A pregnant woman had her baby by herself in a jail cell in Tennessee, even though she had asked for medical help, as stated by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Both the woman and the baby were in stable condition and being cared for in the hospital as of Tuesday night. It’s not clear why the woman wasn’t taken to the hospital before giving birth, which is usually the procedure for women in custody according to the organization Penal Reform International.
The woman was staying in a special medical area at Montgomery County Jail. She told a deputy about her medical concern at around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. A nurse arrived a few minutes later after the deputy contacted the medical staff.
The nurse checked on the pregnant woman and left the cell to discuss the situation with others. After a short while, another nurse did a follow-up assessment.
Medical staff left the cell and ordered additional tests. Deputies also kept checking on the woman who was in labor.
Around 12:41 p.m., a little over an hour after the woman asked for help, a deputy found out that she had given birth in her cell. The deputy assisted her, and jail medical staff and Emergency Medical Services were informed. Both the woman and the baby were taken to the hospital.
In the past, some women have sued after giving birth in jail cells. For instance, in 2018 in Denver, a woman’s requests for help were ignored for five hours. Similarly, in Maryland in 2021, another woman said she was left alone to give birth in a cell.
In the U.S., the First Step Act of 2018 mandates the Bureau of Justice Statistics to gather data about pregnancy outcomes in federal prisons. However, this doesn’t apply to state prisons and jails, like the one in Montgomery County where the woman gave birth on Sunday.
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