Cultic Studies Journal, Volume 17, 2000, Page 9
died within a few hours. One infant was asphyxiated because of intrapulmonary bleeding,
which might have been prevented with a routine vitamin K injection.
Pseudoscience was sometimes offered along with prayer. During 1 birth, a 3-day ordeal
that included difficult labor and maternal convulsions, the founding elder of the sect told the
mother her copious green vaginal discharge was ―a good thing,‖ a sign that she had
peritonitis and poisons were being expelled thanks to the prayers of the group. It is likely
that her discharge was meconium, a sign of fetal distress.
Deliveries attended by unlicensed midwives had tragic results. In one case, a 23-year-old
woman presented to an emergency room after 56 hours of active labor with the infant‘s
head at the vaginal opening for 16 hours. The dead fetus was delivered via emergency
cesarean, and was in an advanced state of decomposition. The mother died within hours
after delivery from sepsis because of the retained uterine contents. The medical examiner
noted that the corpse of the infant was so foul smelling that it was inconceivable anyone
attending the delivery could not have noticed.
Five additional mothers of perinatal infants died from complications of delivery. A few
mothers eventually were treated in emergency departments for vaginal lacerations and
retained placentas. In 2 cases, dead newborns had twin siblings who survived after being
taken to hospitals.
died within a few hours. One infant was asphyxiated because of intrapulmonary bleeding,
which might have been prevented with a routine vitamin K injection.
Pseudoscience was sometimes offered along with prayer. During 1 birth, a 3-day ordeal
that included difficult labor and maternal convulsions, the founding elder of the sect told the
mother her copious green vaginal discharge was ―a good thing,‖ a sign that she had
peritonitis and poisons were being expelled thanks to the prayers of the group. It is likely
that her discharge was meconium, a sign of fetal distress.
Deliveries attended by unlicensed midwives had tragic results. In one case, a 23-year-old
woman presented to an emergency room after 56 hours of active labor with the infant‘s
head at the vaginal opening for 16 hours. The dead fetus was delivered via emergency
cesarean, and was in an advanced state of decomposition. The mother died within hours
after delivery from sepsis because of the retained uterine contents. The medical examiner
noted that the corpse of the infant was so foul smelling that it was inconceivable anyone
attending the delivery could not have noticed.
Five additional mothers of perinatal infants died from complications of delivery. A few
mothers eventually were treated in emergency departments for vaginal lacerations and
retained placentas. In 2 cases, dead newborns had twin siblings who survived after being
taken to hospitals.
