2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    • Compton
    • Education
    • Inglewood
    • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Crime and Public Safety
  • Opinion
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot
February 8, 2023

South LA shooting leaves two wounded

February 8, 2023

Compton College President/CEO Keith Curry named one of 10 Top Black Higher Ed CEOs to Watch in 2023

February 8, 2023

Miami Black College Expo™ Celebrates Black History Month and Education

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • South LA shooting leaves two wounded
  • Compton College President/CEO Keith Curry named one of 10 Top Black Higher Ed CEOs to Watch in 2023
  • Miami Black College Expo™ Celebrates Black History Month and Education
  • Pedestrian hit, killed on Orange County freeway
  • Chicago bus crashes into building
  • Hit-and-run crash leaves man, dogs trapped in vehicle
  • Shooting leaves one injured in Pico Rivera
  • LA area shooting leaves one injured
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest RSS
2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    1. Compton
    2. Education
    3. Inglewood
    4. Sports
    5. View All

    Compton College President/CEO Keith Curry named one of 10 Top Black Higher Ed CEOs to Watch in 2023

    February 8, 2023

    Sheriff deputies shoot suspects in Compton

    January 31, 2023

    Compton bridge eroding to dangerous conditions

    January 30, 2023

    Compton Community College Introduces New Student Trustee

    January 28, 2023

    Miami Black College Expo™ Celebrates Black History Month and Education

    February 8, 2023

    LA area schools take top honors at Academic Decathlon

    February 5, 2023

    Home Depot quadruples commitment to HBCU’s through campus enhancement, development programs

    February 4, 2023

    Lawsuit dismissed against LAUSD over student’s suicide

    January 28, 2023

    Inglewood’s homeless problem will explode when tenant protections expire in 2024

    February 7, 2023

    Long-time neighbors face each other in Inglewood runoff election

    February 6, 2023

    Inglewood spending $50,000 on outside media services, radio ads

    February 5, 2023

    Inglewood receives grant funds for homeless coordinator program

    February 4, 2023

    Fox Corporation, Fox Sports announce Super Bowl LVII Community Initiatives

    February 8, 2023

    Lebron James Sets NBA Scoring Record

    February 8, 2023

    Lebron James Sets NBA Scoring Record

    February 7, 2023

    Apple Music launches Rihanna’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LVII

    February 7, 2023

    Hit-and-run crash leaves man, dogs trapped in vehicle

    February 8, 2023

    Mega Millions jackpot grows to $50 million

    February 8, 2023

    Skid Row Housing Trust facing uncertain future

    February 8, 2023

    Winning Powerball ticket sold in Washington

    February 7, 2023
  • Entertainment
  • Crime and Public Safety
  • Opinion
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart
2UrbanGirls
You are at:Home»Inglewood»Family, friends seek justice after woman dies giving birth at Inglewood hospital
Courtesy GoFundMe

Family, friends seek justice after woman dies giving birth at Inglewood hospital

0
By Emilie St. John on January 18, 2023 Inglewood

By: Emilie St. John

Nearly 200 friends and family of April Valentine gathered in front of Centinela Hospital on Jan. 17 to demand justice for April who died on Jan. 10 while giving birth in its maternity ward.

Photo: Emilie St. John

“Aniya is going to have to grow up without her mother,” said Mykesha Mack, her cousin. “She was suppose to come out that hospital with her baby and DIDNT. I had just spoken to and prayed for her to have a safe and healthy baby, I didn’t think I would lose her. She always wanted to be a mom and was so excited to raise her baby. My heart is so broken man.”

Mack stood on the steps of the hospital’s emergency room under a banner that named Centinela Hospital one of the “Top 100 Hospital’s in the nation”.

The family wasn’t at liberty to discuss the details surrounding her death but her best friend Cheyenne Ne’Shay, posted on social media that April complained for hours about experiencing numbness in her legs. 

“We are hoping to publicize this to cause a systemic change in all hospitals,” said Michael Mack, who is also April’s cousin.  “Her death is still under investigation so we can’t talk about that.”

Photo: Emilie St. John

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office does not show Valentine being listed on their website for an exam.

April’s friends took to social media the day after her death in shock about what happened to her.

“She and her boyfriend complained for hours to the nurses that she could not feel her legs and they told her they would not call the doctors because they would get upset.  Now my best friend is dead,” wrote Ne’Shay, the day after April’s death.

It wasn’t clear if the numbness was before or after her giving birth to her daughter who survived.

The issues April is said to have experienced appears to resemble complications of a Cesarean procedure commonly known as a C-section.

Photo: Emilie St. John

The same tragedy befell another Black woman who died after having the same procedure.

Kira Johnson was admitted to Cedars-Sinai for a planned C-section on April 12, 2016.  Her husband, Charles Johnson, described a similar seen where they pleaded with the medical staff for assistance after he noticed blood in her catheter.

