My colleagues in OBGYN, Dermatology, and Emergency Medicine have all been on the receiving end of puzzled looks and requests for clarification when we share the name of the building where our offices are located – the Chicago Lying-In Hospital. Buildings associated with University of Chicago Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division (BSD) have been turned over and remodeled again and again as the University grows and spaces change. Still, when your administratively focused work is housed in a place whose title references patient care, you often wonder where the building got its name.
For those who aren’t familiar with the meaning behind the terminology of certain hospital wings, “Lying-In” refers to labor and delivery hospitals. While the University of Chicago has a state-of-the art Family Birth Center attached to Comer Children’s Hospital today, there is a long history behind the original Chicago Lying-In, where BSD staff currently work without babies being born in the rooms next to us (although, if this were to happen, a number of exceptional obstetricians still walk through these hallways on a daily basis).
While the Chicago Lying-In building didn’t exist until May 1931, the original Chicago Lying-In and Dispensary first opened its doors on February 14, 1895. The purpose of this facility was two-fold. It existed as a place where women in the community could obtain maternity care and also where the building’s founder, Dr. Joseph Bolivar DeLee could provide training to medical students. It took time to build the reputation of this facility. In fact, before becoming a world-renowned obstetrician, Dr. DeLee actually paid patients 25 cents to allow him the privilege of delivering their babies.
The first Chicago Lying-In and Dispensary moved locations throughout Chicago a handful of times until reaching an affiliation agreement with the University of Chicago in 1927. Following this agreement, Dr. DeLee was appointed as the founding chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Then, in partnership with the Board of the Directors, the department was able to raise the funds for the Chicago Lying-In building many of us still occupy today.
You can read more about the history of the Chicago Lying-In Hospital from the Board of Directors overview.
