An Arizona woman, Scherazade Vedarte-Gonzalez, gave birth inside a minivan in a hospital parking lot after nurses had sent her home, according to her family. Despite being just feet away from the emergency room at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center, Vedarte-Gonzalez delivered a healthy baby girl, Luzbella, on Monday morning. Her mother, Lucy Villanueva, described the experience as traumatic, indicating that her daughter had visited the hospital multiple times in the week leading up to giving birth, but was sent home each time.
Vedarte-Gonzalez was in significant pain last week and visited the hospital on three separate occasions to ensure everything was okay, but was consistently told to go home, according to her mother. On the early morning of Monday, she was once again sent home despite being near her scheduled induction date on May 25. However, just two hours after leaving the hospital, her pain worsened, prompting a rush back to the hospital.
In a dramatic turn of events, Vedarte-Gonzalez informed her mother that the baby was coming, leading to Villanueva delivering the baby girl in the hospital parking lot before medical staff could intervene. Feeling helpless, Villanueva placed the baby on her daughter and rushed inside for help. The new mother received medical treatment in the parking lot before being readmitted to the hospital. However, Banner Casa Grande Medical Center has disputed the family’s claims, stating that Vedarte-Gonzalez chose to leave the hospital on her own accord, was not in active labor, and delivered several hours later.
The hospital maintains that Vedarte-Gonzalez was seen and assessed before her delivery, and despite not being in active labor, she chose to go home and delivered later. Banner Casa Grande Medical Center expressed happiness that both Vedarte-Gonzalez and her newborn baby are doing well after the delivery. Meanwhile, the family’s account of the events continues to paint a picture of a chaotic and intense situation where Vedarte-Gonzalez ended up giving birth in the hospital parking lot, just moments after being sent home by nurses. The conflicting narratives have created a debate around the care provided to Vedarte-Gonzalez during her visits to the hospital prior to childbirth.
