NATIONAL — A yearlong joint investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law has uncovered a pattern of pregnant women in jails across the United States miscarrying, giving birth alone on filthy cell floors or toilets, and in some cases losing their babies or their own lives while requests for help were reportedly ignored.
The investigation, based on more than 60 interviews and thousands of pages of lawsuits, medical and jail records, police reports, and video, documents that at least 54 civil rights cases have been filed between 2017 and 2024 alleging severe mistreatment and medical neglect of women bearing children in local jails.
Reporters note that the actual number is likely much higher because there has been a lack of comprehensive federal data on pregnancies or pregnancy outcomes in jails, and many women do not sue.
NBC reports that in these cases, most of the women were incarcerated on low-level, nonviolent charges including shoplifting, violating probation, drug possession or minor traffic offenses.
These women were held in county or local jails intended for short-term detention while cases were pending, not prisons where individuals serve full sentences.
It was noted that many were pretrial detainees who could have reached a hospital if they had been able to afford bail, sometimes as low as $125.
NBC recounts one of the stories in the investigation: that of Chasity Congious, a 21-year-old resident of Tarrant County, Texas.
After her mother called 911 in January 2020 to seek help for a serious mental health crisis, it was reported that law enforcement arrested Congious instead.
According to the article, four months later, Congious went into labor alone in her cell.
As noted in the investigation, Congious “pressed the emergency intercom button, but no one came.”
Bleeding and unable to stand, “she started pushing,” and her baby girl, Zenorah, was born into the pant leg of her jail uniform with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.
The family was later told by doctors that the baby had gone too long without oxygen.
Kim Hammond, mother of Congious, described the loss of Zenorah as unimaginable, stating, “I tried to make it as special as I could when we had to let her go.”
She continued her statement at the funeral, adding that she “didn’t want her to be alone in the way that Chasity was alone.”
Per the investigation reports, Congious was not permitted to hold her daughter or attend the funeral.
The assault charge that put Congious in jail was later dropped.
The article detailed more accounts of disturbing cases of pregnant women nationwide.
In Kentucky, a woman “chewed through her umbilical cord” after giving birth to her child alone on the floor of a jail cell.
In Georgia, another woman stated she “begged for 13 hours to be taken to the hospital” before delivering inside her cell. Her newborn died a few days later.
In Louisiana, a woman was told to “shut the f- – – up” before she proceeded to give birth to her child on a toilet.
In Mississippi, 37-year-old Lanekia Brown reportedly experienced repeated “sharp pain” before dying from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Her family stated, “She had a voice and her voice was not heard… they abandoned her.”
NBC reported that experts believe these cases show a broader theme and pattern of disbelief.
Dr. Theresa Cheng emphasized that denying basic pregnancy care is “unfathomable.” She added, “…we don’t see these people as human beings.”
Attorney Julia Yoo stated that staff treat women as “inmates and not… mothers,” and that many babies were viewed as “not worthy of life.”
NBC stated structural issues play a major role. Many jails outsource care to for-profit medical contractors, and pregnancy care is often described as “basically nonexistent.”
One nurse even stated that working under such conditions “was not sustainable.”
Alyssia Moulton in Tennessee stated that staff provided “only water and Tylenol” despite her labor pains, and her baby was delivered into a cell toilet. “It was hell… Nobody believed me,” she stated.
According to the NBC report, Sheriff Gabriel Morgan said, “Most jails in the country are not equipped and are not trained to handle most pregnant women. Jail is not the place for them.”
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove called the findings “shocking and horrifying,” describing them as “akin to human rights violations.”
Families continue to grieve their loved ones as consequences remain irreversible.
Visiting her granddaughter’s grave, Hammond said, “I love you, Zenorah… I should’ve got to see you. I should’ve got to hold you.”
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
