Congratulations from the State of Oregon
Midwives get their dirty money.
Lyndsey Cotton, JoCo M.E. “investigator” instructed Rogue Birth Center (RBC) midwife Amy Hendrickson Wessner to file Amirah’s ‘live birth’ information with Oregon Vital Events Records System (OVERS). Cotton only considered whatever Wessner said. Cotton never reviewed Rachael’s medical records OR SHE WOULD’VE SEEN THE 20 WEEK ULTRASOUND. And, of course, Wessner selectively only went back to the GBS positive in 7/12/22 chart notes.
An immediate autopsy could have determined Amirah’s ACTUAL time of INTRAUTERINE death, along with placental and umbilical cord forensics. (More on Amirah’s placenta & umbilical cord later.)
Instead, an external, visual examination somehow allowed them to say Amirah had organ damage… but how can they truly know that without also having x-ray vision? We didn’t want assumptions — we wanted accurate, honest, hard facts. We needed to know if there were genetic issues.
Wessner offered diversions to Cotton, showing Wessner’s (+Ervin’s & Pratts’) negligence — GBS positive means that delivery needs to occur no more than 18 hrs after the amniotic sac ruptures.
Wonder why she didn’t mention the volume of ‘cervical fluid’ lost between 7/24 - 7/27/22 to Cotton? Could THAT have had anything to do with causing the death of breech baby Amirah?
Amirah was without ALL of her amniotic fluid by 9:30 AM on 7/26/22 (56.5 hrs. steadily leaking in small gushes). Mama had lost 2 lbs., and Amirah’s fundal height corresponded with a loss of 2 cm.
Huh, what do you know — normal amniotic fluid at full term weighs precisely 2 lbs.
We received a death certificate, but never received a birth certificate. It may be because Amirah allegedly ‘lived’ for a such short time. But still, it just doesn’t make sense — according to the “experts” — somehow she was ‘alive’ for an hour and 7 minutes without ever breathing or moving a muscle! Amazingly impossible!
When we get to the EMTs records, we’ll show that they documented Amirah as ASYSTOLE (flatline) at the birth center, which should have meant calling the police had they called the code there.
About a month before we had access to the records above, the Notice below arrived in the mail — 28 days after losing Amirah.
Thanks for the gut punch.
The records below show RBC requests for OHP payments. This one was faxed on 8/02/22, the same day we requested complete records from co-owner-midwife, Willa Woodard Ervin. Her husband Todd is the business manager and grounds keeper. He completes these documents and electronically submits them to the state. He also uploads forms for birth center clients to e-sign.
Then we reviewed the one sent in June:
The State was supposed to ensure that Amirah’s delivery would be Low Risk? That along with very clear Midwifery/Birth Center/ OHP-HERC Rules, should have guaranteed a living, breathing, vibrant baby girl. Breech is not a death sentence.
April 5, 2022 is the day that the midwives’ decided to lie by omission and deceive us and violate the Rules.
Chart notes from first prenatal appointment following the ultrasound, FALSIFYING Fetal Position in the records — “Vertex” means “head down” :
These are the photos that were shown to the midwives:
We are going to present all evidence to the Court of Public Opinion, showing that Rogue Birth Center midwives’ purposely chose to risk both Rachael and Amirah’s lives for their own selfish motivations.
The midwives at RBC knowingly, recklessly and intentionally endangered a vulnerable pregnant woman and her first born child, killing the infant and coming close to killing her mother, too. Not to mention the emotional and physical torture and trauma inflicted on the entire family.
Remember how they bragged to us about delivering breech babies at the hospital after killing Amirah?
Well, turns out that they are FORBIDDEN under midwifery, birth center and OHP rules to engage in BREECH high-risk labor and delivery, precisely due to maternal-fetal mortality and morbidity rates.
So why are they doing this instead of diligently following established Rules? Because obviously they don’t really care about women and babies. They do whatever they want, knowing they are in a gray area of law, arrogantly acting as if they are immune from accountability for their crimes. There are numerous others who have also been traumatized by the RBC “hive”. Perhaps with our story laid bare, they too will have the courage to voice their truth.
With each additional risk factor, the likelihood of death exponentially increases, and Amirah’s life undoubtedly had ended by the time her lifeless little body was delivered.
