What happened to the Press-Citizen birth announcements?
Many of our astute readers have noticed that the Press-Citizen birth announcements, normally published online and on page 4 of the front section of the Press-Citizen, have seemed short and outdated recently. That’s because the local hospitals have chosen to follow a policy set forth by the Iowa Hospital Association, which recommends that hospitals not provide such information to local newspapers for fear of liability if a child is abducted or otherwise harmed as a result of being listed in the newspaper. As a result, parents must submit birth announcements to us directly for a free listing in the paper, and it’s usually the last thing on the mind of a family with a brand-new addition at home. We no longer run the announcements online because of their small number. Most parents who wish to make a public birth announcement opt to do so with a birthday announcement on our Life Events page.
