A young couple expected to bring a healthy baby boy into the world, July 9. One can imagine the thrill and joy that filled the couple on this day. Every expecting parent anticipates they will receive their baby in whole. Unfortunately, these Atlanta parents found themselves distraught after 10 hours of labor.

The mother Jessica Ross and father Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr. traveled to Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia to deliver their son. Dr. Tracey St. Julian struggled to deliver the baby because shoulder dystocia had occurred. Instead of calling another nurse for additional help, St. Julian applied excessive force on the head and neck of the baby. St. Julian decided to deliver the baby through a cesarean section after running into difficulties. Unfortunately, only the legs and body came out when she attempted to pull the baby out of the womb. She then performed a vaginal delivery on Ross, and there came the head. At this point, the baby had passed away due to physical trauma. St. Julian did not disclose these details to Ross.

“When the womb was opened, the feet came out, the body came out and there was no head. Dr. St. Julian came in, and she, in the process of trying to deliver the baby, pulled on the baby’s head and neck so aggressively and manipulated them so hard, that the bones of the baby’s skull, face, and neck were broken,” trial lawyer Dr. Roderick Edmond said.

 When Ross and Taylor asked to see and hold their baby, hospital staff told them that they could not touch their child, only see him. During the viewing, the hospital staff propped the head on the body in a tightly wrapped blanket so the baby could look whole. They later found out from the funeral home about the decapitation of their baby. 

The couple decided to sue St. Julian, along with the hospital and several nurses involved in the delivery. The couple accuses the nurses of negligence and covering up the incident.

“As for regulations made within Atlanta hospitals, I think there should definitely be video evidence during a C-section along with multiple witnesses. I’m still confused about the baby being decapitated because I never heard of that before.  There’s nothing I can even say or wish for to get their baby back, but I hope the couple doesn’t lose faith in other human beings after this incident,” NC Early Childhood Education teacher Becky Young said.

August 9, attorneys representing the couple described the atrocities that happened the day of the incident. The Clayton County Police and the Medical Examiner’s Office at the Southern Regional Medical Office will investigate the case. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has performed an autopsy on the infant. After the incident, the Southern Regional Medical Center removed St. Julian as a doctor at the hospital. This incident may raise several questions about the procedures that take place during labor and delivery, as well as the confidentiality of doctors and nurses.