Life on the labor line
in a Chicago hospital
On overk1l and
subscripti ons
AT THE REPUBLICAN convention in Detroit
last month, the media-to-delegate ratio was
6-1. At the Democratic convention in New York,
media types have been whining they don't have
enough space in Madison Square Garden and
surrounding hotels. And at home in most cities
around the country, droves of television viewers
fled the convention coverage of the conventional
networks in favor of movies, books, and even con-
versation.
Clearly, the media has gone ga-ga, glutting the
airwaves and newstands with political garbage.
Every word, every breath, every burp, every twit-
ch is important at a national political convention. If
it moves and it's in New York this week, it will ap-
pear on TV or in a newspaper.
Every major media personality is in New York
this week, despite the fact that nothing drastic, ex-
citing, or even unexpected was promised after
Monday night's rules fight.
What is particularly distressing to us is the nerve
of some newspapers which are force-feeding
their readers reams of copy about a convention few
of them are even interested in.
Some of them have gotten so wrapped up in
covering this media event that they have sent
seven reporters to New York, devoted full pages to
convention fluff, and neglected coverage of local
events of more immediate interest to their.
readers.
If we were you, we would cancel our subscrip-
tions.
Unsigned editorials appearing on the
left side of this page represent a majority
opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board.
CHICAGO-It is 89 muggy
degrees outside, and maternity
ward 51 of Cook County Hospital
feels it. While the administration
offices and even the nursing
stations are air conditioned, most
of the large, open wards in this
aged building are not. On ward
51, two floor fans attempt to keep
air moving around the 22 women
who live in beds lined up on either
side of the room.
All of the women are either
black or Hispanic. Blacks make
up about three-fourths of the
hospital's patients, and Latinos
are the next largest and fastest
growing population. In the
maternity wards; the average
age is about 17.
LATELY, THE FOUR mater-
nity wards have been operating
at or near capacity, and the beds
are lined up with scarcely room
for a chair between them. There
are curtains which can be drawn
for privacy but on hot days they
rarely are "unless you want to
bake," said one patient.
A loudspeaker blares
overhead: "Number 83, come get
your clothes," it demands. The
woman in bed 83 climbs out and
shuffles down to the nurses'
station. Other announcements
are made before doctors appear
for rounds or the babies leave the
nursery for feeding. The are
unintentionally humorous.
"Mothers, get back to your beds.
The babies are coming out."
At the far end of the room one
black and white television set is
chained to the wall. This used to
be a lounge area, with plants and
a fish tank, but crowded con-
ditions resulted in five beds being
moved in. If a patient wants to
watch TV, there are some molded
plastic chairs next to the oc-
cupied beds she can use. There is
talk of even more beds being
moved into the maternity wards,
but no one knows how they'll be
squeezed in. "Years ago, there
were beds down the center aisle
of the room and I suppose that's
always a possibility," said one
nurse.
ALL THE WOMEN share a
bathroom at the end of the ward.
There is also a small room with
two showers, "but they haven't
worked as long as I've been here,
which is five years," said an R.N.
on the ward. Instead, women give
themselves sitz baths out of
plastic basins, using disposable
paper face cloths for towels.
Those in charge of the ward
deny the showers don't work. Dr.
Ewe Freeze, head of obstetricts
and gynecology at the hospital,
said the showers work. The nur-
sing supervisor said the showers
work. The reason women don't
use them, she said "is a cultural
thing. They prefer tubs." Joanne
Leck, the head of the nurse mid-
wifery program, said the showers
work, but they don't drain. "A
few people take a shower and the
water pressure drops down to
almost nothing. But to fix it we're
told they'd have to rip out all the
By Allison EngeF
plumbing in the building."
Birth at Cook County Hospital is
an assembly-line operation,
beginning when women arrive in
the 12-bed room where they labor
as a group. "The labor line,"
hospital personnel call it. An
average of 20 deliveries take
place every day, and sometimes
there are as many as 20 women
laboring at one time, spilling over
into the next room. The screams
of frightened 13 and 14-year-old
girls, many of whom arrived un-
prepared at the hospital despite
the availability of free parental
classes, make it difficult for
others to concentrate. "When I
heard all that hollering, it just
made me real scared," said Don-
na Thompson, a new 13-year-old
mother.
