A 31-year-old Washington state woman could face criminal charges after giving birth to a baby girl in a bathtub and having a friend cut the umbilical cord after viewing a YouTube video on child birth.
Sergeant Ray Brady said a midwife had previously told the woman she would not assist her with a home birth because she had tested positive for drugs and the child may need immediate care from a physician when it was born.
Instead, the woman gave birth at home in her bathtub and had a friend assist her, cutting the umbilical cord after finding a YouTube video describing the procedure.
Doctors determined that the procedure was done 12 to 18 hours after the child was born. Brady said the friend is a certified nursing assistant but has no training or experience in child birth.
