Christy Cummings, MD, HEC-C
Director of Fetal Therapy Board,Fetal Care and Surgery Center; Physician in Medicine, Division of Newborn Medicine; Associate Director, Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
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Christy Cummings, MD, HEC-C
Director of Fetal Therapy Board,Fetal Care and Surgery Center; Physician in Medicine, Division of Newborn Medicine; Associate Director, Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Medical Services
Languages
English
French
Education
Undergraduate School
Colby College
2002
Waterville
ME
Medical School
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
2006
Rochester
NY
Internship
Yale University School of Medicine
2007
New Haven
CT
Residency
Yale University School of Medicine
2009
New Haven
CT
Fellowship
Neonatology; Bioethics Track
Yale University School of Medicine
2012
New Haven
CT
Fellowship
Harvard Medical School
2013
Boston
MA
Certifications
American Board of Pediatrics (General)
American Board of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine)
Professional History
Dr. Christy Cummings is an Attending Physician in Medicine in the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cummings is a graduate of Colby College, received her medical degree from the University of Rochester, and training in pediatrics, neonatology and ethics at Yale. She participated in Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics Program in Bioethics and completed the Fellowship Program in Medical Ethics through the Division of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cummings is currently an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an attending neonatologist in the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. As an Ethics Associate, she is a member of the Ethics Advisory Committee at Boston Children’s Hospital, and is Director of Medical Ethics & Humanities for the Division of Newborn Medicine. Dr. Cummings also serves on the hospital’s Institutional Review Board. Dr. Cummings’ research and scholarly activities focus broadly on medical ethics and humanism and their intersection with medical education in pediatrics and neonatology, as well as counseling and communication.
Approach to Care
In the Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) our philosophy is to ensure that every patient receives the best care for the best possible outcomes. We consider our “patient” to be the baby and the family; we are constantly striving to serve the needs of both. This requires a team-based approach with all members being essential, particularly the family. Through clear and compassionate communication, I aim to ensure families are not only well informed, but also understood.
Publications
Ethical Considerations for Maternal-Fetal Interventions: Innovation, Research, and Oversight. View Abstract
Lowering the Age of Consent for Vaccination to Promote Pediatric Vaccination: It's Worth a Shot. View Abstract
Gestational Carrier Pregnancies: Legal and Ethical Considerations for Pediatricians. View Abstract
Advice to Clinicians From Expectant Parents at Extreme Prematurity: A Multimethod Study. View Abstract
Perinatal-lethal nonimmune fetal hydrops attributed to MECOM-associated bone marrow failure. View Abstract
Parent Preferences and Experiences in Advance Care Planning in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. View Abstract
Advance Care Planning and Parent-Reported End-of-Life Outcomes in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. View Abstract
Collaboration between Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Neonatology When Counseling at Extreme Prematurity. View Abstract
The Case for Advance Care Planning in the NICU. View Abstract
Pediatric Shared Decision-Making for Simple and Complex Decisions: Findings From a Delphi Panel. View Abstract
A Qualitative Study of Parental Perspectives on Prenatal Counseling at Extreme Prematurity. View Abstract
Infant mode of death in the neonatal intensive care unit: A systematic scoping review. View Abstract
Decision making at extreme prematurity: Innovation in clinician education. View Abstract
Humanism, humility and compassion in perinatology: From research & discovery to clinical practice & education. View Abstract
Moral equivalence theory in neonatology. View Abstract
Developing a digitally innovative ethics and professionalism curriculum for neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows: a 3-year multicenter pilot study. View Abstract
Gene and Stem Cell Therapies for Fetal Care: A Review. View Abstract
Critical decision-making in neonatology and pediatrics: the I-P-O framework. View Abstract
Beyond Ventilators and Prematurity: Most Rationing Dilemmas Are Morally Fraught. View Abstract
Historical Perspectives: Shared Decision Making in the NICU. View Abstract
Morphine compared to placebo for procedural pain in preterm infants: safety, efficacy and equipoise. View Abstract
Variable management strategies for NEC totalis: a national survey. View Abstract
Deliveries at extreme prematurity: outcomes, approaches, institutional variation, and uncertainty. View Abstract
Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders in the Neonatal ICU: Experiences and Beliefs Among Staff. View Abstract
Assessing Ethics Knowledge: Development of a Test of Ethics Knowledge in Neonatology. View Abstract
Hope, Fantasy, and Communication in the ICU: Translating Frameworks into Clinical Practice. View Abstract
Should Neonatologists Give Opinions Withdrawing Life-sustaining Treatment? View Abstract
On Being Fired: When Patients or Their Parents Fire Their Physician. View Abstract
Practices and education surrounding anticipated periviable deliveries among neonatal-perinatal medicine and maternal-fetal medicine fellowship programs. View Abstract
Teaching and assessing ethics in the newborn ICU. View Abstract
When worlds intersect: practical and ethical challenges when caring for international patients in the NICU. View Abstract
Ethics and professionalism education during neonatal-perinatal fellowship training in the United States. View Abstract
Counselling variation among physicians regarding intestinal transplant for short bowel syndrome. View Abstract
Patient and trainee: learning when to step in. View Abstract
Communication in the era of COWs: technology and the physician-patient-parent relationship. View Abstract
Ethics of emerging technologies and their transition to accepted practice: intestinal transplant for short bowel syndrome. View Abstract
Expectations. View Abstract
Who is performing medical procedures in the neonatal intensive care unit? View Abstract
Ethics for the pediatrician: autonomy, beneficence, and rights. View Abstract
Locations