A Denver family was left furious after an emergency cesarean section left their newborn with a huge cut across one side of her face. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion quickly turned into one fearful one. “To have your granddaughter born to come out to see the plastic surgeon, to get 13 stitches, is devastating, it’s heartbreaking,” said her grandfather Walter Williams.
The family had originally planned for a natural birth but, the baby’s mother Reazjhana Williams has to undergo an emergency procedure at Denver Health. “They gave me a pill to speed up my labor and a few minutes after that I was being rushed into an emergency C-section,” she said. The hospital claimed that the child unexpectedly began shifting during the procedure which resulted in the massive cut that required 13 stitches.
“They said our baby made a sudden movement they couldn’t hear her heartbeat or find it and they took her into an immediate C-section,” recalled Damarqus. “They said her face was close to the placenta wall.” Shortly after the birth of their little angel, the family is left with more questions than ever. “I tried to be understanding about what happened, but on top of the fact her face got cut and a plastic surgeon had to come do it, there’s just a lot of things I’m not understanding with the C-section,” said the devastated mother. “I’ve never heard of anybody having to deal with their baby’s face looking like this after a C-section.”
“I’ve done over probably 2,500 deliveries and I assisted on C-sections, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that,” claimed Advance Practice Nurse Lisa Merck after seeing the photos of the child. “That is kind of one of the things that can happen, but it is really, really rare.”
Now, grandmother Tashaira wants the hospital to be held accountable for the mistake. “I don’t think that’s right. They have to be held accountable for what they did,” she said. They have set up a GoFundMe account to raise funds for a lawyer, so they can get justice.
Responding to the family’s story, Denver Health sent Fox31 a statement that read, “Denver Health has been in touch with the family directly. While this is a known medical complication in emergency C-sections, our focus is always on providing care in the best interest of the mother and child. At Denver Health, the safety and well-being of our patients is our number one priority.”