News-Chronicle
Although Alice Skenandore has helped deliver more than 700 babies, she never intended to become a midwife.
But her personal experience led her to her calling. Skenandore, who was living in Las Vegas in 1978, became pregnant in her 30s and was deeply disappointed by the treatment her doctors gave her. So she decided to have her child at home.
That decision led her to a group of eight women who were home-birthers. Five of them, including Skenandore, decided to become midwives. A new path for the former telephone operator was forged. Skenandore delivered the last three of Beverly Scow's children. The first was born in a hospital.
"She's very generous and patient," Scow said. "She believes in creating a health environment for bonding baby and mom."
Veronica Harris, who has worked as a midwife apprentice under Skenandore for more than two years, said she allows people to be themselves.
"If she sees an error, she doesn't try to make you come around to her way of thinking," Harris said. "But she talks so that you can come around to your own way of thinking. I think that's how she helps people the most. She never pushes it."
Scow said that's especially true for people considering home-birthing. "She talks to people who are curious or interested, but she'll never try to push," Scow said. "That has to come from the mother - it's her responsibility.
"At the birth she encourages you to have confidence, and to trust what your body is saying. Any anxieties you might be having, all that is worked through."
Skenandore's concern for women reached beyond birthing healthy babies. She opened Wise Women's Gathering Place two years ago to serve as resource center for women and others who have questions about healthy, sex, relationships, careers or anything else that comes to mind.
Scow noted that the work reflects Skenandore's generosity. Before she received a grant from the Ford Foundation, Skenandore did the work on her own time and dime.
Tuesday afternoon found Skenandore, who is Chippewa, eagerly planning a new curriculum with a local counselor that would help people look beyond sex and good looks to build solid, lasting relationships.
Skenandore took a few minutes away from that planning to talk with News-Chronicle reporter Patti Zarling about midwifery and the mission of Wise Women's Gathering Place.
News-Chronicle: Have attitudes about midwifery changed over the years?
Alice Skenandore: The World Health Organization published its statement that the safest place to have a baby is where the mother feels most comfortable, usually that's at home, and the safest person to attend her is a midwife.
Now that's the World Health Organization, which I consider the most honest, because they don't belong to anyone. We're no longer the lunatic fringe.
I began in 1980, and they used to accuse me of walking down the garden path. They thought we were doing it for the "groovy" experience. They had no awareness of how thoughtful we were or how much energy we put into it.
What frightens you about hospital births?
We're drugging people up and pulling them out of their mothers. Psychotherapists are looking at birth trauma, and they're finding there's a lot to it.
If you're born being high, you're going to want to find ways to get high later in life.
We all have original hurts, and women have those hurts.
During birth we have to open those shields, and you have to be very relaxed to do that. Usually, the safest place is at home.
It's my belief that if you put that baby on the mother's chest, rather than take it away right away, they will bond. Taking it away could be one of the reasons for child abuse or child neglect.
She'll have a more special understanding that the child is part of her inner shield if she stays with the child.
Everyone there is bonded to the woman. She's completely open and primal.
What's the most satisfying part of being a midwife?
Right now it's seeing the new, younger midwives.
It's my belief in the last 15 years that every single women is a midwife or mother. Even if they aren't one, they have the ability to be one. I don't believe you need all this medical technology to have a safe, healthy birth. All you need is the mother's permission to release the baby.
How has midwifery changed over the years?
The type of mom who delivers at home has changed.
When we first started, it was the really dedicated. Now, consumers are shopping. They're not dedicated, they're looking for the best deal.
It's a little more casual, especially for people who have never had a birth in the hospital. They want to consider all the different choices they have.
Did you always intend to become a midwife?
Not at all. I was kind of an older mom having a baby. I went to visit three doctors while we were living in Las Vegas, and they all said I was high risk.
They wanted to take an ultrasound every time I came and different tests to check for problems.
It sounded to me like they were trying to make me sick: "I'm sure you're going to mess around and cause a miscarriage."
