Midwife pleads guilty after Springfield baby dies following delivery
A southwest Missouri midwife pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felony charges after a Springfield baby died following a home birth attempt that she supervised in 2009.
Elaine Diamond, 58, agreed to five years of probation after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and unauthorized practice of medicine, according to a news release from the Greene County Prosecutor's Office.
The release says she is prohibited from being a midwife during her probation and she will be placed on the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry.
In 2009, Diamond was hired by a Springfield couple to assist them in their pregnancy and the birth of their first son.
The woman's water broke on Oct. 24, 2009, and Diamond allowed the mother to labor for more than 48 hours and refused requests to take her to the hospital, according to the release.
Eventually, the family insisted on going to the hospital. An emergency room physician at Mercy Hospital delivered the baby in the parking lot.
Doctors discovered the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. The baby suffered severe brain damage and died less than a week later.
Prosecutors say doctors at Mercy pointed to several mistakes Diamond made, including not having the proper tools to monitor the baby's heartbeat and letting the mother labor for too long.
Diamond's attorneys, Dee Wampler and Joe Passanise, say they dispute that the labor lasted more than 48 hours.
The Mercy doctors said in the right setting, the baby could have been safely delivered, even with the complications of the umbilical chord.
The news release from prosecutors says Diamond was not an experienced midwife, as she claimed to be when she was hired by the family in Springfield. Diamond was not certified as a midwife.
Diamond was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter, but that charge was thrown out.
Prosecutors say in agreeing to the plea bargain they considered several factors, including Diamond's lack of criminal history, her obedience to pre-trial conditions and the victim's family's desire to resolve the case without going to trial.
Wampler said he was satisfied with the plea agreement. Wampler said Diamond is glad to have the case resolved after more than five years.