Call it a pandemic project. Back when, I wrote dozens of columns published in the Prince George’s Journal, and now I’m pulling them out of the closet.

The P. G. Journal ceased to exist years ago, of course. Some of the columns have dated, but some still look timely, all things considered.

This column was my first freelance piece in the Journal. My baby had spent two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at the local hospital, diagnosed the second day of his little life with spinal meningitis. After unforgettable care and fear, he came out fine, and bright and beautiful. More than ten years later, I finally wrote about the experience.

The column is about what was often referred to in media as ‘drive-by maternity’. It was and is entirely factual. Aside from wanting to convey the message and the information, I never saw any reason why an Op-ed should be limited strictly to ‘opinion’.

Follow-up: mothers of newborns still need adequate time in the hospital, though today that need must be balanced against risk of contagion. In my individual case, the HMOs treated us right, paying the enormous hospital bills without demur. The Reagan years did seem to have overturned or undone cleanness and sanitation protocols in hospitals.