Black parents Temecia and Rodney Jackson are alleging their decision to have a home birth and treat their newborn at home for jaundice ignited a tragic chain reaction, with Mr. Jackson being arrested and their infant being removed from their care and placed into the foster system.
The Jacksons, who live in Desoto, Texas a suburb of Dallas, elected to have a home birth. Their daughter Mila Jackson was born on March 21, 2023 with the assistance of Cheryl Edinbyrd, a midwife and licensed professional counselor.
Three days later on March 24, the Jacksons took Mila in for a newborn checkup with their pediatrician of 12 years.
Temecia Jackson said, “Within that [March 24] visit, we were told ‘everything is good, she looks great, the only thing is she has jaundice,” which is a fairly common amongst newborns and usually considered harmless, according to the National Health Service.
But “[a] couple hours later, the pediatrician called my phone and wanted us to admit Mila into the hospital,” Ms. Jackson continued.
As NHS notes, “The symptoms of newborn jaundice usually develop 2 days after the birth and tend to get better without treatment by the time the baby is about 2 weeks old…By the time a baby is about 2 weeks old, their liver is more effective at processing bilirubin, so jaundice often corrects itself by this age without causing any harm.”
On March 25, Dr. Bhatt, the couples’ pediatrician, contacted the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), per a filed affidavit. A DFPS investigator spoke with the doctor who said Mila’s bilirubin levels was a “cause for a lot of concern.” Edinbyrd told CBS that she considered the levels “‘high’” but not critical.”
Documents indicate “that a program director from DFPS approved removal of the four-day-old baby.”
At a press conference, the Ms. Jackson expressed, “We were traumatized. We were woken up by police banging at our door at 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.”
“I called my husband and let him know there’s police outside. He immediately turns around and comes back to the house. He’s met by six constables pretty much demanding that he let them into our home, and they had a writ,” she said.
“My husband said he would not be allowing them to go into the home but if they have a writ, they can do whatever it is they need to do. He made sure not to block our front door or anything like that,” she continued. “The constables chose to arrest my husband so that they could take his keys and use his keys to unlawfully enter my home and come and take my baby from me.”
After DFPS left, when Temecia looked at the paperwork, she says it had another woman’s name and her husband was initially listed as “the alleged father.”
“I felt like they had stolen my baby…I did not know where to turn,” Temecia said. “They had taken my husband from me and then took my daughter from me and I was left by myself.”
The Afiya Center, a Texas reproductive and birth justice organization, is representing the Jacksons.
In a statement shared with CBS, they call these series of events a “direct attack on Black mothers and parents, Black families and midwifery – and Black midwives in particular,” adding that “Our state already has a ruthless track record of removing Black kids from their homes, which has led to horrific results. Now this loving, caring family is terrified they’ll fall into that category.”
On Monday, the White House issued a proclamation in honor of Black Maternal Health Week, which occurs annually from April 11 – April 17, writing “Black Maternal Health Week is a reminder that so many families experience pain, neglect, and loss during what should be one of the most joyous times of their lives.”
The proclamation goes on to discuss how institutional racism is a large factor, citing how “[s]tudies show that Black women are often dismissed or ignored in hospitals and other health care settings.”
According to a report released late last year from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national Center for Health Statistics, “[t]here were more than 50,000 home births in the United States in 2021, an increase of 12% over the year before and the highest level since at least 1990.” For Black women, home births increased by 21%, higher than any other racial or ethnic group..
Demetra Seriki, the only Black home-birth midwife in the state of Colorado, is outspoken on the subject of home births for women of color, stating “Every time you walk into a hospital as a Black woman to give birth, you’re rolling the dice.”