Sunrise Hospital is doing it again. They have denied a woman her placenta, and said they would not release it to her without a court order. This is exactly what they did to Anne Swanson, and the court ruled in her favor, forcing the hospital to release her baby’s placenta to her. Furthermore, the judge would not allow Sunrise to enter in their version of the proceedings, which held that the ruling only applied to Anne Swanson, approving one that was more general.
It seems to me that Sunrise Hospital is determined to impose more intimidation tactics against women. And in this case, they were successful. This latest woman did not want to deliver elsewhere, and she did not want to fight for her placenta. So it will be tossed in a bin with a bunch of other placentas, where it will decay until the bin is full (this is how placentas are handled at this hospital). Then the entire contents of the bin will be dumped into an incinerator together. Without honor, without dignity. It brought a new life into this world, yet it is dumped in the trash. What is the point in that? It is so frustrating to me, since I know it could have really helped this woman enjoy the first weeks with her new baby even more. Or at least just give it a little respect.
There are two other hospitals that would fall under this new corporate policy, if this is in fact their new policy; Southern Hills and Mountain View. One of the directors I had spoken to previously is out of town for the next week, and I have not been able to get the other on the phone. I will post an update here once I know of these other hospitals’ stance on releasing placentas.
