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we wanted to show. I'm still

1:00

recording! A three-part series event.

1:03

She said the children were

1:05

demonically possessed. Get out! That blew

1:07

the powder cake. Ruby crossed a line

1:10

to psychotic. Nine, I'm on emergency. Open

1:12

the door! Although Stepel in

1:14

the family, the fall of

1:16

Ruby Frankie, all episodes now

1:18

streaming on Hulu. Something was

1:21

wrong is intended for

1:23

mature audiences. This season

1:25

contains discussions of

1:27

medical negligence, birth trauma,

1:30

and infant loss, which may

1:32

be upsetting for some listeners. For

1:34

a full content warning,

1:37

sources, and resources, please

1:39

visit the episode notes. and

1:41

do not necessarily represent the

1:44

views of myself, broken cycle

1:46

media, and wonder. The podcast

1:48

in any linked materials should

1:50

not be misconstrued as a

1:52

substitution for legal or medical

1:55

advice. Origins Birth and Wellness

1:57

Owners and Midwives, Caitlin

1:59

Wages, Gina Thompson have

2:01

not responded to our

2:03

requests for comment. Additionally,

2:05

Midwives Jennifer Crawford and

2:07

Elizabeth Fuell have also

2:09

not returned our request

2:11

for comment. This season

2:13

is dedicated with love

2:15

to Malique. My

2:57

name is Amanda and I had

2:59

my son July 11th of 2023.

3:01

He is now 15 months old.

3:03

Me and my husband had done

3:05

a lot of research about how

3:08

we wanted our pregnancy and labor

3:10

to look. I didn't necessarily have

3:12

an OB that I loved. I

3:14

had a nurse practitioner that I

3:16

had seen several times and I

3:19

absolutely loved her, but I knew

3:21

that she wouldn't be the one

3:23

to deliver my baby. I did

3:25

a lot of research and built

3:27

my case. We had talked a

3:29

lot about it. This is how

3:32

I want things to go, and

3:34

I wanted him to be able

3:36

to be involved for him to

3:38

cut the cord. He was going

3:40

to catch the baby. He was

3:43

real gung-ho about all of it.

3:45

That was the decision that we

3:47

made, was to go this birth

3:49

center route that was a good

3:51

happy medium between being in a

3:53

hospital with bright lights or being

3:56

at home where we didn't know

3:58

what we were doing. I was

4:00

interested in a home birth, but

4:02

I was like, I'd like to

4:04

be closer to a hospital and

4:07

have more support. I went to

4:09

the birth center expecting a much

4:11

more personal experience. I wanted to

4:13

feel like I could be friends

4:15

with these women because you want

4:17

to be comfortable in that space.

4:20

It's so personal. You're so vulnerable

4:22

in this stage. You feel like

4:24

you want to be able to

4:26

know that you can communicate with

4:28

this person and maybe a 70

4:31

year old man isn't going to

4:33

know where you're coming from. I

4:35

think that's why a lot of

4:37

people in the situation have chosen

4:39

a birth center in Dallas called

4:41

Origins. They had amazing photos and

4:44

an amazing birth center. I actually

4:46

had a friend who gave birth

4:48

at Origins in 2021. So I

4:50

had talked to her about it.

4:52

She had an amazing experience. I

4:54

talked to my husband about it

4:57

and we decided that that was

4:59

the route that we wanted to

5:01

go. Little did we know it

5:03

would turn out to be a

5:05

total nightmare. The friend that I

5:08

knew that had her baby at

5:10

Origins actually was my photographer for

5:12

labor and come to find out

5:14

none of the midwives that she

5:16

had seen were even there anymore.

5:18

the whole situation had changed drastically

5:21

from when she had been there.

5:23

She had recommended something that didn't

5:25

really exist anymore. I went in

5:27

for a preconception appointment at Origins

5:29

Dallas to just kind of talk

5:32

about what do I need to

5:34

do to prepare to be pregnant?

