Markeda and Malik's Story
What I thought was going to be a normal labor and delivery process for me turned out to be the worst experience and outcome anyone can ever imagine. I enjoyed my pregnancy journey, I loved being pregnant and feeling my baby move around in my tummy. I would talk to him, sing to him, and even read to him. I didn't have morning sickness or any common symptoms or complications some women experience in pregnancy. I came to Origins Birth Center in February of 2023, I was 20 weeks pregnant. Throughout my care there were things I questioned, like the rotation of midwives, but I assumed this was normal and the explanation they provided made sense, so I went with it. Another thing I questioned was towards the end of my pregnancy my last 2-3 visits were with Jennifer (typically they rotated) and she had trouble measuring my fundal height and mentioned he measured 36 weeks for my final 3 weeks of appointments. At 40 weeks I went into labor. I went into early labor at home on Friday June 30th 2023 around 8:00 pm. I labored at home all that night, all day Saturday July 1st, and most of the day into Sunday July 2nd, at home. I was told by the midwife on call not to come into the birthing center until my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart lasting at least 60 seconds for at least 1 hour. By Sunday July 2nd around 8:00pm my contractions were exactly that and we went to the birthing center. At this point the pain was unbearable. I hadn't slept since Friday night because I had been up all night and day laboring, my contractions were 10 minutes a part and getting closer and stronger.
Upon arriving to the birthing center I had already labored for 48 hours and was in active labor. The midwife on call that told me to wait to come in was still there on duty, her name was Danielle. Interestingly reflecting back, the first thing Danielle asked for when I arrived was the $500 cash payment we were told to bring for the "birth assistant" that was supposedly coming in to help. Danielle remained there until Monday morning around 8:00am. Throughout the night I was leaking meconium (at the time I did not know and the midwife Danielle did not notice or did not care to say something about it), my water also broke at some point throughout the night leaving my son in meconium with an increased risk to aspirate. Throughout the early morning of Monday July 3rd while the first midwife Danielle, was still there, my contractions went from extremely close, strong, and long to very sporadic, weak, abnormal, and no longer progressing as they were initially. On Monday July 3rd around 8:00 am there was a change in midwives. Danielle left and Jennifer arrived with a student midwife that I never met and was not introduced to. At some point around 10:00 am the "birth assistant" arrived. This was also my first time meeting her and she did introduce herself. Between this 8:00am time and 2:00 pm, some things are blurred. I was extrememly exhausted at this point and confused why my son was not here yet. It was now 60 hours of labor, no sleep, and no sign of my baby boy arriving. As the morning went on the meconium worsened, it got darker and there was so much more coming out. When I asked midwife about the meconium she verbalized to me and my family members that she was not concerned about it until it was a dark green. The meconium had gotten so bad when I got out of the shower I had to use towels between my legs because with each contraction so much would leak. Jennifer didn't question or ask why I was using so many towels, instead she told the assistant to tell my family not to use the towels because they didn't have that many. The midwife never addressed the fact my contractions slowed. The midwife never addressed the fact that my son could be in distress due to the meconium leaking, my water being broke over 12 hours, my contractions continuing to slow or the fact that its been over 60 hours that I had been laboring. It gets worse. Around 4:00 pm, after not being a very active midwife in the room, Jennifer burst into the room stating "she is going to help me get this baby out." The midwife invasively inserts her fingers into my canal and tells me to push. My sons heart rate drops below 70 bpm. In the midst of this the midwife answers her cellphone. She nonchalantly tells us we may have to be transferred if his heart rate doesn't improve. The midwife tells me to do several maneuvers which do not work. She tells the student midwife to call for an ambulance and the student has no idea what to do, she fumbles around with papers. There is an issue with their "smooth transfer hospital" and Jennifer proceeds to tell my family they will have to take me to the hospital. My family scrambles, grabbing everything, during this time my sons heart rate is still below 70 bpm meaning he is getting no oxygen. Jennifer stays at the birthing center. Im rushed to the hospital with no instructions and with a birth assistant I've never met.
We arrive to the ER at Baylor University Medical Center, two people meet us in the lobby after my best friend (having to jump into nursing mode because the birth assistant didn't know what to say) gives a quick report to the staff at the desk. The two people rush me to the operating room. I step from the wheelchair to the operating room table. I am literally scared to death. Will my baby be okay? Will I survive this surgery? Tears streaming down my face. A sweet nurse comforts me and tell me I will be okay, then I'm out. As I wake up, I know something isn't right. My sons father tells me our son is in the NICU and they had to resuscitate him.... and due to the prolonged time without oxygen he has no brain activity. For the next five days I spent time in the hospital, in the NICU with my son hoping and praying things would turn around. Questioning and wondering why and how this happened. But things did not turn around. Several diagnostic test were done but my baby boy had no brain activity, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy was the diagnosis. On July 7th I said goodbye to my precious baby boy Malik Elijah. He was born weighing 7lbs 3oz and had a head full of curly thick black hair. His fingers and toes were so long. His smooth skin so precious. Holding my son in my arms was the best feeling in the world. I only had my baby with me for 5 days. Can you imagine?... Your first baby. Having a normal, healthy baby and pregnancy for 9 months only to labor for 70 hours, not be cared for competently, and walk out the hospital empty handed.
Tragic. Preventable. Traumatic. Horrific. Heartbreaking. Life changing.
This is why I fight. To inform mothers and advocate for changes to be made.
Always in Our Hearts
Malik Elijah
07/03/23 - 07/07/23