Woman gives birth in minivan in hospital parking lot, says nurse turned her away just hours before

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) - An Arizona woman says she had a shocking birth experience after her mother delivered her baby in a minivan in front of the emergency room early Monday morning.

Scherazade Vedarte-Gonzalez said it happened because nurses at the hospital sent her home just hours before her daughter was born.

According to the family, it’s a blessing the baby is healthy, and they hope spreading the word helps prevent this from happening to anyone else.

“It was really traumatic,” Lucy Villanueva, Vedarte-Gonzalez’s mother, said.

Villanueva shared that her daughter was in a lot of pain last week, so they went to the Banner Casa Grande Medical Center three times to make sure everything was OK with her pregnancy, but they were sent home every time.

She said they were at the hospital the same morning Luzbella was born when a nurse told them to leave around 1 a.m. and wait for her induction date on May 25.

However, when they got back home, Vedarte-Gonzalez’s pain got even worse. So, they rushed back to the hospital around 3 a.m., just two hours after she was discharged.

“She said, ‘Mom, it’s coming! We got to go!’” Villanueva said. “‘It’s coming! I feel it. It’s already coming out,’ and I couldn’t believe it … when I opened the door, I saw the head already.”

Villanueva said she was the one who delivered her granddaughter right in front of the emergency room’s entrance before medical personnel stepped in to help.

“I didn’t know what to do. So, I just placed the baby on her and I ran inside and I said ‘Help! help! You know, she’s having a baby! The baby’s out!’” she said.

Hospital staff ended up taking over care in the parking lot before admitting the new mother into the hospital.

According to Villanueva, her daughter stayed one night in the hospital and a pediatrician said Luzbella is doing great.

A spokesperson for Banner Casa Grande Medical Center released the following statement regarding the situation:

“Scherazade Luz Vedarte-Gonzalez was seen and assessed prior to delivery. She was not in active labor and chose to go home. She delivered several hours later. We are happy that both Ms. Vedarte-Gonzalez and her baby are doing well following delivery.”