5:36

Are there supplements I should be

5:38

taking or my cycle is pretty

5:40

normal? Do I need to be

5:42

tracking that? Things like that? And

5:45

I saw the C&M. there that

5:47

day and she was like you

5:49

just keep doing what you're doing

5:51

here's a supplement or two I

5:53

don't remember what she gave me

5:56

but keep us posted let us

5:58

know how things are going I

6:00

think we're doing okay now and

6:02

if it goes a few months

6:04

then we'll some labs and I

6:06

was like okay so I actually

6:09

went to Mexico a couple weeks

6:11

later for my sister-in-law's bachelorette party

6:13

and my husband came and met

6:15

me down there so we stayed

6:17

a few days after the bachelorette

6:20

party just to hang out we

6:22

went fishing and I get motion

6:24

sick I was kind of warm

6:26

if there was no breeze and

6:28

I got sick over the side

6:30

of the boat and we get

6:33

back to the hotel and I

6:35

had taken a few of those

6:37

little strips with me I peed

6:39

on a strip and it was

6:41

positive. We actually weren't even thinking

6:43

that it would happen that fast.

6:46

You hear so many stories about

6:48

people that have tried for years

6:50

and years and we didn't expect

6:52

it to happen the same month

6:54

that I had my IUD removed.

6:57

So I'm sending a message to

6:59

the midwife while I'm on vacation

7:01

and we made an appointment. I

7:03

wanted to see their spiel. We

7:05

went in for the tour, me

7:07

and my husband Chris, but I

7:10

was already in care with them.

7:12

It ended up being two hours.

7:14

There were other families. There were

7:16

some that were like planning for

7:18

another or moved here and needed

7:21

care and wanted to do a

7:23

tour or planning to have a

7:25

baby. So there were all different

7:27

types of families. The birth center

7:29

in Dallas, there are two separate

7:31

buildings. One is the clinic, which

7:34

is where you go for your

7:36

prenatal appointments. That opened up right

7:38

before I started care. So that's

7:40

where all my prenatal appointments were.

7:42

And then the birth center is

7:45

a historic house on Swiss Avenue

7:47

in Dallas. And the birth center

7:49

was gorgeous. It's an old historic

7:51

house. They have three beautiful birth

7:53

suites with round tubs in the

7:55

rooms. and they're decorated and each

7:58

one's a little different, you can

8:00

kind of have your choice of

8:02

which birth suite you prefer. One

8:04

of them was like a little

8:06

more log cabiny, florally, and it

8:08

was really a really gorgeous room.

8:11

And then there was one, it

8:13

was a little moodier with like

8:15

palm trees and things like that,

8:17

which is the one that I

8:19

chose. And then the one downstairs

8:22

was pretty girly with mirrored side

8:24

tables and pink velvety duvet on

8:26

the bed. So they're all different

8:28

vibes. It's kind of like being

8:30

at home. but you're not gonna

8:32

have to clean up or deal

8:35

with any of the after stuff.

8:37

They talked a lot in the

8:39

tour about how they have a

8:41

fabulous relationship with Baylor University Medical

8:43

Center right down the street. They

8:46

have a good relationship with the

8:48

ambulance company. They actually, quote unquote,

8:50

trained the EMTs, how to transfer

8:52

women in labor. Come to find

8:54

out, none of that is really

8:56

true. But they sold it. You

8:59

had this amazing picture painted in

9:01

your mind in your mind that.

9:03

Nothing's going to go wrong. They

9:05

said their transfer rates were 10%

9:07

and most people transfer because of

9:10

maternal exhaustion, not because of complications.

9:12

Going into it you feel really

9:14

safe, like you've made the right

9:16

decision and there really aren't enough

9:18

statistics in Texas or the United

9:20

States for them to be spewing

9:23

statistics like that. According to origins,

9:25

origins is the best. Caitlin was

9:27

the one that gave the tour

9:29

and I felt like she was

9:31

going to be really involved in

9:34

the whole thing. She was never

9:36

there. I'm almost positive I never

9:38

saw her again. Caitlin and Gina,

9:40

those were the owners and they

9:42

were both certified midwives, right? Yes,

9:44

they are both certified professional midwives

9:47

and they both are licensed. I

9:49

saw Caitlin at that tour and

9:51

then I never saw either of

9:53

them for the rest of the

9:55

time. I started care. It might

9:57

have been like Halloween. It was

10:00

because I was wearing cat ears

10:02

to my first appointment for prenatal

10:04

stuff at Origins at the beginning.

