Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 12:12am
Near Jesus' birthplace - a haven for expectant mothers
A mere 500 yards away from the traditional site of Jesus' birth, a Bethlehem maternity hospital is committed to seeing that no expectant mother is ever told there is "no room." Holy Family Hospital is an obstetrical/gynecological facility — the only one in the region that can handle the complicated medical conditions of women living in extreme poverty and under the shadow of political strife which stalks the birthplace of the "Prince of Peace."
According to the familiar Christmas story, the Virgin Mary traveled with Joseph to the city of Bethlehem, arriving just as her labor began. Desperate for lodging that could both shelter them and provide a safe place to give birth, they found "no room at the inn" and were forced to make do with a stable instead. This may all make for charming nativity scenes with oxen and donkeys and hay-filled mangers, but there is not an expectant mother in the world who would not want better accommodations for her own newborn.
Holy Family Hospital's modern state-of-the-art birthing facilities and neonatal intensive care units for preemies could not be a greater contrast to the primitive stable that served the original "Holy Family." But in many ways the contrast remains. Says Holy Family Hospital Foundation's Executive Director Colleen Marotta, "Outside Holy Family Hospital's doors, the primitive conditions in which Our Lord was born still exist and women often find themselves delivering their babies in the most unsanitary and unsafe of conditions. 25% of the women Holy Family Hospital serves live in refugee camps and 13% of the babies born must be admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit. Holy Family Hospital is the only neonatal intensive case facility in the whole region."
In 1989, at the request of Pope John Paul II, the Order of Malta, an international charitable organization, took over the hospital facilities — a former general hospital — and determined to provide medical services to women and infants. In the year 2000, the late Holy Father named Holy Family Hospital one of his top 100 priorities for the new millennium. Countless lives have been saved since the Hospital opened its doors and over 30,000 babies have been born without a single maternal death — a stunning statistic for the region. Some 200 women a month are overcoming imposed curfews and road closures to reach the hospital for delivery. The doors of the hospital have also never closed due to the political unrest that have made many a not-so-silent night.
Marotta sees the hospital as a refuge of hope for the expectant mothers and fathers, "The women who give birth may have different traditions but they are united in that primal need of all laboring women for safety and care as they bring their children into the world. Like Mary and Joseph, these families are on journey to find a place of refuge, a place of promise, a place where their babies can be delivered safely. In all of the Bethlehem region, only one place is their destination — Holy Family Hospital."
According to the familiar Christmas story, the Virgin Mary traveled with Joseph to the city of Bethlehem, arriving just as her labor began. Desperate for lodging that could both shelter them and provide a safe place to give birth, they found "no room at the inn" and were forced to make do with a stable instead. This may all make for charming nativity scenes with oxen and donkeys and hay-filled mangers, but there is not an expectant mother in the world who would not want better accommodations for her own newborn.
Holy Family Hospital's modern state-of-the-art birthing facilities and neonatal intensive care units for preemies could not be a greater contrast to the primitive stable that served the original "Holy Family." But in many ways the contrast remains. Says Holy Family Hospital Foundation's Executive Director Colleen Marotta, "Outside Holy Family Hospital's doors, the primitive conditions in which Our Lord was born still exist and women often find themselves delivering their babies in the most unsanitary and unsafe of conditions. 25% of the women Holy Family Hospital serves live in refugee camps and 13% of the babies born must be admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit. Holy Family Hospital is the only neonatal intensive case facility in the whole region."
In 1989, at the request of Pope John Paul II, the Order of Malta, an international charitable organization, took over the hospital facilities — a former general hospital — and determined to provide medical services to women and infants. In the year 2000, the late Holy Father named Holy Family Hospital one of his top 100 priorities for the new millennium. Countless lives have been saved since the Hospital opened its doors and over 30,000 babies have been born without a single maternal death — a stunning statistic for the region. Some 200 women a month are overcoming imposed curfews and road closures to reach the hospital for delivery. The doors of the hospital have also never closed due to the political unrest that have made many a not-so-silent night.
Marotta sees the hospital as a refuge of hope for the expectant mothers and fathers, "The women who give birth may have different traditions but they are united in that primal need of all laboring women for safety and care as they bring their children into the world. Like Mary and Joseph, these families are on journey to find a place of refuge, a place of promise, a place where their babies can be delivered safely. In all of the Bethlehem region, only one place is their destination — Holy Family Hospital."