A black woman in active labor gave birth on the side of the road after being discharged from a hospital in Indiana, U.S. The incident has sparked public outrage and raised questions about maternal care and patient treatment in hospitals.
Mercedes Wells went to Franciscan Health Crown Point Hospital in Crown Point, Indiana, seeking care for labor on November 15. She experienced contractions as frequently as every minute. According to her family, hospital staff told her to return home and wait for labor to progress.
Eight minutes after leaving the hospital, Mercedes delivered her baby in her car while her husband assisted. He used a blanket to help and placed their newborn daughter on Mercedes’s chest. After the delivery, her husband, Leon Wells, drove the family to Munster Community Hospital where staff immediately took them in and provided medical care.
The newborn’s uncle, Lance D Thompson Jr, also spoke out in a heartfelt post that quickly gained attention online. He shared the baby’s name, Alena Ariel Wells, and mentioned that she weighed six pounds and measured eighteen and a half inches at birth. He condemned the hospital’s decision to discharge Mercedes despite her visible distress and called the experience “wrongful.”
Experts note that guidelines from major U.S. medical bodies recommend that pregnant patients with contractions occurring every five minutes or less, decreased fetal movement, or severe pain should be monitored closely and not discharged without evaluation by a physician.
The Wells family publicly accused the hospital of ignoring Mercedes’s pleas for care. Mercedes reportedly begged to stay in triage, believing she was in active labor. She described the nursing staff’s behavior as dismissive and lacking empathy.
She also stated in interviews that she felt “stripped of her dignity” during the encounter and that staff repeatedly told her she was “not in active labor” despite contractions occurring every minute.
The family also claimed that racial discrimination played a role in the treatment she received. Mercedes is Black, and they believe bias influenced how the hospital handled her case. Her husband and attorney have requested a formal meeting with hospital administrators and called for a full review of triage and discharge protocols.
The family has hired legal counsel and is now seeking accountability, changes in hospital policy, and public transparency regarding the investigation.
Raymond Grady, President and CEO of Franciscan Health Crown Point, described the incident as deeply troubling. The hospital announced an internal investigation into the discharge and the patient’s subsequent roadside delivery.
Grady emphasized that patient privacy limits the details that can be shared but stated that the videos circulating online do not fully represent the hospital’s values. He reaffirmed the hospital’s commitment to compassionate care and promised appropriate action based on the investigation’s findings.
He also acknowledged broader disparities in maternal health outcomes and said the hospital is committed to being “part of the solution” while the investigation continues.
The Wells family hopes their public fight will inspire changes in hospital policies. Their goal is to ensure no other mother must endure the experience Mercedes faced and to encourage hospitals to treat every patient with dignity and urgency.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)