10:06

I took some labs and my

10:08

progesterone didn't seem to be going

10:11

up how it should have been.

10:13

Progesterone is a hormone that supports

10:15

menstruation and maintaining a pregnancy. Low

10:17

levels of progesterone can cause complications

10:19

in pregnancy and can be given

10:21

as a medication that comes in

10:24

capsule form. So they put me

10:26

on progesterone and I took the

10:28

pills as they told me to.

10:30

And then I got to the

10:32

end and I had like three

10:35

pills left. I sent them a

10:37

message and I was like, what

10:39

am I supposed to do now?

10:41

And they were like, well, you

10:43

need to come back in for

10:45

labs, but we can't get you

10:48

until next week. You should keep

10:50

taking them and we'll wean you

10:52

off. And I'm like, well, that's

10:54

weird. Why didn't anybody tell me

10:56

that before now? What if I

10:59

had just stopped taking them? That

11:01

seemed kind of strange to me.

11:03

I feel like you hear stories

11:05

about that at the OB's office.

11:07

They're delivering babies to either have

11:09

to see somebody else or you

11:12

have to be rescheduled. So while

11:14

it was frustrating, I didn't necessarily

11:16

think that that was call for

11:18

concern. Not necessarily normal, but also

11:20

not abnormal. I thought that my

11:22

care was mostly good. I saw...

11:25

all of the midwives, pretty regular,

11:27

they tried to really keep you

11:29

on a schedule of you see

11:31

this person and you won't see

11:33

them again for like two or

11:36

three visits. So I saw everyone.

11:38

At one point Jennifer Crawford, she

11:40

was out for several weeks, so

11:42

I didn't see her until my

11:44

glucose appointment. They do their glucose

11:46

appointments in groups. So you get

11:49

to go and meet other moms

11:51

that are due generally in the

11:53

same time you are and they

11:55

talk to you about packing your

11:57

bag and all these things. So

12:00

you get to go and do

12:02

it as a group so you're

12:04

not just sitting there by yourself.

12:06

And most of the people that

12:08

you were seeing for... prenatal care?

12:10

Were those midwives or were they

12:13

students? For the preconception appointment, she

12:15

was a C&M and then I

12:17

saw CPM's for the rest of

12:19

my appointment and then there was

12:21

a student, she was associated with

12:24

Elizabeth and she was always with

12:26

somebody. There were some other students

12:28

that were in and out, but

12:30

they were there to like draw

12:32

blood and things like that. I

12:34

never saw them really for any

12:37

appointments. In those appointments, did you

12:39

feel confident in the care you

12:41

were receiving at that time? Yes.

12:43

There wasn't really anything that I

12:45

saw that was weird. There were

12:48

a couple of appointments towards the

12:50

end where they said a few

12:52

things that made you kind of

12:54

think, is that normal? Like, my

12:56

son ended up being 10 pounds

12:58

when he was born. I was

13:01

almost nine pounds and my husband

13:03

was eight and a half when

13:05

he was born. So we were

13:07

expecting a big baby. At that

13:09

appointment, she said, oh, he's measuring

13:11

really big baby. She said, oh,

13:14

he's measuring really big. And I

13:16

guess at whatever point that was,

13:18

he shouldn't have been that big.

13:20

She was like, I'm not going

13:22

to write that in your chart

13:25

though. And I was Jennifer. Jennifer

13:27

was a CPM when I was

13:29

in care with her. Jennifer Crawford

13:31

was allegedly an unlicensed student midwife

13:33

while caring for Kristen during her

13:35

pregnancy and labor at origin's birth

13:38

and wellness. However, Jennifer did later

13:40

receive her certified professional midwife license

13:42

from the Texas Department of Licensing

13:44

and Regulation on May 20th, 2022

13:46

before Amanda's Care. I

13:49

didn't see Jennifer until the glucose

13:51

appointment and then I saw her

13:53

for several appointments towards the end,

13:56

like at 32 or 36 weeks.