He recalled being told his wife wasn’t a “priority” at the time and by the time she was taken back to the operating room it was too late.  Doctors found three liters of blood in her abdomen after the C-section.

A nurse who was deposed in Kira’s case said “when things go bad, we just ship them to ICU and if they die there, it doesn’t count against us”.

Statistics show that Black women are four to six times more likely to die from childbirth in California than white women and members of the community showed up to support bringing more awareness to the fact this continues to happen.

Photo: Emilie St. John

“I’m hearing about this injustice to Black women and its despicable it’s continuing to happen in 2023,” said Gloria J. Davis, with the Girls Club of Los Angeles.  “It just goes to show doctors are not listening to Black women when they say they are in pain.”

Activist Najee Ali was also on hand to support the family and bring attention to April’s death.

“Ms. Davis invited me to come to support the family and it’s no secret that Black women are disproportionately negatively affected by poor healthcare and don’t get the same equity that White women get,” said Ali.  “The fact that this young mother died here at this hospital is the result of poor medical care and thank God the baby did survive.”

The hospital has made no official statements on April’s death.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support April’s daughter Aniya. You can contribute here.

Related

April Valentine hospital death Inglewood Inglewood hospital
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Emilie St. John

Emile St. John is a freelance journalist for 2UrbanGirls.com and a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Wave newspaper.

Related Posts

Inglewood’s homeless problem will explode when tenant protections expire in 2024

Long-time neighbors face each other in Inglewood runoff election

Inglewood spending $50,000 on outside media services, radio ads

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Most Read
Antelope Valley
January 16, 20230

Man, woman found dead in grocery store parking lot

PALMDALE, Calif. – The bodies of a man and woman were found in the parking…

January 15, 2023

Friends ID woman who died giving birth at Inglewood hospital

January 10, 2023

Family ID hiker who fell to her death on Mt.Baldy

January 28, 2023

Bicyclist killed in Orange County

Elections
February 6, 2023

Long-time neighbors face each other in Inglewood runoff election

February 4, 2023

Referendum challenging setbacks for new oil wells qualifies for ballot

February 3, 2023

Letter to the Editor: Congressional hopeful took campaign donations from disgraced attorney

February 2, 2023

LA Mayor Karen Bass backs Mike Feuer for Congress

Entertainment
February 7, 2023

Hollywood Bowl unveils summer season

February 7, 2023

Apple Music launches Rihanna’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LVII

February 5, 2023

`Knock at the Cabin’ Opens with $14.2M

February 3, 2023

Activision to pay $35 million to settle SEC claims

Business
February 7, 2023

3 Ways To Improve Your Office Environment

February 2, 2023

Wells Fargo Announces $50 Million Grant to NAACP

January 30, 2023

What To Know Before Purchasing a Warehouse

January 27, 2023

Neurodivergence and Accessibility in the Workplace

Transportation
January 31, 2023

Man stabbed to death at Metro train station

January 31, 2023

Inglewood awarded $407M of state surplus funds towards people mover project

January 29, 2023

Inglewood Transit Connector and the soul of our City

January 28, 2023

Inglewood to schedule Public Hearing on Relocation Plan for Inglewood Transit Connector project

Sports
February 8, 2023

Fox Corporation, Fox Sports announce Super Bowl LVII Community Initiatives

February 8, 2023

Lebron James Sets NBA Scoring Record

February 7, 2023

Lebron James Sets NBA Scoring Record

February 7, 2023

Apple Music launches Rihanna’s Road to Halftime ahead of Super Bowl LVII

Real Estate
February 4, 2023

RFP released for L.A. County’s General Hospital redevelopment

February 3, 2023

LA councilwoman suggests spending $39 million on undeveloped land in Bel-Air

February 3, 2023

LA Council approves one-month grace period for tenants behind on rent

January 20, 2023

Inglewood family continues their march through the City

Legal
February 7, 2023

Black tenant seeks to intervene in ongoing discrimination case

February 2, 2023

Juice bar chain pays $175,000 to settle federal discrimination claims

February 1, 2023

Grand Jury indicts disbarred attorney Tom Girardi for embezzling $15M from clients

January 26, 2023

Judge dismisses lawsuit over truck traffic

Newsletter

Recent Posts
  • South LA shooting leaves two wounded
  • Compton College President/CEO Keith Curry named one of 10 Top Black Higher Ed CEOs to Watch in 2023
  • Miami Black College Expo™ Celebrates Black History Month and Education
  • Pedestrian hit, killed on Orange County freeway
  • Chicago bus crashes into building
Recent Comments
  • Anonymous on County Supervisors advance tougher gun regulations
  • Anonymous on Police release video of fatal shooting of double amputee
  • Mandy on County Supervisors advance tougher gun regulations
Copyright © 2011-2022 2UrbanGirls.
  • Cookie Policy
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

 

Loading Comments...