Amy R. Smith, CNM

After Amy’s son was born in 2001, she knew she wanted to provide choices to folks in their labor and birth. As a direct-entry midwife and CPM, Amy attended community births until she had the experience of being a gestational surrogate delivering in the hospital. She loved the team approach to care and was grateful for the nurse midwives who supported her in her birth experience, even when complications arose. This experience influenced Amy to go back to school in 2013 to pursue nurse midwifery. Amy believes every person deserves the midwifery model of care, regardless of the clinical picture or birth location. Amy graduated from Portland State University in 2016 with a BS in psychology, then from Linfield University School of Nursing in 2019 with a BSN, and from Yale University School of Nursing in 2022 with an MSN in midwifery and a specialty concentration in gender, sexuality, and health justice. It is important to Amy to incorporate cultural humility, gender inclusivity, and trauma-informed care into her daily life and clinical practice. Amy engages in the ACNM Oregon professional organization, and before coming to Providence, she was a home healthcare nurse to medically fragile children. Amy grew up on the east coast but has lived in Oregon since 2008, aside from two years in Connecticut for midwifery school. She lives in Portland with her husband, their adult and teenage children, three dogs, and a cat. Amy enjoys gardening on their small urban farm, and raising chickens; as well as cooking, traveling, and experiencing new cultures.