13:58

I didn't have... any complications. They

14:00

always checked my blood pressure. My

14:03

blood pressure was always fine. I

14:05

know that can be a sign

14:07

of preaclamxia, but that never came

14:09

up. They never had to retake

14:12

my blood pressure. The swelling did

14:14

get pretty extreme. I felt like

14:16

that was kind of normal for

14:18

me. There are times in my

14:21

life when I swell, like flying

14:23

on an airplane or things like

14:25

that. So I never was alarmed

14:27

by anything that had to do

14:30

with my pregnancy. My baby was

14:32

doing July. I gained 60 pounds.

14:34

My back hurt the whole time.

14:36

It was hot. My office air

14:39

conditioner wasn't working very well. So

14:41

I was hot and sweaty and

14:43

swollen, but I felt pretty. My

14:46

hair was long and gorgeous and

14:48

my ponytail looked great. We were

14:50

really blessed to be able to

14:52

enjoy that time in our lives.

14:55

regardless of the Texas heat, we

14:57

have a pool, so I had

14:59

that to help me. I'm really

15:01

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every day people bringing a new he

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was a little bit high so we

30:45

did a few things on Tuesday morning

30:48

we did the press pump to make

30:50

sure my contractions were really strong red

30:52

raspberry leaf tea they gave me some

30:55

weird tincture they were trying to

30:57

get me hydrated They were trying

30:59

to feed me, but I'm like

31:01

beyond that. I'm so exhausted. I

31:03

just want to get this baby

31:05

out and take a nap. They put

31:08

different essential oils in the

31:10

diffuser to like encourage stronger

31:12

contractions. And then at 9.46

31:15

a.m. this is the first

31:17

time that I've gotten an

31:19

IV. I've been in labor since

31:21

Sunday at 6 a.m. And on

31:23

Tuesday at 9.46, they gave me

31:25

an IV for liquids. Elizabeth

31:28

was there and out

31:30

between patients. She was

31:32

in clinic that day.

31:34

She was the one that

31:36

I felt closest to and

31:38

she had been in and out

31:41

during my labor, but Elizabeth

31:43

I think had just

31:46

come back on Tuesday

31:48

morning and Ashland was

31:51

in and out between

31:53

patients. We've pushed and things

31:55

during this time, but at

31:57

10 o'clock on Tuesday morning.

32:00

Chris asked, this is in my chart,

32:02

when it was going to be time

32:04

to go to the hospital and the

32:06

midwife said that there was no need,

32:08

that until mom and baby are showing

32:10

signs of distress that we're fine where

32:12

we are fine where we are, and

32:14

there's no need to transfer care.

32:16

And that's in your chart. Yes. And

32:18

he had been talking about it

32:20

prior to that. I mean, we're

32:22

exhausted. He's exhausted. I'm exhausted. My

32:24

mom's exhausted. She's been in and

32:26

out. She went home for a

32:28

little bit. I'm sure the midwives are

32:31

exhausted. So he's like, is there

32:33

a deadline? Is there like a,

32:35

at this point, we should go

32:37

to the hospital? And she's like,

32:39

no, everything, you know, is normal.

32:42

Everybody's heart rate's normal. Everybody's

32:44

good. Nobody needs to go anywhere.

32:47

We're fine. Tuesday at 1059, my

32:49

chart says, patient is snoring because

32:51

I'm exhausted. And they had said

32:53

the most common reason for

32:56

transfer is maternal exhaustion. with

32:58

the CPM, which was Elizabeth,

33:00

midwife discussing with patient

33:03

the risks of maconium,

33:05

including M.A.S., an infection.

