[Campion]

I was and am Catholic. At that time, the church taught that if there was a problem with childbirth, the baby should be saved, and not the wife.

The church has never taught that, and there was no change in official teaching since the time you describe.

The teaching is very simple, although the application isn't. You can't save the mother by intentionally killing the baby. You can't save the baby by intentionally killing the mother. You can perform medical procedures whose intent is to save the life of the mother, even if they inadvertently but unavoidably cost the life of the child.

[babygene]

" The church has never taught that, and there was no change in official teaching since the time you describe."

Oh yes it has... This is exactly what was described to my wife by our parish priest before the birth of my oldest son 34 years ago.