Doctor decapitates baby at birth; couple sues

Arteisha Betts and Travis AmmonetteA 2014 trial is set for a couple who claim that doctors decapitated their baby during birth and then tried to conceal the tragedy by placing the body and severed head back in the birth canal.

Arteisha Betts and Travis Ammonette lost their baby son during delivery in March 2011, at the Mercy Hospital in St. Louis.


The couple filed a 10-count complaint in St Louis County Circuit Court last month, claiming doctors Gilbert Webb and Susan Moore horrifically botched the birth, leading to their son’s death.

Quoting the Courthouse News Service, MedicalDaily.com, the lawsuit claims the couple was coerced into a vaginal delivery against their wishes and, that after unintentionally beheading the child, the doctors tried to cover it up.  


The couple claims they had been advised by Moore that the child would have to be delivered by caesarean section because his abdomen was too large for a vaginal delivery.

But when Betts went into labor 28 weeks into her pregnancy, she claims Webb “would only agree to deliver her baby by way of attempted trial of vaginal delivery,” the complaint states.

“Betts consented to a trial of vaginal delivery under duress and protest,” it continues.

According to the complaint, the first stage of the birth process saw the baby’s head delivered safely, but his abdomen became stuck in the birth canal, the Florissant Patch stated.

It adds:

“The complainant states that Webb ‘pushed decedent’s head and body back into plaintiff Arteisha Betts’ birth canal,’ and called for an emergency C-section. In a process that the complaint says began before Betts received anesthsia, Webb is said to have ‘surgically and completely removed’ the baby’s head from his neck and torso.

“According to the complaint, Webb ‘intentionally concealed’ the baby’s neck wounds afterward before the baby was presented to the plaintiffs. The complaint does not indicate how the injuries were concealed.”

The New York Daily News adds: “Blood ‘shot out’ from the newborn’s neck in full view of his parents.”

The couple are seeking unspecificed compensation to cover pregnancy and funeral expenses, personal injury, and wrongful death damages.

The hospital where the birth took place is not listed as a defendant. Lawyers for Webb and Moore declined to comment when contacted by Florissant Patch.

There is a precedent. In 2006 a baby in Louisville, Ky., was decapitated at birth after it became entangled in the cerclage, a string similar to a shoelace that is used to keep the cervix closed until labor begins. AZCentral reported that the string “acted as a noose” and caused the decapitation as the child’s body was pulled from the womb.

The child’s mother, Micheatria Donelson, was awarded nearly $1.4M for pain and suffering.

(Photos: Facebook)

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