A Utah mother has shared her ‘traumatic’ experience of being in labor for more than a month after she was denied care due to her state’s abortion laws.
Shelby Gambrell said she went to the hospital seven times on the advice of her care team due to the agonizing pain of contractions.
But doctors refused to induce her because under Utah law, practitioners cannot induce a woman until she is 39 weeks pregnant – considered full term – unless either of their lives are in danger.
Gambrell was forced to endure contractions every four to six minutes until her baby girl was born more than one month later.
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Gambrell finally gave birth in April 2022. Her daughter weighed seven pounds, 14 ounces.
‘Her nails were incredibly long and she was covered with hair all over her body,’ she explained.
‘They told me this baby was ready to come out a long time ago.’
Under Utah law, which bans abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy, a medical practitioner can’t induce the mother before she is full term – 39 weeks – because it is considered to be inducing to abort.
Since the overturning of Roe vs Wade, the state is currently litigating a near-total abortion law.
Practitioners who are in violation of the abortion law would be found guilty of ‘performing or inducing an abortion,’ according to the state’s abortion law.
Gambrell’s nightmare began on March 16, 2022 when she started feeling contractions and went to the hospital at the advice of her midwife.
And the Utah mom has just recently share her birth story.
Speaking in a TikTok video, Gambrell said: ‘I started experiencing regular contractions.
‘I had a baby before and had Braxton Hicks before. These were contractions.’
After 72 hours of pain, she went to the hospital where doctors also confirmed she was experiencing contractions.
‘But because there was no progress being made there was nothing they could do,’ explained Gambrell.
During her first pregnancy, Gambrell found her body carries an excess amount of amniotic fluid – liquid that surrounds and protects the developing fetus.
She experienced the same in 2022, hindering the baby’s ability to move to the cervix and Gambrell was not dilating.
Dilating is when a woman’s cervix begins to expand, allowing the baby to move to the birth canal.
The cervix needs to be at least 10 centimeters, more than triple the size when not in labor, which can take anywhere from 12 to even 20 hours, but some women have experienced longer.
The only option for Gambrell to give birth at 34 works was for her water to be broken, she said.
‘I was sent home seven times without a baby. I never went [to the hospital] on my own accord, I was always sent for pain management,’ continued Gambrell.
‘I was given morphine six times. One of the times I opted not to do it because I didn’t like how…’
Gambrell stopped in the middle of her statement, on the verge of tears and turned the camera off.
In Utah, doctors aren’t permitted to induce labor until the mother reaches 39 weeks gestation unless her or the baby’s life are in danger
She came back to explain that reason for the refusal is that her daughter stopped moving the last time she took the morphine.
‘My midwife swept my membrane three times, but wouldn’t do it anymore than that because it wasn’t doing anything,’ the mom said.
The process can sometimes help induce labor by separating the amniotic sac from the cervix.
It is conducted by midwife or doctor, who inserts a finger inside the cervix and makes a circular sweeping movement to separate the membranes.
Studies have shown that 86 percent of women who went into labor following the process needed no more than two sweeps. Only 14 percent required more.
Gambrell continued to explain she and her husband begged doctors for a reason to why she needed to stay pregnant for the full 39 weeks if she was in pain from contractions.
‘They couldn’t do it. There was no reason,’ she said, explaining contraptions occurred every four to six minutes for 34 days.
Gambrell said she is passionate about reproductive rights because ‘it is none of my d*** business what anyone else does,’ but also because of what she endured two years ago.
‘My issue was not a legal issue. My issue was a medical issue and my medical professional could not make the necessary moves due to laws on the books.
‘My care was not catered to me. It was catered to this idea of what equates to a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy. I will never get pregnant again.
‘My therapist has told me I’m allowed to use the word ‘trauma.’ This was a traumatic event.’
