近距离内射合集

At nine and a half months pregnant, Ashley Griego was more than prepared to meet her second son.

Before she left for the hospital, her house was dutifully organized, her bags meticulously packed and her birth plan carefully prepared. She ate breakfast with her family and tearfully hugged her 3-year-old son goodbye before leaving for her scheduled induction.

鈥淪he cried because she had never left her son alone before,鈥� said Jessica Peralta, Ashley Griego鈥檚 mother. 鈥淪he cried about leaving him overnight, not realizing it would be longer.鈥�

Two days after her scheduled delivery, 32-year-old Ashley Griego died in the intensive care unit, never having held her newborn son.

According to her family, Ashley Griego鈥檚 death wasn鈥檛 a twist of bad luck but a series of negligent decisions by her medical team at Lovelace Women鈥檚 Hospital. In April, the Griego family sued for medical malpractice, wrongful death and punitive damages.

And the Griegos aren鈥檛 the only ones.

At least 22 other lawsuits have been filed against Lovelace鈥檚 labor and delivery unit since 2011, according to court documents. Both lawyers and journalists have described a pattern of prioritizing profit over patient safety at Lovelace hospitals, which are run by the billion-dollar parent company Ardent Health.

鈥淎rdent is running Lovelace like a factory,鈥� said the family鈥檚 attorney, Adrian Vega.

Past lawsuits allege that Lovelace routinely forced less-qualified providers to make critical clinical decisions in place of a doctor, pressured staff to keep rates of cesarean sections low, resulting in delayed operations that injured or killed women and babies, and threatened to fire nurses who tried to raise concerns about patient care.

Asked about the Griego family鈥檚 allegations and past lawsuits that named Lovelace Women鈥檚 Hospital, officials at Lovelace Health System said in a statement, 鈥淧atient safety is our highest priority.鈥�

鈥淲e remain committed to providing safe, high-quality care to every patient we serve,鈥� according to spokesperson Whitney Marquez. 鈥淗owever, we are unable to share further details on pending legal matters.鈥�

The wrong medicine

On Nov. 12, 2023, Ashley Griego showed up for her scheduled induction at 11 a.m. with her husband, Jerry Griego, by her side.

鈥淚t was very lighthearted at the hospital,鈥� Jerry Griego said. 鈥淓verything felt normal, and everything felt to plan 鈥� until it didn鈥檛.鈥�

During labor, Ashley Griego had excessive uterine contractions, a condition in which a laboring mother experiences five or more contractions within a span of 10 minutes, according to the complaint.

Hours later, at 9:05 p.m., while Ashley Griego was already experiencing intense contractions, her medical team gave her a large dose of Cytotec, a drug that induces contractions, the complaint details.

Cytotec is used to prevent and treat ulcers caused by frequent use of painkillers. However, its more widely known, but off-label application, is as a drug to induce labor. The Food and Drug Administration has never approved the drug for use in labor, and its label warns that the drug may cause uterine rupture, high fetal heart rate and amniotic embolism, a complication where amniotic fluid enters the bloodstream.

According to the lawsuit, doctors had given Ashley Griego the wrong medicine, a medicine she was 鈥渃ompletely contraindicated鈥� for.

Though she didn鈥檛 yet understand why, Peralta said she knew immediately that something was wrong. Still, she said medical professionals told her repeatedly that her daughter鈥檚 pain and discomfort were typical of any labor.

鈥淚鈥檝e given birth, I鈥檝e seen my sisters give birth, I鈥檝e seen my daughter-in-law give birth,鈥� Peralta said. 鈥淚t seemed like a lot more was going on. I kept telling them, telling them and a lot of time got wasted.鈥�

Ashley Griego, who sported brunette bangs, glasses and wacky earrings, was typically cheerful, even in bad situations. While in labor, Ashley Griego laughed, danced and cracked jokes. When her water broke and her contractions started, she told her husband and mother that her baby 鈥渒icked her in the genitals.鈥�

But after she was given Cytotec, Ashley Griego stopped talking entirely, her mother said.

Five hours later, around 2 a.m., the baby鈥檚 heart rate began to drop, according to the complaint. About 18 minutes later, those drops in heart rate grew worse and more frequent, leading Ashley Griego鈥檚 doctor to call for an emergency C-section.

That was the last time her family saw her awake.

By the time the medical team wheeled Ashley Griego away to the operating room, she had passed out, her mother said. About 10 minutes later, Ashley Griego鈥檚 son was born via C-section.

鈥淭he midwife came out and told us that the baby was alive and well, but mom was struggling and did we want a priest?鈥� Peralta said, her voice straining.

