This Mom Checked Her Newborn Out of the Hospital Early, The Next Day Her Baby Was Taken Away

[Ykcutnek]

Langwell had been having contractions for two days when she told her fiancé at 11:30 p.m. that it was time to head to Desert Regional Medical Center, which she'd chosen because it allowed rooming-in and she didn't want the baby to leave her side. Once there, she asked for an epidural, but by the time everything was in place for her to receive one, it was too late. She delivered the baby naturally at 2:34 a.m., and around noon was put in a room with two other new mothers and their babies, including one who Langwell says kept talking loudly on her cellphone.

Later that afternoon, Langwell decided to check out and go home. Langwell said the baby was breastfeeding well and was healthy, and she preferred to take her home early "AMA" (against medical advice) so they could all get some sleep. When she left, a member of the hospital's staff called and reported her to the county's child welfare agency.

A child welfare agent came to the house the next day to check on the baby. The home had a security fence, and Langwell and Hodek did not hear the knocking at the gate, which was some distance from the front of the house. The agent called the police. When Langwell eventually appeared at the security gate, she saw two police officers and the welfare agent, who told her that the hospital had alerted the agency when she checked out early. Langwell refused to let the police and welfare agent inside the house but brought the baby out so they could see that she was OK. The agent noted in her report that the baby had good coloring. Langwell submitted to an on-the-spot drug test, but according to the report, the test was inconclusive, because her saliva sample was too thick ­— "which may have had something to do with the fact that I had just given birth and it was 110 degrees," Langwell says bitterly.

The agent returned later that day with a warrant to take the baby — just to the hospital for a full exam, Langwell and Hodek initially thought. Langwell insisted on riding along in the car with the baby. Hodek and his mother followed behind. Hodek says hospital workers then attempted to catheterize the baby to procure a urine sample for a drug test. "I've worked as a medic and seen a lot of terrible things, but this I can hardly even talk about," Hodek says. "They tried eight times to catheterize my one-day-old baby." Hodek's mother covered her own head with a blanket to try to block out the baby's screaming. The hospital couldn't comment on particulars of Langwell's case, but according to the welfare report, "The hospital was unable to secure a urine sample from the infant."

http://www.redbookmag.com/kids-family/blogs/mom-blog/tiffany-langwell-baby-cosmo

[Anansi1171]

1. Speechless! -nt

[Crunchy Frog]

2. Maybe she'll have a homebirth next time.

I sure as hell would.

[TwilightGardener]

3. I left the hospital fairly early with my second baby, 24 hours after he was born instead

of 48 hours--against medical advice, in fact. He was eating, pooping, not much in the way of jaundice, he was fine. If he hadn't been fine, I would have immediately rushed him back to the hospital. I had a toddler who was being mostly watched by a sitter (no family nearby) and a husband who wasn't allowed much time off, I was an experienced mom by that point, and I simply had to get home. This lady left a little early for comfort, IMO, but unless there's a law that says a healthy-appearing newborn must stay in a hospital for a certain length of time (or even be in a hospital at all--how about home births?) the authorities way overstepped their bounds.

[belzabubba333]

4. why all the drug testing -- oh more from the article

According to the child welfare agency's report, a hospital staff member described Langwell as "hostile" and suggested that her behavior was "consistent with someone with substance abuse issues." (According to a representative from the county's child welfare department, the majority of the cases they see are neglect cases, and most of those are related to substance abuse.) The staff member said the couple and Hodek's mother seemed shaky and had rapid jaw movement, and that Langwell put two pill bottles in her bag. Langwell says the only pills she had in her bag were her iron supplements. She says she was severely sleep-deprived from her two days in labor and upset that she never got her epidural, and that her fiancé and his mother can be abrasive and were also exhausted, but beyond that, she doesn't know what about the trio's behavior could have sent up a red flag. "I never cussed anyone out or anything," she says.

The report notes that Langwell refused a drug test. Langwell remembers being offered a drug test while in labor and says her response was, "How much does the test cost?" Langwell, a former bank teller, has been unemployed since January, and her fiancé, a former medic and water-park manager, is also unemployed. He says he was injured on the job some years ago and received a settlement.

this probably promted the call
three Child Protective Services (CPS) workers were fired after a boy left in his mother's care died

she got her baby back but those 1st days are crucial bonding days