33:07

Maconium Aspiration Syndrome is

33:09

when a newborn baby breathes

33:12

in a sticky substance called

33:14

maconium just before or during

33:16

birth. It can cause breathing

33:18

problems and respiratory

33:20

distress. According to John

33:23

Hopkins University, Maconium Aspiration Syndrome,

33:25

A leading cause of severe

33:27

illness and death in newborns

33:30

occurs in about 5 to

33:32

10% of births. Discussing with

33:34

patient the possibility there

33:36

is thicker meck behind baby

33:39

and the possibility of baby

33:41

needing suction or resuscitation after

33:44

birth. Midwife advised patient that

33:46

as long as baby and mother

33:48

of baby are showing no signs

33:51

of infection or distress, we can

33:53

continue with current plan of care

33:55

to birth at birth at birth center,

33:57

but if baby or mother baby decompensate.

34:00

at any time. The transfer

34:02

care of care will be

34:04

necessary if thick mech becomes

34:06

evident prior to birth. Patient

34:08

and father of baby verbally

34:10

understand and agree to continue

34:12

with current plan of care to

34:14

birth at the birth center. So

34:16

apparently we had that discussion.

34:19

They gave me another IV at noon.

34:21

There's a note in my chart

34:23

at 2 o'clock in the afternoon

34:25

that says thin maconium. At 2.40,

34:27

they say we should start pushing.

34:29

We're doing some pushing exercises.

34:32

We think the baby's

34:34

going to come. I'm

34:36

exhausted. I can barely push. At

34:38

315, Ashland, the C&M,

34:40

recommends transfer, since baby

34:42

is in the same

34:45

position that baby was at

34:47

noon. When Ashland said, I think

34:49

now is the time to transfer,

34:51

my husband snatched up all of

34:54

our shit. He was fast and

34:56

furious. putting in the car,

34:58

packing up everything. He was ready. I

35:00

think that him and my mom probably

35:02

had conversations that I wasn't a part

35:05

of because I was in labor law

35:07

land. I know that Chris had asked

35:09

the midwives several times, like, is it

35:11

time to go? They just never said that

35:13

it was time. They just kept saying,

35:15

she's fine, everything's fine. I think

35:17

they should have transferred me long

35:19

before. I was at 10 centimeters

35:22

at 7.30 that morning, and we

35:24

didn't transfer until almost 4 o'clock,

35:26

that afternoon. I can barely

35:28

get down the stairs. I can barely

35:30

walk. It was really bad. I was

35:32

pretty dead to the world. I'm sure my

35:34

husband thought of the worst. I could lose

35:36

her. I could lose the baby. My mom,

35:38

I think, was thinking the same thing.

35:41

Like, this is really scary. I was

35:43

willing to do whatever the hospital told me

35:45

I needed to do. Birth plan out

35:47

the window. I did not care. My

35:50

husband drives us over to the hospital.

35:52

We get out. They put me on

35:54

a wheelchair. and wheel me in,

35:56

we get a room, really I

35:58

feel like shit. you're in

36:01

the onset of the flu and

36:03

you're like, this is it, I'm

36:05

about to go down. That's how

36:07

I felt. My body was drained,

36:09

I was weak, I was dehydrated.

36:11

She's like, I'm going to give

36:14

you Patoza and I'm going to

36:16

give you an IV. I know

36:18

this isn't what you wanted, but

36:20

I think you're going to need

36:22

these things to get the baby

36:24

out. They recommended an epidural with

36:27

the petosan and hopefully my contractions

36:29

would come back strong enough to

36:31

help get the baby out and

36:33

we would avoid a sea section.

36:35

You hear horror stories about an

36:38

epidural and like the needle, that's

36:40

so scary. I was like really

36:42

really really not wanting to do

36:44

the epidural and I am so

36:46

glad that I got that epidural

36:48

I was ready to party in

36:51

Vegas once they put that epidural

36:53

in. I felt amazing. When I

36:55

got my epidural, they gave me

36:57

a catheter and I had 700

36:59

milliliter of tea-colored urine. That's how

37:01

dehydrated I was. And I had

37:04

two IVs before we left the

37:06

birth center. You're not supposed to

37:08

eat in the hospital. I was

37:10

like, I'm going to eat, because

37:12

I feel like I can eat.

