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(CNN) - On July 31, 2018, Diana Sánchez - pregnant, very pregnant - woke up early: her breakfast at 5 am arrived with contractions.
Almost five hours later, the fountain broke. But she says she never went to the hospital.
Could not. The 27-year-old was locked in the Denver County Jail and says her pleas for help were not answered. Nearly six hours after she says she first told the guard she was in labor, she gave birth to a single baby in a jail cell.
Those are the accusations made in a civil lawsuit recently filed against the Denver Health Medical Center (Denver Health), against the city and against Denver County and six sheriff's officers and nurses. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Denver, seeks compensation for damages and policy changes. Sanchez's lawyer, Mari Newman, described her client's experience as "deeply disturbing."
"What we are looking for is that Denver and Denver Health ensure that this never happens to anyone else, and that they take responsibility for this horrible incident," he told CNN.
The Denver Sheriff's Department has denied that its agents have done something wrong, but as a result they have changed their policies regarding women in labor.
The terrible experience was captured in a closed circuit video recorded inside Sánchez's cell. An edited version of the soundless tape that Newman provided to CNN shows Sanchez talking to someone at the door of his cell around 6:30 a.m. At 9:43 a.m., Sanchez is seen knocking on his cell door, apparently trying to get someone's attention.
According to the lawsuit, he told prison staff that the source had been broken and that he had abdominal pain. Childbirth was imminent. About 15 minutes later, someone slipped what his lawyer described as a white absorbent pad folded under the door. The video shows Sanchez deploying it and placing it on the cot of his cell. He put on his pants to his knees and lay on top.
Thirty minutes later, the video shows Sanchez clearly in pain, twisting under a navy blue sheet. Less than 15 minutes later, at 10:43 a.m., Sanchez seems to be screaming in pain and trying to control his breathing.
She is still the only person inside the cell, so you can watch the video. Seconds later, he removes the pants of one leg and then the underwear. Finally, a guard appears at the door, takes half a step inside and leaves while Sanchez seems to continue screaming, as the video shows. With her weight shifted to the side of her body, Sanchez gives birth to a baby, with the guard still standing at the door. Then a nurse enters the room, according to the video.
“The nurse who finally enters looks at the baby that was born as if she had just fallen from outer space. The way he lifts the baby is as if he had never seen a baby before, ”said Newman, explaining that the appearance of a baby should not have been a surprise.
She says Sanchez told the jail staff, both the sheriff's officers and the nurses, that she had contractions at least eight times that morning and that they didn't call an ambulance until after delivery. Instead, the lawsuit says the staff ordered a “non-emergent van” to take her to the hospital.
Sanchez herself was not available for an interview, but last year, weeks after giving birth, she spoke with KDVR, a CNN affiliate.
“I felt helpless. No one was helping me. There were so many people there and nobody raised a finger basically, ”he told the station. "That pain was simply ... it's indescribable, and what hurts me most is the fact that nobody cared."
According to the lawsuit, the Denver Health nurses were hired by the prison as staff members were not prepared, even after the baby was born, unable to find tweezers to cut the umbilical cord, according to the lawsuit.
“Despite the multiple requests, no clamps were found. No nurse in jail never held or cut the umbilical cord, ”the lawsuit said.
It was more than 30 minutes after birth that Sanchez and her newborn baby finally arrived at the hospital, according to the lawsuit.
Sanchez was awaiting trial on identity fraud charges
Sanchez was in the county jail awaiting trial on charges of identity fraud, according to his lawyer. She was later sentenced to two years probation. Newman says Sanchez also struggled with a heroin addiction, and that his client had informed jail officials that he was prescribed methadone to prevent withdrawal symptoms. The lawyer said that also made the pregnancy particularly high risk.
Sanchez was housed in a dedicated medical unit and "under the care of Denver Health medical professionals at the time she gave birth," said Denver Sheriff Department spokeswoman Daria Serna in a statement she sent to CNN . "We sympathize with anyone in jail during pregnancy, including Ms. Sanchez."
At that time, the incident triggered an internal investigation, but the investigation found that “the deputy sheriffs took appropriate action under the circumstances and followed the relevant policies and procedures. As a result, the policy [of the Denver Sheriff's Department] was clarified so that when an inmate is in labor she will be called an emergency ambulance, ”says a statement from the Sheriff's Department that was published last November.
"To ensure that none of this happens again, the Denver Sheriff's Department has changed its policies to ensure that pregnant inmates at any stage of labor are transported immediately to the hospital," the statement said.
That same statement also emphasized that the medical staff provided by Denver Health is responsible for the care and well-being of inmates.
Denver Health spokesman Simon Crittle declined to comment on the incident, citing the litigation, but said in a statement that “Denver Health provides high quality medical care to thousands of inmates each year. Our patients are our number one priority and we do our best to make sure they receive the right care. ”
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