SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – A Savannah-area mother who delivered a baby at Memorial Health University Medical Center says her C-section delivery resulted in injuries to her newborn, and that her medical records do not reflect what she experienced.
Newborn suffered skull fractures and brain bleeds, records show
Jessica Hainley moved to the Savannah area at seven months pregnant and became a patient at Memorial Health University Medical Center. She was scheduled for a C-section on October 10, 2025, but her water broke on September 25. She was admitted to the hospital and says she was not checked on during the five hours before her procedure.
“During those five hours, there are no exams performed. I’m hooked up to a monitor, but it’s not reading correctly in the room. My husband, my support person, has to go check at the nurse’s station that the monitor is actually reading correctly. During those five hours, my C-section got pushed back twice for more urgent cases. Again, was never checked during this time,” Hainley said.
Hainley says her husband, who was supposed to be in the room throughout the procedure, was only brought back after the C-section began.
Medical records show her son required resuscitation measures, including suctioning, oxygen, and CPAP. The records also show he suffered skull fractures and brain bleeds “due to birth injury.” However, delivery notes say the baby was delivered “atraumatically.”
Hainley says the records do not match what the family experienced or what doctors later told them.
“They stated that he was very engaged in the pelvis when they delivered him, but in their delivery notes, they stated he was delivered atraumatically. A child who was born with two skull fractures and multiple hematomas, to me at least, does not sound like an atraumatic delivery,” Hainley said.
Dr. Sujatha Reddy, an Atlanta-based, board-certified OBGYN, reviewed the records and said they do not match up.
“The operative note and the description of the baby by the pediatric nurses definitely don’t correlate. They’re describing a very routine delivery of the baby’s head in the C-section, but immediately when the pediatric nurse has the baby, they’re saying there’s a likely skull fracture or at least blood noted under the scalp,” Reddy said.
Reddy said she could not identify another explanation for the injuries.
“It’s hard to think of a way other than at the time of birth that this baby got these skull fractures. I’m not sure how there would be another way, with a baby with normal bone formation, no bone disease, I can’t think of another way these would’ve happened than at the time of delivery,” Reddy said.
Hainley’s son spent more than a week in the neonatal intensive care unit receiving blood transfusions, oxygen support, and a feeding tube. He will be under neurological observation until age five.
Hainley also remained hospitalized with anemia requiring a blood transfusion, which she says was identified by her husband, not hospital staff.
“It wasn’t anyone on the staff that noticed the drop. It was my husband who noticed the labs that came back and said, hey, this was too much. You need to do something,” Hainley said.
Hospital set up meeting after media inquiry; follow-up messages unanswered
Hainley filed a complaint with Memorial Health University Medical Center shortly after her son was born in September 2025. As of January 2026, she had not received a response from the hospital. After a reporter reached out to the hospital for comment, Memorial scheduled a meeting with Hainley to review her complaint and promised a case review with transparent results. Hainley has since made multiple follow-up outreaches to the hospital. As of this report, Hainley says those messages have gone unanswered.
Hainley also filed a complaint with the Joint Commission Office of Quality and Patient Safety, which accredits Memorial. The Joint Commission communicated to Hainley that it identified “requirements for improvement” at Memorial during an onsite review and that the hospital will have to “demonstrate evidence of compliance” with Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid standards.
Hainley says at this point, her son’s skull fractures have healed but again, will be under neurological observation until he is five years old.
Memorial said it cannot comment on specific patient cases due to HIPAA, but provided a statement saying the hospital is “committed to providing safe, compassionate care” for its patients.
Memorial is listed as a “birthing friendly” hospital by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS does not show any recent complaints against the hospital’s labor and delivery unit.
Patients who wish to report a concerning event may contact the hospital’s Facility Patient Advocate or the HCA Healthcare Ethics line.
Savannah newborn suffered skull fractures, brain bleeds upon birth at Memorial hospital