37:14

Chris went and got me chick

37:17

fillet. The nurse is like, I'm

37:19

not supposed to let any chick

37:21

fillet. And I was like, I'm

37:23

hungry. I haven't eaten anything real

37:25

for days. So I'm feeling really

37:28

good at this point. I take

37:30

a little nap. I guess it

37:32

was probably about 10 o'clock. The

37:34

doctor comes in and says it's

37:36

time to push. And I pushed

37:38

for about an hour and then

37:41

my nurse went home. I loved

37:43

her. I've looked her up on

37:45

the internet to try and find

37:47

her because I loved her so

37:49

much. But then her roommate took

37:51

over in her place. loved her

37:54

as well. They were amazing. We

37:56

pushed for another 30 minutes and

37:58

the doctor that had taken over

38:00

was delivering another baby and the

38:02

resident was like, okay, I just

38:05

want you to give me a

38:07

half push. And I was like,

38:09

I don't fucking think so. This

38:11

is a full push. You can't

38:13

tell me to hold back. I'm

38:15

not holding back. And I said,

38:18

you better get right because this

38:20

baby's coming out. And we had

38:22

a baby. I have never felt

38:24

so relieved in my life. to

38:26

have my baby. We didn't know

38:28

the gender of the baby and

38:31

I didn't even really care. I

38:33

didn't even care. I was so

38:35

glad that he was out and

38:37

alive and my husband didn't get

38:39

to cut the cord and we

38:42

didn't get skin to skin right

38:44

away but he was alive and

38:46

he was healthy and he was

38:48

10 pounds and that's not the

38:50

case for everyone. There are so

38:52

many people who have been hurt

38:55

by these midwives who didn't get

38:57

to meet their baby. or who

38:59

did meet their baby in terrible,

39:01

terrible circumstances. And I was just

39:03

really, really, really thankful in that

39:05

moment. He never had any kind

39:08

of fever or infection. He was

39:10

never jaundice or anything like that.

39:12

Luckily, he did not have to

39:14

have his lungs vacuumed. He actually

39:16

hadn't ingested any maconium. But the

39:18

notes in my hospital chart said

39:21

that the odor was foul. and

39:23

that it was thick maconium, and

39:25

I don't think that it was

39:27

ever thin, if I'm being completely

39:29

honest. Maybe at the very beginning,

39:32

but not for long, and I

39:34

think we should have been transferred

39:36

much sooner than we were. I

39:38

had high lactic acid. If your

39:40

lactic acid is at this point,

39:42

then you're septic, and we were

39:45

diagnosed with Corrio, which is an

39:47

infection. So did they start antibiotics

39:49

right away in the IV? Yes,

39:51

I got antibiotics. Corioamneonitis is a

39:53

pregnancy in... that can lead to

39:55

complications for both mother and baby.

39:58

Symptoms include fever, fast heart rate,

40:00

painful uterus, and foul-smelling amniotic fluid.

40:02

It's more likely to occur when

40:04

your water is broken, which is

40:06

one of the reasons providers may

40:09

want you to deliver within 24

40:11

hours because the risk of infection

40:13

is much higher. Corio amneonitis can

40:15

cause serious complications for both parent

40:17

and baby, including postpartum infections, premature

40:19

birth, neonatal sepsis, and cerebral palsy.

40:22

They were really worried about me

40:24

and I didn't realize how sick

40:26

I was. I think I had

40:28

104 fever at one point. My

40:30

heart rate was high. I was

40:32

tachycardic for a little bit. It

40:35

was like all hands on deck.

40:37

They never took me away, they

40:39

never put me in the ICU,

40:41

but they were monitoring me really

40:43

hard. And luckily, nothing was wrong

40:46

with the baby. They had somebody

40:48

come to an EKG on me

40:50

because my heart rate, they had

40:52

to come draw blood all night,

40:54

people come and check on your

40:56

baby all night and do things

40:59

with him. They actually kept us

41:01

downstairs in labor and delivery longer.

41:03

We really wanted to go home

41:05

that next day, but they said

41:07

no, you should stay. I didn't

41:09

realize how sick I was. I

41:12

had the epidural so I felt

41:14

a little bit better, but they

41:16

kept saying like you're really sick,

41:18

like you need to stay, we

41:20

need you to be on antibiotics.

