A Texas couple are fighting to have their two-week-old daughter returned to them after social services removed the baby because the parents refused to allow the child to be treated at a hospital for jaundice.
Temecia and Rodney Jackson said when officers showed up at their home in Desoto, Texas, to retrieve their child, the paperwork named the baby’s mother as another woman who has a criminal record.
The documents identified Rodney Jackson as baby Mila’s “alleged father.”
The Jacksons welcomed 6lb, 9oz Mila on March 21. The little girl was born at her home in Desoto, a suburb of Dallas, in the presence of a midwife.
They took Mila to a local hospital for a routine appointment when she was three days old and was examined by a nurse working with pediatrician Dr. Anand Bhatt collaborated. The Jacksons say they were told their daughter was healthy and were released.
Temecia Jackson is seen at home in Desoto, Texas with baby Mila, who was born March 21
Mila was born at home under the supervision of Cheryl Edinbyrd, a certified professional midwife
The newborn Mila suffered from jaundice – a common condition that affects 60 percent of all babies
They soon became concerned that she had jaundice and rushed her to the hospital on March 27.
“We were told by the pediatrician that the levels are high and they will be testing blood and following up,” Temecia told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“They asked and said we need to get the baby to the hospital for light therapy right away.”
The Jacksons said they wanted to do the therapy at home because they didn’t want their baby to be hospitalized.
“We informed him that we will do the light care at home on our own,” she said.
Infant jaundice occurs because the baby’s blood contains an excess of bilirubin, a yellow pigment found in red blood cells. The condition is common: About 60 percent of all babies have jaundice, according to the CDC.
But Dr. Bhatt – who Temecia Jackson says did not see the baby and instead the newborn was examined by his nurse – was adamant Mila needed hospital care.
Temecia and Rodney Jackson are seen Thursday at a news conference begging for the return of their newborn daughter
dr Anand Bhatt, a pediatrician, said the newborn had dangerous jaundice and required hospital treatment: parents insisted she could be treated at home
Newborn baby Mila who was delivered at home in the Dallas suburbs
On March 28, social services arrived at Jackson’s and took Mila away.
dr Bhatt said in his letter recommending that the newborn be taken away from the parents, that Mila has dangerously high levels of bilirubin, which can lead to brain damage.
Mila’s bilirubin was 21.7, according to the letter obtained from the WFAA.
dr Bhatt wrote that “if the bilirubin level is over 20, a baby is at risk of brain damage because bilirubin is able to cross the blood-brain barrier.”
He said he tried repeatedly to contact the parents, but when that failed, he called Child Protection Services and said the baby needed urgent medical attention.
“I submitted a case report to CPS after making 10 attempts to appeal to the family through phone calls, text messages and leaving voicemails because they would not answer the phone,” he wrote.
“Parents are very loving and take great care of their baby.
“Their distrust of medical care and guidance has led them to make the decision that the baby refuse simple treatment that can prevent brain damage.
“I have approved the support of CPS to provide this baby with the medical care that was needed and required.”
The CPS agreed, stating in its own letter: “As parents are unwilling to discuss the danger and possible consequences of this condition, the Ministry must intervene.”
The CPS letter listed concerns about “possible stroke, brain damage, or other immediate dangers to the child.”
The Jacksons, upon reading the records, discovered that the mother was listed as another woman with a criminal history.
Rodney Jackson has been described as an “alleged father”.
“Bargained into my home to take my baby,” she said Thursday at a news conference at the Afiya Center in Dallas.
“I immediately felt like they stole my baby when I had a home birth and they tried to say my baby belonged to this other woman.”
The Jacksons said they were ‘treated like criminals’
Cheryl Edinbyrd, the certified professional midwife who took care of Mila’s birth
Her husband added: “We were treated like criminals – and that is far from the truth.
“It’s a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
The Jacksons have since visited their baby in hospital and are expected in court on April 20.
Gary Gates, a state official, works to get Mila back with her parents.
He said it was “terrible; that the newborn should be kept away from its mother during the vital first few weeks.
“You mean nothing will be done in the next few weeks?” he said.
“I mean, this child will be more than a month old and has been totally denied bonding with his mother.”
He also noted the errors in the documentation.
“And if that’s a false affidavit, you know, that’s criminal,” Gates said.
“You know, you can’t make a false affidavit because you swear under oath that every line of that affidavit is correct.”
Cheryl Edinbyrd, the certified professional midwife who attended to Mila’s birth, said: “CPS has enough to do out here with children who are really being beaten and abused. This child was fed. This child was supported. And this child was loved. And this child was kidnapped.’
She added: “We demand that Mila be brought back home today. Today. Because yesterday it was too late.’