I didn't think it was necessary what they were doing, and finally I was in tears and decided right there to have the baby at home.
My husband and I are intelligent people, we don't do things on a lark. So we went to the library and checked out everything we could find. I also found a little group of home-birthers. Of that original eight, five of us became midwives.
And how did that go?
We almost got arrested many times. The paramedics were sure we had broken some law.
We were all nursing at the time, so if the lead midwife had to go to the police station, someone else would nurse her baby. But we never spent any time in jail because they didn't know what to charge us with.
One time, we were delivering twins and the first one arrived, but we couldn't figure out how to turn the second one.
I recorded a heartbeat and the paramedic recorded a heartbeat. But the baby died, and the doctors thought it was our fault.
But we teach people everything and explain everything we're doing. So the woman knew the doctors hadn't bothered to check for a heartbeat.
A peer review found them at fault, and when they found out how many babies we delivered, they almost fainted. At that time I was doing eight to 10 births a month.
They thought we brought all of our births in. At first we brought in more than we did later.
Some of the stuff we thought was wrong, was OK. I moved to Green Bay in 1992 and haven't had any problems (with doctors).
How did Wise Women's Gathering Place evolve?
Ever since I moved to Wisconsin, women have been gathering for Monday meetings.
In the past few years people have called me and asked me about home births and to talk.
Someone from Ford Foundation heard me and asked me to come to New York. I'm not much of a speaker, so one suitcase and my stuff and another had videos, so if I didn't know what to say I had the videos.
Well, I didn't have a moment because people were so interested in home birthing.
Some of the women were pregnant, so about 12 or 13 women came to my room and we watched birth after birth until 2 or 3 a.m. At least two of them told me it had changed their lives.
Women are supposed to know what birth is like. Fear from not knowing is dangerous.
I didn't know what I was doing there, but I know someone did mention Savannah. Three or four months later, I received a call asking if I was ready to go to Savannah.
So I packed my videos, I thought I was going to give a speech. But they asked us to write our vision of what we would do if we have unlimited money.
Then Ford Foundation gave us $50,000 a year for three years, and they just told me it would be continued for at least another year. This isn't exactly what I envisioned (laughs) but it's a good start.
And how is it going?
It's been a lot of work. They took us out and showed us how to write proposals so we can seek other grants, which I am doing.
Putting all the papers together is not something I've ever really done.
And now we're opening a shop where we'll sell herbs, female products, soaps, natural products, to help us continue.
We have an extensive library and a computer with Internet access. We try to help people with whatever they came here for.
Tell me about the curriculum you're working on.
It's about relationships. One of the reasons there's so much (sexually transmitted disease) is that people are having sex with multiple people. If we give them information, maybe they'll make better decisions.
I don't think we've ever been told specific things to think about, other than "Watch out for that bad group."
This will help people see that chemistry, sexual tingle or good looks are only meant to help get you together, they're not really meant to start a relationship.
I hope to get a grant and to have young people develop the program and film them while they're creating. I would like to see schools, churches and counselors using it, and we'd even give people a "discovery" card to refer to as they begin relationships.
Do you believe it's important for women to empower themselves?
I guess I don't really understand that question, because I know so many powerful women. I don't think they need to be empowered. But I do remember a dream I call my midwife dream.
When I was a little girl, I'm out in the field, twirling around, with ribbons in my hair, the grass as tall as I am, lost in the energy that little kids have.
The I see all these girls looking very mystified. I tell them, "I know, I know, follow me."
So they follow me to the field. All of the sudden they're no longer following me, but they all know where they are.
I can start you in the right direction, but you have to do it yourself. You have all the information. I think that every person on this earth has their own power. We just have to help them get in touch with this power.
Alice Skenandore
Occupation: Midwife, and director of Wise Women's Gathering Place, 2488 Babcock Road, Ashwaubenon
Age: 52
Community in which she lives: Oneida
What makes her unique: She has risked jail time to help deliver babies.
Hours for Wise Women's Gathering Place are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., but people are encouraged to call before going, at 490-0602.
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