41:22

They were like, okay, well I'm

41:25

going to come check on you

41:27

in an hour and if your

41:29

levels are going down and then

41:31

we'll check on you in another

41:33

hour and then we'll check on

41:36

you in another hour and if

41:38

your levels are still going down

41:40

and then once you get to

41:42

this point, just keep monitoring me

41:44

for the next few hours. please

41:46

start the paperwork to get us

41:49

out of here. They said, okay,

41:51

everything actually got a lot better,

41:53

fairly quick, with all the antibiotics

41:55

and everything. They did. keep monitoring

41:57

me. By the time it was

41:59

time to go I was on

42:02

the mend. My levels were back

42:04

to normal. I never had another

42:06

fever or anything like that. We

42:08

were really in the clear. I

42:10

think they would have kept me

42:13

another night but I was so

42:15

ready to not be there and

42:17

we just wanted to go home.

42:19

We were there for a full

42:21

24 hours so we got home

42:23

on Thursday. Origins were supposed to

42:26

come on Friday because they're supposed

42:28

to come to your home to

42:30

check on you and the baby.

42:32

I had to call them to

42:34

make the appointment. She was going

42:36

to come at noon that day.

42:39

And that morning, Friday morning, they

42:41

sent me a message and said

42:43

she wasn't coming. So I called

42:45

to reschedule. And they were like,

42:47

oh, no, we don't need a

42:50

reschedule. And I was like, what

42:52

do you mean? We don't need

42:54

to reschedule. And they were like,

42:56

well, you had everything in the

42:58

hospital that you need. And I

43:00

never saw anybody for postpartum. Nobody

43:03

ever called to check on me.

43:05

A non-IBCLCLC helped me with latching

43:07

the baby. At one week postpartum,

43:09

I spoke with Caitlin on the

43:11

phone, Caitlin, the owner, to discuss

43:13

the situation, that everything in the

43:16

hospital that you need. And I'm

43:18

like, actually... I declined everything in

43:20

the hospital because I've already paid

43:22

for those services with you. And

43:24

I never saw anybody for postpartum.

43:26

Nobody ever called to check on

43:29

me. A non-IBCLC helped me with

43:31

latching the baby. At one week

43:33

postpartum, I spoke with Caitlin on

43:35

the phone, Caitlin the owner, to

43:37

discuss the situation that I was

43:40

in. and how terrible the service

43:42

was at her birth center, and

43:44

how disappointed I was in the

43:46

care. the facilities and the way

43:48

that some of the midwives spoke

43:50

to us. There were so many

43:53

things that they just could have

43:55

been better and she said, you

43:57

know, I really appreciate this phone

43:59

call and we'll do our best

44:01

to make changes and we want

44:03

to make sure you get your

44:06

herbal bath because after you have

44:08

your baby in the birth suite,

44:10

they fill up the bathtub with

44:12

a tea that's good for like

44:14

healing and rejuvenating. Then you bring

44:17

flowers and they put flowers in

44:19

the bath and so you have

44:21

this really pretty photographic moment of

44:23

you and your brand new baby

44:25

in this tea bath that is

44:27

supposed to be good for everybody.

44:30

It's a good bonding moment. Dad

44:32

can get in there with you.

44:34

It's like this whole thing. And

44:36

if you go look at their

44:38

Instagram, the pictures are gorgeous and

44:40

everybody wants that. But they're offering

44:43

that to me and I told

44:45

Caitlin I said, I will never

44:47

step foot back in that hell

44:49

house. I won't do it. And

44:51

she said, well, somebody can come

44:54

to your house and we'll send

44:56

somebody that can take pictures. And

44:58

I'm like, I don't want anybody

45:00

here. I don't, we're past that.

45:02

We're past the herbal bath. She

45:04

offered me an IV. That's not

45:07

going to fix my sepsis or

45:09

my dehydration or any of the

45:11

things that happened. I just want

45:13

you to do better in the

45:15

future. Because at this point, I

45:17

knew how many women in my

45:20

class had transferred already and I

45:22

knew how many people had had

45:24

their babies at their babies at

45:26

the birth center or in their

45:28

car or in their car. The

45:30

transfer rate was sky high and

45:33

I told her I said that's

45:35

unacceptable. She said that's a fluke.

