{"id":1595,"date":"2018-03-01T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T14:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1595"},"modified":"2018-02-28T20:25:01","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T01:25:01","slug":"linda-lovig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1595","title":{"rendered":"Linda Lovig"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Birth of Syracuse Midwives<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When Syracuse native Linda Lovig moved with her family to Flagstaff, Ariz., she wanted to do something for her community, and decided to get certified as an EMT. One piece of her coursework was to observe a birth at the local hospital. So, one night, she went and observed.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d always had a calling to help people. Before having two children of her own, she\u2019d been an interpreter for the deaf in junior high school. But after that experience at the hospital, the future Syracuse Midwives owner knew what the future held for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came home that night and said to my husband, \u2018I know what I want to do for the rest of my life!\u2019\u201d Linda recalled.<\/p>\n

She returned home to Central New York and earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing from Syracuse University. The next step was to earn a master\u2019s in midwifery. That\u2019s when she faced her first hurdle; none of the schools offering this degree were local. So, she had to make the difficult decision of having her children stay with her sister for a year and a half while she earned the degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family has always been wonderfully supportive,\u201d Linda said with a smile.<\/p>\n

In 1990, she and her family moved back home, and she began to explore midwifery options in the Syracuse area. Not being a common practice at the time, Linda didn\u2019t find many opportunities.<\/p>\n

Before her schooling in Cleveland, however, she\u2019d been in touch with Dr. Richard Aubry of SUNY Upstate Medical University. When she came home, Linda and Dr. Aubry, along with another local midwife, discussed the possibility of offering a midwifery service at Upstate.<\/p>\n

While that plan didn\u2019t come to fruition, Dr. Aubry did put Linda in touch with Dr. Franklin Johnson of the Syracuse Community Health Center. They worked together at the health center and then in private practice.<\/p>\n

Once they were in private practice, Dr. Johnson obtained a Prenatal Care Assistance Program, or PCAP, contract with the county, which connected the practice with underprivileged pregnant women in need of health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of good work,\u201d Linda said.<\/p>\n

Then, in 2004, tragedy struck. Dr. Johnson passed away suddenly from a heart attack.<\/p>\n

Everything just exploded, Linda remembered. At that time, a midwife couldn\u2019t work without a practice agreement with a physician. Dr. Johnson had been that physician. The office and PCAP contract had been in his name, too.<\/p>\n

Linda didn\u2019t want to lose the momentum they\u2019d developed, though. So, she got another practice agreement, borrowed money and kept a skeleton staff employed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, we just kept going and kept answering the phones and kept seeing whoever wanted to come in, which some days was like two people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Little by little, they kept the office running, until life changed again in 2010, when the Midwifery Modernization Act enabled midwives in the state to work without the requirement of a practice agreement. It secured the office a little more, Linda remembered.<\/p>\n

She went back to the county and got the PCAP contract reinstated, this time in her own name.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Syracuse Midwives] kind of took off,\u201d Linda said. \u201cWe were seeing all these wonderful women, and doing great work.\u201d<\/p>\n

In time, as midwifery evolved and became more widely sought out, Syracuse Midwives grew, until eventually many women were making the choice to visit Linda and her coworkers.<\/p>\n

Now, Linda\u2019s day-to-day routine starts with rounds at St. Joseph\u2019s Hospital Health Center \u2014 coincidentally, the hospital she was born in, too. Then, she sees scheduled patients at her office, where she\u2019s surrounded by \u201can amazing staff of women who understand how important this work is,\u201d she said. And, throughout the day, she goes to the hospital if any patients are in labor.<\/p>\n

Being there for her patients during such a special time in their lives is Linda\u2019s favorite part of what she does.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re pregnant, you just want what\u2019s best for you and your baby and your family. It\u2019s just natural for most women,\u201d Linda said. \u201cAnd, so, you\u2019re a little bit more open to changing your lifestyle or listening to advice or making positive changes in your life. And we really love being a part of that.\u201d SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

For more on Syracuse Midwives, visit syracusemidwives.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Birth of Syracuse Midwives By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 When Syracuse native Linda Lovig moved with her family to Flagstaff, Ariz., she wanted to do something for her community, and decided to get certified as an EMT. One piece of her coursework was to observe a birth at the local hospital.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[156,566,133,549,567,548],"class_list":["post-1595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-alexis-emm","tag-linda-lovig","tag-lorna-oppedisano","tag-march-2018","tag-syracuse-midwives","tag-the-womens-history-empowerment-edition"],"gutentor_comment":2,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AEP-SWM-MARCH-8.jpg?fit=5200%2C3768&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":861,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=861","url_meta":{"origin":1595,"position":0},"title":"Teresa Martini","author":"Staff","date":"June 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tere of Transformation By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm Life is full of surprises. \u201cYou have one idea for yourself,\u201dTeresa Martini mused as she peered through oversized sunglasses. \u201cI thought I would be an organic farmer or travel the world or whatever free-spirited, crazy thing I thought I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Inspire-tere_0717.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Inspire-tere_0717.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Inspire-tere_0717.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Inspire-tere_0717.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Inspire-tere_0717.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1985,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1985","url_meta":{"origin":1595,"position":1},"title":"Jenniffer Benedetto","author":"Staff","date":"August 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Teaching Education Appreciation By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 \u201cEveryone has a story and everybody has gifts. 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