THE HOSPITAL HAS a nurse
midwifery program, with 24
midwife trainees who deliver low
risk mothers like those in ward
51. They try to promote more
family-centered birthing, but it is
an uphill battle. There simply
isn't room, hospital officials say,
to allow a woman's mother or
husband to be in the labor room
or the private rooms where -
women actually deliver. Some of
the women in ward 51 said that
didn't bother them. But others
said they wanted a familiar face
present.
Willamina Harris, 19, who was
giving birth to her fifth child, said
the private hospitals where she
delivered before allowed her
mother to say with her during
delivery. "I like to hold
someone's hand," she said. "I
.asked a nurse to hold my hand
and she wouldn't. She told me to
hold on to this pole."
Harris' husband, Leonard, 27,
said they came to the county
hospital because he's out of work
now and the family is on
assistance. He, like all other
fathers, was not allowed to touch
his baby while it was in the
hospital. Until a few years ago,
fathers were not allowed to visit
the mothers in the ward. Now,
they are permitted to visit at cer-
tain limes, but their only contact
with their babies is through the
nursery window.
"AT THE BEGINNING, it
caused quite a riot," said Dr.
Freese. "So we had to get extra
police. They (the fathers) can be
quite a rowdy crowd. Sometimes
whole gangs showed up." Now
things are calmer, but fathers
still can't be present during the
hours that mothers are permitted
to hold their babies. "The
problem is they smoke and sit on
the beds," said Freese.
Cook County is a huge
hospital-1,463 beds-and 85 per
cent of its patients need the coun-
ty to pay at least part of their
hospital stay. The hospital has
several medically renowned
departments, such as its burn
center and trauma unit, but it is
known mostly for political and
financial problems, which last
year left it with a $85 million
deficit. For years, there has been
talk of building a new hospital or
closing this one, but neither
seems immediately likely.
"Other hospitals say they will
take our patients, but they're
glad we're in operation," said
hospital spokeswoman Margot
Phillips. "Let's face it, we get
some of the dregs of the earth."
IT ISNOT your typical hospital
that is forced to use ancient
wooden wheelchairs because the
patients steal the newer, metal
one. And it is not your typical
hospital when a staff social
worker, while talking about her
desk being burgled the week
before; calmly takes a call repor-
ting that a convict being treated
in the hospital has grabbed a
policeman's gun and is loose in
the building. "Does this happen
often?" she is asked. "Not too of-
ten," she replies. "The last time
was about two weeks ago, but
the guy didn't have a gun."
-Dr. Freese and others in the
hospital say care has improved
greatly in the past several years.
Aside from the old building and
special political problem, Dr.
Freese said, he doesn't think
Cook County differs much from
any large public hospital across
the country. Obstetrics patients
here, he said, have the most
modern equipment and expertise
required. What's missing is
glamour or luxury. "For exam-
ple," it's usually a dirty place.
When I first got here it was quite
a desensitizing experience. But
you get 'county-itis' and become
addicted to the place."
The women on ward 51 talked
about the lack of privacy and not
being able to have their mothers
with them, but most seemed
unaware that birth could be han-
dled any differently. Alfreda
Johnson, 17, made a typical
comment about the hospital ex-
perience. "It was all right, but
not like I thought, not like I seen
on TV. You know, where your
husband or mother can come in
and they be telling you what's
going on and helping you a lot."
Dr. Freese said he would like to
have home-type deliveries, but
they are costly. With private
rooms, it's more difficult to keep
an eye on patients. Also, he's not
so sure the majority of Cook
County patients would want semi-
private rooms. "So many live in
one or two rooms with their gran-
dmothers and everybody else,
that they're used to that."
"I think it would be rather
arrogant to say they aren't suf-
fering," said Dr. Freese. "But
it's always amazing to me to see
how quickly women forget all the
misery and discomfort of labor
and delivery. All you can hope is
that this population forgets,
quickly."
Allison Engel has been a
reporter for the Des Moines
Register and Tribune and the
San Jose Mercury News. She
wrote this article for the Paci-
fic News Service.
I
I
hIIZMWS~i)DW NU.5. Mb-3RIN46' NPLWCAL SCIENC
. - " ," ...w- v ww wrv