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Catholic hospitals (HC esp) and maternal health (long!)

anonamouse91412anonamouse91412
in D.C. Area Babies

Hi all,
I have posted on the Nest a couple of times but just made a more anonymous sn. I have been going to CWC (SS office) for the last few years and have liked my experience there. I just found out I am pregnant; I always assumed I would deliver at HC, since not only is that where my doctor is but it is very close to my house, but I wanted some perspective.

I just had a conversation with my mom and she is very upset that HC would be my hospital. This has to do with Catholic hospitals' decisions to put a baby's life above the mother's, as well as their stances on birth control, lack of intervention in cases of miscarriage or threatened miscarriage, etc. This article gives a good overview but doesn't discuss Holy Cross's stance specifically:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011907539.html?sid=ST2011011907548

I have always been incredibly pro-choice and feel that religion shouldn't have a role in medical, political or personal decisions (for me) - but now I may be delivering my baby at a hospital where others' religious beliefs could very well be part of the process...so I am torn. I am interested in hearing others' perspectives, especially because I know many of you had good experiences delivering at HC. I am not sure what my other options would be, anyways...

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Re: Catholic hospitals (HC esp) and maternal health (long!)

  • Hey JellisyHey Jellisy
    In all of my stints as a patient in hospitals over the years (both Catholic and non-affiliated), it was the doctors who made the calls regarding my care.  I would talk to your doctor at CWC and and ask those questions.  In the case of truly emergency care (car accident, heart attack, etc), you will likely be brought to the closest hospital and if you are not able to communicate, your husband or the best discretion of the ER team will be making those calls for you. 
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  • tomandcourttomandcourt

    I have to say, I delivered at HC and this was never an issue. I am also very pro-choice, liberal (and former Catholic) and I honestly didn't even realize HC was a Catholic hospital until we went on the tour and there were crosses in all of the rooms. (You would think the name would have clued me in, but no . . .).

    If you are concerned, CWC also delivers at another hospital--in Laurel, I think?

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  • suecadencesuecadence

    I delivered at Georgetown and will deliver my second there as well and you know, this issue never even crossed my mind. It is an interesting thing to consider, but I personally never felt any overt religious perspective from any of my doctors or nurses. It certainly didn't seem to feel like policies at the hospital where coming from a religious perspective.

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  • WinesNotWhinesWinesNotWhines

    I delivered at Holy Cross and these questions never entered my mind, to be honest. I think these are good issues to raise with your OB at your next visit.

    A lot of the MoCo hospitals are religiously-affiliated for some reason. I think Sibley may be secular.

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  • SofkaSofka

    I didn't deliver there but one of the forms we had to fill out at pre-registration asked for our religion (I guess in case of a death, if we'd want a priest or a rabbi there) and we just put down "atheist."

     

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  • mssaintmssaint

    This was something I thought about (I delivered at HC), and I made sure that my doctors, DH and parents knew my wishes so they could advocate for me.

    Interestingly enough, there wasn't a cross/crucifix in my room. I wonder if they take them down for people who indicate they are non-Christian in their registration forms?

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  • smacbsmacb

    I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy at a Catholic hospital.  The decision was left to the doctor.  I was warned that some of the staff had issues with terminating pregnancies in a situation such as mine, but they found someone and I had no issues with the staff.

    I'm Catholic and we did ivf.  Not everyone at a Catholic hospital is Catholic and plenty of Catholics don't take an extreme view of the church's teachings.

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  • belizeitornotbelizeitornot
    imageWinesNotWhines:

    I delivered at Holy Cross and these questions never entered my mind, to be honest. I think these are good issues to raise with your OB at your next visit.

    A lot of the MoCo hospitals are religiously-affiliated for some reason. I think Sibley may be secular.

    this exactly. i don't think my delivery experience at HC was really any different than my sister had at VHC. i am not very religious, and pro choice and i didn't feel at all uncomfortable with my care during my stay in regards to those issues. i would hate to think that religious beliefs of a medical staff member would impact their care for their patients.  like PP said, not everyone in a catholic hospital is catholic, or religious at all for that matter.

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  • anonamouse91412anonamouse91412
    Thanks for the feedback everyone. I appreciate it. Interestingly, my sister was in a situation that forced her to deliver in the second trimester, before viability and despite going to a hospital with no affiliation (GW), she was forced to labor since they could not find staff members who would perform a D&C at that point despite the fact that the baby could never survive. So I know that a religious affiliation or lack thereof doesn't necessarily dictate the care one receives.
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  • bh2720bh2720

    I think that the vast majority of doctors would be committed to saving the life of the mother if possible, however, at some Catholic hospitals they have the discretion not to. (don't even get me started on the fact that these religious hospitals happily accept federal funding...grrr)

    So I think your concerns are very, very valid. You never know who is going to be on call when you go into labor or if you have some kind of emergency. Personally, if I could at all avoid it, I would never go to a Catholic hospital for anything pregnancy related. (although, like you point out...the lack of religious affiliation offers no guarantees either.) 

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  • victoria1212victoria1212 member

    I think anyone's religious beliefs could influence their care of any patient, right? No matter the hospital affiliation?

    Sibley is owned by Johns Hopkins now but I think it use to have a Methodist affiliation. I think there is still a cross on the building.

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  • anna12anna12
    My OB is Jewish, as are most of the docs in the practice. They all deliver at HC, and actually prefer to deliver there over some of the secular hospitals in the area. We haven't spoken at length about his personal views, but I'm 100% certain if he would not deliver there if he felt that he didn't have full autonomy to do what is best for his patients.
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