Doctor Drops Premature Baby On Head Moments After Birth, Video Shows
A man filming the birth of his twin daughters at an Arizona hospital watched in horror as the doctor accidentally dropped one of them on her head. The babies was born prematurely at Chandler Regional Medical Center on Feb.14.
Video of the incident, shared by the child’s mother on her Facebook page Wednesday, showed the baby — named Morgan — slipping from the doctor’s hands and landing headfirst onto a hard bench. The doctor then picks up the baby and rubs her head before wiping her with the blanket.
Calling it a “nightmare,” the child’s mother, Monique Rodgers, said, "No one can prepare you for seeing the negligence, seeing them carelessly handle her. This is a baby. She's fragile. She's three pounds, and you're handling her like she's a sack of potatoes, like she's not a human being."
Speaking to News 12, the child’s father, Derrick Rodgers, said the doctor did not apologize to them.
"When he came into the room I said you dropped my daughter. His initial reaction as nothing at first. He then asked to see the video. When I showed him the video he was speechless,” Derrick said.
Monique said that five days after birth, an ultrasound scan was conducted which showed a grade one hemorrhage. It was, however, unclear if the injury was caused by being dropped by the doctor, since it is a common condition in children born premature.
The family, however, was considering taking legal action to ensure that this does not happen again.
"I just wanted people to know what happened to my baby. As a mother, you’re supposed to be there to protect her and I felt like I wasn’t there to protect her when she was born. I couldn’t stop them from being rough with her or him holding her with one hand, I couldn’t stop him. I don’t know if she’ll be hurt for the rest of her life,” Monique said.
In a statement to Arizona Family, Dignity Health, parent company of Chandler Regional Medical Center said, "Because of patient privacy laws and a request from the family not to release information, we are unable to comment specifically on this matter. The safety of our patients and their families is always our top concern. The medical team at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center takes this matter extremely seriously and is working to conduct a comprehensive review.”