April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. She'd gone into the pregnancy with a plan, knowing Black mothers like herself were at higher risk.
“We weren't circumventing the system,” Askew said. “April had done her due diligence in asking, repeatedly [and] getting confirmation.”Robertson, Cordova, and Askew each said Valentine discussed her
“[Allen] hung up the phone and she looked at me right in my face and said, I'll meet you guys there,” Cordova said.Askew said she was already on her way when Valentine called to say the hospital staff told her the doula wouldn’t be let in to see her. Robertson and Cordova said Valentine asked for staff to call Allen to ask about her doula, and a nurse responded that the physician would get upset if they contacted her. Robertson and Cordova remember the nurse said Allen “will cuss me out” if called. The nurse said the doctor would arrive the next morning, they said.
Robertson and Cordova said they did not hear an explanation for what the doctor would do next. “It almost looked like she shoved her hand in,” Cordova said, describing how Allen examined Valentine. “The way she jerked her arm out, I said, ‘Wait a minute, what did you do?’”Valentine again asked for her doula to be admitted and the physician denied her request, Robertson said. Allen’s attorney did not respond to LAist’s questions about the doctor’s view of a doula’s role in maternal health care.
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