A Black couple living in Dallas says their 2-week-old daughter was taken from them because they decided to have a home birth with a midwife.
Two weeks ago, Temecia Jackson gave birth to her daughter, Mila, at home with the assistance of a licensed and certified professional midwife.
"It was a beautiful birth," Temecia Jackson said at a press conference on Thursday, April 6. "She was perfect: 6 pounds, 9 ounces."
Shortly after, the couple says their baby developed jaundice, a common liver condition in newborns that often resolves itself without treatment.
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Temecia and her husband, Rodney Jackson, said they were following their midwife's care protocol for their baby's jaundice, which was to care for her at home rather than admit her to the hospital.
After a routine doctor's visit, the couple alleges their child's pediatrician called Dallas Child Protective Services (CPS) because the parents were going to continue to follow their midwife's guidance. Days later, Desoto police officers and CPS agents arrived at the couple's home, demanding they turn their daughter over to authorities.
Temecia Jackson says the officers arrested her husband, took his keys, used them to enter their residence and took Mila from her mother's arms.
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"When they came in and took her from me, I requested that I needed to see the paperwork. They insisted, 'No, give her first, give her first,'" Temecia Jackson said at the press conference. "So they took her from my arms and they gave me paperwork. When they left, I looked at the paperwork and the paperwork had another mother's name on it."
Temecia Jackson says her husband was not initially listed on the warrant. Later, she says the document was updated to list Rodney Jackson as the “alleged father."
“Instantly, I felt like they had stolen my baby as I had a home birth and they are trying to say that my baby belonged to this other woman,” the mom continued, holding back tears. “I did not know where to turn. They had taken my husband from me and then took my daughter from me and I was left by myself.”
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services told TODAY.com that "CPS cases in Texas are confidential, therefore I am not able to discuss any details of the case."
TODAY.com reached out to Desoto Police Department for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
Mila remains in Dallas CPS custody and under the care of a foster family. The couple's hearing with the Dallas County's juvenile board was originally scheduled for April 6. That morning, the couple says the hearing was abruptly postponed until April 20.
TODAY.com reached out to the Dallas County's Juvenile Department for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
The Jacksons say they have been allowed only a few supervised visits with their daughter, which they say have taken place at CPS offices and in the presence of police officers.
During the press conference, the couple said they "feel like criminals" during their visits, and claim their attempts to deliver breast milk to their newborn daughter have been denied.
The child still does not have a birth certificate because she was not born in a hospital.
“For me, as a father — this is my only daughter. I can’t be a girl dad right now," Rodney Jackson said. "I feel like I have ... my protection role has been stripped away from me.”
The couple's midwife, Cheryl Edinbyrd was also present at Thursday's press conference, and said Mila "was being nurtured."
"This child was being supported. And this child was being loved. And this child was kidnapped,” Edinbyrd said. “Mila needs to be returned home.”
According to one 2016 academic study, 53% of Black children experience child welfare investigations before their 18th birthday, compared to 28% of white children. Once in custody, research shows Black children are less likely than white children to be placed with a family member or ever returned to their families.
The couple and their midwife believe the child was taken from her parents because they had followed the advice and were cared for by a midwife.
From 2019 to 2020, more people of color chose to give birth outside a hospital setting, according to a 2022 report released by the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF), a nonpartisan and nonprofit advocacy organization that works on public policies and education about women and families.
The increase was greatest among Black parents (30%), followed by Indigenous (26%) and Latinx (24%) parents — likely a response to "the higher risk of maternal mortality and morbidity they face and the impact of discrimination and structural racism in hospitals that result in lower-quality care," the report said.
Black people are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Texas, at least 118 women died and nearly 200 children were left without a mother in 2019, according the state's 2022 Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee's biennial report.
Discrimination contributed to 12% of pregnancy-related deaths in 2019, according to the same report.
During the press conference, Marsha Jones, executive director of The Afiya Center, a Dallas-based organization that supported the couple's midwife, said "absolutely nothing happened last week for these parents to be sitting here today."
"What did happen was misogyny. What did happen is white patriarchy. The intentional denial of Dr. Cheryl's ability to birth — that happened," Jones said. "The same thing that happened last week happened after Reconstruction with Black granny midwives — that happened. The removal of Black people's ability to take care of Black people — that happened."
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