voicing serious concerns for future mothers and babies in the area. Supporters of the center fear that removing nearby access to prenatal and perinatal services will pose an even greater risk to parents both before and after delivery. They have also criticized both the hospital administration and the board for their lack of transparency, questioning whether the lack of profitability of the birthing center is justification enough for its closure.
Area resident and Copely patient Hilary Maynard said “Losing something like the birthing center at Copley, practically speaking, is a threat to the wellness of parents and babies in the region.”
Maynard said the small size of the hospital allowed for focused and individualized care, “My experience was a total blessing, I think of it fondly. This is probably my only baby, but I wouldn’t hesitate to have another one knowing that was the care I would receive.”
Maynard says she believes the administration is more oriented towards the profitability of the hospital and the success of the hospital financially, “And yet a birthing center is required to bring human beings into this world, so how does that argument hold up in the grand scheme of care in the region?” she concluded.
Area resident Dani Lloyd also spoke to her experience with the center. Lloyd said one of the testaments to the superior care that the birthing center provides at Copley is the fact that birthing people and their families are willing to drive from a distance to go to the birthing center, even if they have other hospital options closer to them.
“So many people have said to me, ‘oh yeah, I knew without a doubt that that’s where I was going to be seeking my prenatal care and having my baby,’ because the birthing center and the women’s center collectively, the perinatal care is so outstanding that people talk about it a lot and it has that positive reputation.”
Lloyd recounted her experience, “Our little girl, Bo, is now 14 months old, and I honestly do not think a day passes without some fleeting thought about her beautiful entry into this world, thanks to our literal dream team at the Copley Birthing Center. My labor was long. It began in the middle of the night on a Friday, and I delivered a wide-eyed, healthy baby girl at 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday. After consulting with our doula and the midwife, we arrived at the birthing center close to midnight on Sunday night, and I was monitored, supported and given choices until our baby made her grand debut. One of the most powerful moments I have often recalled was our nurse crawling into the smallest shower with me, and searching for my baby girl’s heartbeat. I had wanted a water birth, but the tub stalled my labor even more, so I had to move out. When she had a hard time finding it, our midwife crawled in. For as long as my baby and I were able to stay strong, I was given the time and space to labor on my own with their unrelenting compassion and guidance. I have never felt more important, or more well cared for.”
Lloyd says over the past few months, connecting with other families who feel similarly, serves as proof that the impact of the birthing center reaches beyond Lamoille county. “It’s really a testament to the incredible care that everyone receives there and the reputation.”
She continued, “When you look at the health outcomes associated with the moms and babies who seek care at the birthing center, I mean they’re off the charts good. The health outcomes are outstanding. We know that maternal health and newborn health, just as far as the data is concerned, indicators throughout the country, our country as a whole has a lot of work to do in that regard. Copley’s Birthing Center is topping the charts when it comes to these health outcomes, these positive health outcomes, so let’s nurture it and let others learn how they’re doing it and grow it, and allow it to thrive because obviously that model is working.”
Other patients feel similarly. Sarah Schnur is thirty-eight weeks pregnant with her first child. Schnur has received all of her prenatal and general women’s care from Copley. Schnur said she briefly considered going to another center, but ultimately chose Copley because of the midwifery model of care, “Besides the fact that it’s really nice to not have to travel an hour to get care, seeing that the birthing center was midwife led, and that they had a really low C-section rate compared to other hospitals in the state, was like a huge plus for me.”
Schnur says she carried much anxiety around getting pregnant and giving birth prior to getting pregnant, “I got pregnant and then I started going to Copley for my prenatal care and I feel like all of the anxiety that I had really kind of washed away, and I think a huge part of that is because of the care that I’ve received from the midwives there.” She continued, “I feel like . . . the level of care is honestly unlike anything I’ve ever received at any medical establishment. I feel like I’m really seen and heard and I can ask questions and have them answered without judgment, and they give me the tools and the resources I need to make informed decisions for myself, about my body and what I’m going to be doing when it comes to labor delivery and all of the things leading up to that.”
Schnur says her husband feels the same as she does, which is especially nice. “He’s at all of the appointments and he feels similarly. He’s just met with such grace and he’s welcomed in the space and he’s said I’m so excited, I think whichever midwife we end up being there for our delivery day is gonna be amazing cause they’re all so great.”
Schnur’s concerns are mostly for other patients, “I’m speaking from a place of privilege in the sense that I live fifteen minutes to Copley, I have reliable means of transportation, I have a job that has a relatively flexible schedule so I can easily schedule my prenatal appointments and make it to them. There are alot of people in our community that don’t have some of those privileges. . . The studies have shown, when you remove care from being accessible from a distance perspective, people just have less appointments, people go to less appointments. This desert of care potentially, is super concerning to me.”
Morrisville resident Kim McGuiness also sees no benefit in closing the birthing center. McGuiness says she had a fantastic experience at Copley, preferring the smaller setting and personalized care. She too shared her concerns for future patients, having faced some risks during delivery herself, “I’m in Morrisville so I’m very close to the hospital, I’m very lucky. With my first labor I experienced back labor. I guess my baby was turned the wrong way, so I was putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis and my lower back and it was excruciating. I could not sit, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t put any pressure on my pelvis, I was literally crawling around my house and then crawling around the hospital room. So I’m just imagining if I had to sit in a car and drive you know an hour plus, to a hospital, I can’t imagine.”
McGuiness further commended the team of midwives at the center for their bedside manner and more, “The midwives, I feel like they have this really nurturing and comforting touch, I liked how it’s not a huge hospital, so there’s four or five different midwives and you rotate through their services throughout your prenatal appointments. I remember the secretary mentioning, ‘have you seen this midwife yet?’ when I was booking my appointments. If there was someone I was unfamiliar with, they scheduled me to meet with that person just so when the time came I was familiar with whoever would be doing my delivery. They give you all of your options, they’re funny, they’re very resourceful and they’re understanding. I didn’t feel pushed into anything specific. I felt like they just laid out all this information for me, and it was very much like no judgment, no expectations, we are just there to support you in your own journey however you want it to go.”
Like many other concerned patients, McGuiness is wondering what other solutions are available, “Can they cut something else? Can they charge more for something different? If you’re gonna call yourself a community hospital (and right now Copley is an amazing community hospital), but you get rid of your birthing center, I feel like that goes hand-in-hand. That’s one of the most fundamental services of healthcare that there is.”
For more information, go to savecopleybirthingcenter.com/.
Editor’s Note: Sarah Schnur is not an employee of Copley Hospital. This story was edited on Friday, May 23 to correctly indicate the relationship between Sarah Schnur and Copley Hospital.
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
