HSHS SAMH Partners w/St. Anthony High School to Offer Students "Window to the Womb"

(MAUREEN HABING, HSHS ST. ANTHONY'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL REGISTERED ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGIST, SHOWS STUDENTS FROM ST. ANTHONY HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR RELIGION CLASS THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELIZABETH ROEPKE'S 26-WEEK-OLD BABY THROUGH AN ULTRASOUND. OBSERVING THE ULTRASOUND ARE STANDING, LEFT TO RIGHT, FRONT ROW: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LIBBY BRANDT, HUNTER NIEBRUGGE, ALY ESKER, MORGAN GARDEWINE AND EMILY WILLENBORG; SECOND ROW, LOOKING ON ARE THERESA RUTHERFORD, ST. ANTHONY'S PRESIDENT AND C-E-O, AND THOMAS ROEPKE, THE FATHER)

The ultrasound that expectant mother Elizabeth Roepke had at HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital on February 10 was not the first ultrasound that she has had during her 26-week pregnancy. But this was the first ultrasound that she and her husband Thomas were joined by a variety of onlookers, namely 55 high school students from St. Anthony High School, who joined the Roepkes for a glimpse at what life in the womb looks like.

For the second year in a row, St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital and St. Anthony High School partnered on a program called “Window to the Womb” which allows high school students an opportunity to see the development of life while in the womb. All the high school students are either part of the anatomy class or the junior religion class at St. Anthony High School, which has recently been studying morality, especially issues of respect for the dignity of human life. Three mothers in various stages of pregnancy volunteered to have ultrasounds that the students could observe.

Craig Brummer, who teaches the religion class, expressed the high school’s appreciation for St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital’s willingness to partner together for this project for the past two years. “It means an enormous amount for us at St. Anthony High School to have St Anthony’s Memorial Hospital work with us to accomplish this project. The Catholic identities of both the high school and the hospital inspire us all to work towards an increasing understanding of human life,” he said. “Being able to see into the world of developing babies at several stages along the gestation spectrum is an incredible experience for these students. It will be something that really makes an impact on their lives.”

It was evident that the experience intrigued the students, as they asked the Roepkes and Maureen Habing, Ultrasound Technologist, a number of questions while viewing the ultrasound. Elizabeth Roepke shared when she started to feel the baby move, and Brummer discussed with the students how far the baby would be developed at this stage of pregnancy. Habing pointed out various body structures, tissues and organs on the ultrasound screen and let the students listen to the baby’s heartbeat.

Theresa Rutherford, St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital’s President and CEO, shared why St. Anthony’s has partnered with St. Anthony’s High School for this project. “At St. Anthony’s, we believe each and every human life is a precious gift. We are fortunate to have the advanced technology that shows in great detail a baby’s development in the womb. By showing these students a precious little baby growing in the womb, we are doing our part to continue to foster respect for all life,” she said.