Second pregnant woman almost gave birth in Broward jail cell

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Three days before a mentally ill woman gave birth alone in a Broward County jail cell, another pregnant inmate feared she'd also be forced to give birth in that same facility.

"I showed her, up and down my pants, that my water broke, and she said, 'Stop [expletive] lying,'" Pamela Glover said.  

Glover was about eight weeks pregnant when she was arrested in October 2018 on aggravated battery and domestic violence charges. She was still incarcerated when she gave birth to her son April 7. At the time, she was being held at the North Broward Bureau in Pompano Beach.

"I'd been telling them all week that I'd been feeling pain," Glover said, referring to jail staff. "I'd been feeling pressure, down there. They knew."

She spoke via video visitation from the Paul Rein Detention Facility, where she remains in custody.

"I was in the shower and my mucus plug came out," Glover said. "I told the other inmates to call for help -- for the nurse."

"She knew she was in labor," said another inmate who was pregnant and incarcerated with Glover on April 7.

She spoke with the Leave it to Layron team and asked to remain anonymous.

"We knew she was in labor," she said. "We were timing the contractions." 

That former inmate said that for three hours, she and other pregnant women begged jail staff to call for an ambulance.

"We were all freaking out," said another pregnant witness and former inmate. "Are we going to have to deliver this baby, right here?"

The women were all jailed, together, at the North Broward Bureau. The two witnesses who spoke to Local 10 News also recalled hearing Tammy Jackson, another pregnant inmate, screaming before she reportedly gave birth alone in a neighboring isolation cell April 10.

Jackson, 35, and a mother of three who has struggled with drug addiction and homelessness, was being held for trespassing and drug possession charges. Jackson also suffers from a mental illness, according to her family and attorneys. 

She went into labor in the early morning hours of April 10, but instead of delivering in the hospital, she was left alone in her cell. Later that morning, a deputy reported seeing her "squatting and screaming in pain," according to a Broward Sheriff's Office incident report obtained by the Leave it to Layron team. 

"I heard a baby crying, as I approached the cell," a deputy recalled in the incident report. Jackson "was standing with a baby in her arms. I immediately, helped [Jackson] wrap the baby with a towel."

One of the nurses completed an urgent care record form and reported a "pregnant female had a spontaneous delivery." 

That was three days after Glover's incident was reported.

"The deputy came in and told us, 'Stop pressing the emergency button. You're annoying us,'" said one witness.

She said the deputy then threatened to put all of the women in an isolation cell.    

In a separate incident report obtained by the Leave to Layron team, a nurse with Wellpath -- the jail's health care provider -- let deputies know Glover was going to be sent to the hospital, about a half-hour after midnight the morning of April 7.

The nurse noted Glover's "needed further treatment." Medics arrived shortly before 1 a.m. and took Glover to the hospital.

"They said in order for them to take you to the hospital, they have to see the blood, so I wiped again, and I said, 'Look. I'm going into labor, right now,'" Glover said.

According to the incident report, hours after she was rushed to the hospital, Glover was brought back to the jail. The report noted that, "…upon inmate arriving back into unit 12 female open dorm, her water broke." She was checked out by a nurse "who advised [Glover] is going into labor."

Medics rushed Glover to the hospital, again, where she gave birth to her son, Anthony. 

The conversation with Glover only lasted five minutes before the video call was disconnected by BSO staff.

Anton McCormack told the Leave it to Layron team he is the father of two of Glover's children. He said he's also awaiting the results of a paternity test, part of his court petition to get custody of Anthony, who is now a month old.

"The baby's innocent," McCormack said. "And she could have died. Just because they're in jail, or whatever, that doesn't make them different from the rest of these women on this Earth. Everybody deserves some form of respect." 

Glover's incident is also now under internal affairs review. 

A BSO representative provided this statement: 

"In addition to the investigation being conducted by the BSO Internal Affairs Division, the Department of Detention is also conducting a thorough review of policies and practices of our medical provider to make sure inmates are receiving the highest level of care. The policy review team will determine if there are any deficiencies, look for areas of improvement and implement changes if necessary.  Furthermore, if the investigation reveals any neglect of care, individuals will be held accountable for their actions."

A representative with WellPath provided this statement:

"Wellpath is committed to providing the appropriate medical care and attention that all mothers deserve. While Wellpath does not agree with all of the statements recently published, due to patient privacy concerns, we are unable to comment on specific details regarding this incident."

Executive Chief Assistant Broward County Public Defender Gordon Weekes said his office is also looking into the incident involving Glover. 

"The fact that they're not rendering appropriate care to a woman in custody in advanced stages of labor is extremely troubling," Weekes said. "We have to make sure that mothers and babies are placed in the safest environment for a healthy and safe delivery."