A woman who gave birth to her daughter in a bathtub on Facebook Live claims she was mistakenly sent home during labour.
Natosha Kramer, 32, went to the hospital after she started experiencing stomach pains, but after doctors diagnosed her with the flu, she was discharged, despite claiming that the ultrasound the doctors did, showed the baby in the birth canal.
A few hours later, Natasha, who lives alone in Ohio, USA, delivered her baby at home without any assistance from a medical professional.
Fortunately, her parents were visiting at the time and were able to support her through the delivery.
Artist and photographer Natosha said: “I didn't know I was in labour because they said I had a stomach virus. I didn't think I was giving birth. Even with her head in my hands between my legs, it didn't hit me.
"It's my first time. I didn't know."
Natosha went to the Atrium Medical Center, in Middletown, throwing up and with contractions, at 6am on June 12 and delivered baby Nola in the bath at 3.30 pm the same day.
She decided to stream the birth on Facebook Live because she wanted a record of what was happening.
Natosha added: "I wanted the memory of the birth regardless of in a hospital or my home. My mother caught Nola while I stood there.
"911 on the phone advised my dad to find a string for the umbilical cord, so in panic, he tried taking his shoe strings off, but luckily the EMTs came at this point."
Though the birth went well, Natosha has not been able to receive a birth certificate for Nola and cannot get the government assistance that she needs, because she didn’t deliver at the hospital.
"They keep telling me COVID could make it take up to a year, but it’s really not my fault that I gave birth at home," she said.
A spokesperson for the Atrium Medical Center said that Ohio and Federal privacy laws prohibit them from discussing and disclosing information of patients when contacted about Natosha’s claims of being sent home and not being able to get a birth certificate.
They also said that per hospital policy, mothers who give birth outside of the hospital must obtain a birth certificate through their local health department.
Natosha also claimed that she is never helped when she contacts the hospital for information.
She added: "When I go to the hospital nobody knows what I’m talking about and they look at me like I’m crazy."
Though it has been tough, Natosha said that baby Nola is doing very well.
"She’s perfectly healthy," she said.
"She’s advanced. She’s been teething since two-months-old. She’s crawling and she loves jazz music.”
