Woman sues Maryland officials for allegedly forcing her to give birth alone in filthy jail cell

A woman who says she was left to give birth on the dirty concrete floor of her jail cell has filed a federal lawsuit accusing jail nurses of ignoring her screams and pleas for help for six hours, the Associated Press reports.

In her suit, Jazmin Valentine says some nurses working for the jail’s contracted medical provider, Pennsylvania-based PrimeCare Medical, Inc., said she was going through drug withdrawals instead of labor. Jail staff even laughed at her and said she was trying to make an excuse to get out of her cell, the lawsuit alleges.

Valentine claims she then removed the baby's amniotic sac and slid it under her jail cell door to prove she wasn't lying.

A fellow inmate heard Valentine’s cries and called Valentine’s boyfriend, who called the jail and pleaded with staff to help her, according to the suit. A jail deputy later discovered Valentine holding her newborn baby. The suit also says unsanitary conditions in the cell caused the baby to develop a type of staph bacteria infection that is resistant to many antibiotics.

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Valentine's suit says that Washington County, Maryland, its sheriff department and sheriff, along with nurses and deputies at the jail violated Valentine’s rights under state law and the Constitution.

Read the full report over at the Associated Press.