Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Not married Father's Right's?

You raise a rather unique question and I'm not sure there's a clear answer. I doubt that it's something that is the subject of a written law or has ever been decided by a court. My guess is that the hospital will abide by the wishes of the mother since she's the patient, and you'd have to try and get a court order allowing you in the delivery room to enable yourself to be there. I also suspect a court would be reluctant to grant your request if the mother fights it, since she'll argue that your presence would upset her and possibly compromise the delivery and the health of the baby.

Re: Not married Father's Right's?

I have read the answer from Robert Sher, and I agree with it. I think that even a father married to the mother would have trouble being admitted to the delivery room if the mother didn't want him there, as the hospital would most likely be very sensitive to the privacy rights of the mother. A hospital will prevent anyone, family member or not, from visiting a patient in the hospital if the patient does not want the visit, and the delivery room is even more private than the patient's hospital room. If you are not allowed to watch the delivery, this will not prevent you from being an involved father, and you do have rights to visit with your child after he is born. If visitation is denied, you can file any time or visitation rights. There is no need to wait any particular time. You want to avoid contributing to a hostile atmosphere if it doesn't already exist, but filing for visitation is not necessarily a hostile act. It is in everyone's best interest to get an established pattern of visitation early rather than waiting until conflict has a chance to develop.