Then the Griego family watched staff rush to Ashley Griego鈥檚 room for a 鈥渃ode blue,鈥� a medical call-out used when a patient has stopped breathing or has no heartbeat.

Amniotic fluid had entered Ashley Griego鈥檚 bloodstream, according to the complaint. It took 15 minutes of CPR to stabilize her, after which she was transferred to the ICU.

Once there, her condition worsened: She developed abnormal blood clotting and dangerously high blood pressure in the arteries of the lung and heart, and suffered severe liver damage. Her family was told that she was unlikely to recover, according to the complaint.

鈥淪he held on for two days,鈥� Peralta said. 鈥淚 think she thought that this wasn鈥檛 what she wanted. She wanted to be there for her kids; she never wanted her kids not to have a mama.鈥�

On Nov. 15, Ashley Griego鈥檚 heart stopped, and after each round of CPR, it would crash again. Her heart could no longer beat on its own. It was then that her family told staff to stop resuscitation efforts and Ashley Griego died at 9:09 p.m.

鈥楾he one place that was the worst for her鈥�

Nearly three years later, Jerry Griego can鈥檛 drive by Lovelace Women鈥檚 Hospital without wincing.

His faith in the medical system is destroyed, he said.

The Griegos are just one of several families in active litigation against Lovelace for conduct in its labor and delivery department.

In late December, parents Stephanie Gorman and Brock Frost sued Lovelace for medical negligence, seeking damages for their suffering after their son allegedly suffered a brain hemorrhage after a delayed C-section. But the lawsuit also makes a larger claim 鈥� that Lovelace is aware that babies and mothers are dying in its delivery unit and still pursues harmful practices.

That lawsuit alleges that Lovelace鈥檚 鈥渟ystemic and cultural problems have led to the catastrophic death or injury of many babies.鈥�

Lovelace鈥檚 policies emphasize maintaining a low C-section rate, an appealing statistic for stakeholders and prospective patients, according to the complaint. Pressure to keep the rate low prevails even when a C-section may be medically necessary to protect the health of a mother or child, the complaint added.

The lawsuit also alleges that Lovelace systematically forces 鈥渓ess qualified,鈥� and therefore cheaper, providers to make clinical decisions when a doctor should be present.

鈥淟ovelace has also systematically disenfranchised, intimidated and ignored nurses who report concerns regarding the safety of women in labor or their babies,鈥� attorneys Theresa Hacsi and Lisa Curtis wrote in the complaint.

Of the 23 known lawsuits involving Lovelace鈥檚 maternity ward, 12 were settled outside of court for undisclosed sums, three have been partially settled but are still ongoing and eight are in various stages of litigation.

Five of those ongoing cases, including Ashley Griego鈥檚 and the Frost family鈥檚, are headed for jury trial. One of the ongoing cases has been appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Data from a 2021 by ProPublica and New Mexico In Depth also suggests a troubling infant death toll in Lovelace鈥檚 labor and delivery department.

That investigation found that the premature infant death rate at Lovelace was twice that of Presbyterian Hospital just miles away. The investigation also found that Lovelace transferred three times as many infants to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of New Mexico Hospital, where the sickest babies in the state are cared for.

Health professionals interviewed in the series called for a more in-depth investigation into Lovelace鈥檚 maternity ward, and it鈥檚 unclear if the hospital has conducted any such review independently. Lovelace has maintained since the article鈥檚 release that the investigation misinterpreted data.

Officials at Lovelace did not comment on whether internal policy has changed since the investigation, stating that ProPublica鈥檚 findings weren鈥檛 a 鈥渃omplete or current picture of the care provided to families today.鈥�

A wound that doesn鈥檛 close

At 2 years old, Ashley Griego鈥檚 youngest son is approaching the age that her oldest was when she died. Every day contains a certain emptiness that it takes the entire extended family to try to fill, Peralta said. A wound that doesn鈥檛 close.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all struggling in our own ways, and the boys, you know, (the oldest) he鈥檚 struggling,鈥� Jerry Griego said. 鈥淗e misses her. He talks about her all the time.鈥�

鈥淎nd the youngest he never gets to know,鈥� Peralta interjected through tears.

Vega, the family鈥檚 lawyer, called that wound 鈥渞ecurrent grief.鈥�

Most of the time when people die, their loved ones have memories to cling to. All Ashley Griego鈥檚 son will have are reminders of where a mother鈥檚 love should be as he grows from milestone to milestone.

For the first time since her death, her family decided to speak publicly in July. Their hope? Protecting other families from the same fate.

鈥淓ven if it saves one mother, one child, one person, it shouldn鈥檛 happen,鈥� Peralta said. 鈥淚t just shouldn鈥檛 be happening.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.