Oxygen Deprivation
The primary cause of infant brain damage (during both pregnancy and childbirth) is lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia). Some degree of oxygen deprivation during pregnancy or delivery is surprisingly common. Asphyxia is reported in as many as 10 out of every 1,000 live births, according to data published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology. A large percentage of these cases are attributable to negligent prenatal or perinatal medical care.
There are 2 different categories of oxygen deprivation that can cause infant brain damage: hypoxia and anoxia. Hypoxia occurs when the supply level of oxygen to the baby's brain is significantly reduced but not completely cut off. Reduced oxygen levels to the brain can cause damage over a period of time but the extent of the injury tends to be less severe. Apoxia occurs when the delivery of oxygen to the baby is entirely cut off for some period of time.
Without any oxygen at all, cells in the brain begin to decay and die within a matter of minutes. This type of total oxygen deprivation usually results in much more serious injuries to the brain. Both anoxia and hypoxia can cause permanent disabilities like cerebral palsy. Disruption of oxygen leading to either hypoxia or anoxia can be triggered by a number of different complications or health conditions during pregnancy or childbirth. Listed below are the most common reasons for infant oxygen deprivation during pregnancy or delivery:
Umbilical Cord Issues: until the baby is actually born and breathing on its own, oxygen is delivered from the mother through the umbilical cord. A variety of complications involving the umbilical cord can arise and potentially disrupt the supply of oxygen through the cord. If the umbilical cord becomes twisted, compressed, or pinched at any point during gestation or labor and delivery oxygen delivery can be disrupted or cut off entirely. Certain umbilical cord problems, such when the cord becomes twisted around the baby's neck or prolapses during delivery, are particularly dangerous and doctors only have a few minutes to respond before brain damage occurs.
How long was Amirah’s oxygen cut off inside the womb… as she slowly made her way down the birth canal—over 80 HOURS?
These women preyed on a family and victimized them proudly, without any remorse whatsoever. Cold, calculated, well-insulated psychos playing doctor, getting off on touching and putting their hands inside naked women (ever heard of a speculum?), picking and choosing who lives and who dies as they cherry-pick which rules they’ll follow with each client.
They can’t have it both ways — which is it expert or incompetent? Roll the dice and hope it ends with a live baby, but don’t worry too much if it dies — the Board of Midwifery will just sting the wrist and they go right back at it in no time. No morals, no ethics, no real consequences for the immense harm caused to Public Health and Safety. This equates to state-sanctioned harm against women and children.
Can midwives read? Can they visually comprehend a colored chart? They claim to be experts and professionals, but WHOOPS somehow broke every Rule killing Amirah and almost her Mother!
How can so many Rule violations be an accident or mistake?
How can what they’ve done be medical malpractice when they are not qualified medical providers and by law are not required to carry malpractice insurance. Any profession involving direct bodily contact requires malpractice-liability insurance — physical therapists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, face painters at fairs… but not these CPM-LDM midwives.
Coming up we’ll show the specific Rules that were intentionally violated. They’re written in clear language that any high school graduate should be able to read and comprehend.
The fact that these Rules were intentionally violated; thereby condemns each one of the “hive” for the horrific, senseless, needless, unconscionable death of our beloved Amirah Rayne. It’s called Negligence Per Se in a civil suit, and means:
The actions are assumed to be unreasonable if the conduct violates an applicable rule, regulation, or statute. Elements of Negligence Per Se are that 1) the defendant violated a law or regulation designed to protect against the alleged harm; 2) The plaintiff belongs to the class that the law or regulation was intended to protect, and 3) The violation caused the plaintiff’s death/injury.
Keep in mind that co-owner midwife Woodard Ervin is a Midwifery Rule Advisory Committee member and a Birthing Facility Rule Advisory Committee member. Willa and her “hive” absolutely know all the Rules, and Willa is ultimately responsible for all the other midwives’ compliance with them. Willa’s attorney, Hermine Hayes Klein, happens to also sit on both those RACs under the guise of a separate entity from her law firm. (At least last we knew she was still on them). RACs influence the Boards to remove, adopt, amend the Rules with which they are to comply to practice midwifery in Oregon.