45:37

It was just the odds of

45:39

your class. It's not a normal

45:41

number. That was also a lie

45:44

because I spoke with other people

45:46

who their classes were that high,

45:48

if not higher, in transfer rate.

45:50

I really gave her an earful

45:52

and I knew that there were

45:54

women in my class who were

45:57

maybe younger and probably a lot

45:59

less confrontational than I am and

46:01

I told her that... I would

46:03

be the voice for those women

46:05

and do whatever it was that

46:07

I had to do to make

46:10

sure that those women's voices were.

46:12

And so that's what I did.

46:14

Marquita was in my birth class

46:16

and leading up to us going

46:18

into labor. We had been sending

46:21

messages back and forth. I knew

46:23

that she had been in labor

46:25

and had her baby, but I

46:27

didn't know what had happened. Nobody

46:29

would tell me what had happened.

46:31

I had reached out and told

46:34

her that she did not have

46:36

to reach it back out to

46:38

me, but I was here for

46:40

her. I knew that I had

46:42

had a traumatic experience, so maybe

46:44

she had as well, but I

46:47

didn't know the extent of what

46:49

had happened. Next time, on Something

46:51

was wrong. I actually came to

46:53

origins in the middle of my

46:55

pregnancy. I was 20 weeks pregnant.

46:58

Towards the end, I was seeing

47:00

Jennifer Moore. I was very healthy.

47:02

My son was very healthy. There

47:04

was no issues. I didn't even

47:06

have morning sickness. There weren't really

47:08

any red flags until I went

47:11

into labor and went to origins.

47:13

It wasn't until things went abnormal

47:15

is whenever they had no clue

47:17

of what to do. Kristen created

47:19

a Survivor's group on Facebook that

47:21

has reached 40 plus women now

47:24

that have all had traumatic births

47:26

with Origins. I started forming this

47:28

group called Survivors of Origins Birth

47:30

and Wellness. It was a little

47:32

quiet at first. Nobody was really

47:34

saying their stories or anything, but

47:37

then we started getting multiple requests

47:39

to join the group a day.

47:41

Eventually, Marquita responded to me and

47:43

she joined the group. And then

47:45

I posted my story in the

47:48

group and then she posted hers

47:50

and then other people started to

47:52

post theirs, talking about all kinds

47:54

of different things happening in pregnancy,

47:56

failures to address abnormalities and concerns

47:58

in near misses. Something

48:05

was wrong is a broken

48:07

cycle media production, created and

48:10

produced by executive producer Tiffany

48:12

Reese, associate producers Amy B.

48:14

Chesler, and Lily Rowe, with

48:16

audio editing and music design

48:18

by Becca High. Thank you

48:20

to our extended team, Lauren

48:23

Barkman, our social media marketing

48:25

manager, and Sarah Stewart, our

48:27

graphic artist. Thank you to

48:29

Marissa Travis and our team

48:31

at WME. Jason and Jennifer.

48:33

Our Cybersecurity Team, Dark Box

48:36

Security, and My Lawyer, Alan.

48:38

Thank you endlessly to every

48:40

survivor who has ever trusted

48:42

us with their stories. And

48:44

thank you, each and every

48:46

listener, for making our show

48:49

possible with your support and

48:51

listenership. Special shout out to

48:53

Emily Wolf for covering Gladrag's

48:55

original song, You Thank You,

48:57

for us this season. For

48:59

more music by Emily Wolf,

49:02

check out the episode notes

49:04

or your favorite music streaming

49:06

app. Speaking of episode notes,

49:08

there every week you'll find

49:10

episode-specific content warnings, sources, and

49:12

resources. Until next time, stay

49:15

safe, friends. If you like

49:17

Something was wrong, you can

49:19

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49:21

now by joining Wondery Plus

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49:28

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49:30

Music. Before you go, tell

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us about yourself by filling

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