, a person trained to provide emotional, physical and educational support for an expectant mother or one who has recently given birth. Valentine also sought out a Black physician, Robertson said, and she hung a large whiteboard in her bedroom covered with affirmations and aspirations that she recited daily.
Robertson alleges in the lawsuit that Valentine’s obstetrician, Dr. Gwen Allen, did not arrive for hours, despite multiple requests to the nurses. Allen’s attorney, Ludlow B. Creary II, said last month that “Dr. Allen did not cause Ms. Valentine’s death,” and federal privacy laws prevented her from commenting further.Valentine was feeling contractions, but the nurses were inattentive and refused to give her water, Robertson said. Valentine’s doula, Stanis Askew, was not allowed to be present during delivery, the lawsuit says, despite previous assurances from medical staff that Askew could be on site when delivery began.
“Her body just immediately locked up, and her eyes rolled to the back of the head,” Robertson said. “I ran in the hallway. And I was like, ‘Help. She’s not breathing. Help, help, help. She’s not breathing. Help me.’”