Unlicensed Nebraska Midwife Is Arrested in Newborn's Death After Home Delivery

A Nebraska woman who advertised herself as a midwife specializing in home births — but who prosecutors said did not have the proper certification — is facing a homicide charge after the troubled delivery of a newborn resulted in the baby’s death.

The midwife, Angela Hock, who turned herself in to the police Tuesday in the June 17 death of the 2-day-old girl, appeared in Douglas County Court in Omaha on Friday, and was expected to be released on a $25,000 bond.

Stuart J. Dornan, a lawyer for Hock, 36, said in an interview Friday night that his client planned to plead not guilty to the charge of negligent child abuse resulting in the death of the baby. The felony charge, which both he and prosecutors said was rarely brought against midwives, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Despite not having a certification to practice as a midwife, prosecutors said, Hock had tried to perform a breeched birth, when there is an elevated risk to a baby because its feet and buttocks, not head, are first to exit the birth canal.

The baby suffered swelling of the brain from a 10-minute loss of oxygen, and was unresponsive during the partial delivery, according to a criminal complaint, which said paramedics had tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the infant once she was delivered on June 15. The baby, named Vera by her parents, died two days later after her parents, Emily and Crayton Noe, removed her from life support.

Nebraska law requires nurse midwives to be certified by the state — and they must be under the supervision of a licensed medical practitioner in a health care facility or in an authorized setting. They are prohibited from delivering babies at home.

Brenda Beadle, the chief deputy county attorney, said she was not immediately prepared to comment Friday night.

The baby’s parents declined to comment.

“I am absolutely outraged,” Joann Floyd, the infant’s grandmother, told WOWT, the Omaha NBC affiliate. “I have a beautiful granddaughter that we just buried at Omaha National Cemetery in a tiny little casket; and my heart is broken, and my daughter’s heart is broken, and my son-in-law’s heart is broken, and we’re all heartbroken. This is a beautiful baby.”

Hock operates Nebraska Birth Keeper, a home birthing business that advertises a menu of services before, during and after pregnancy. Its website describes Hock, who lives in Riverdale, as an “undisturbed home birth advocate.”

“I believe that we were created to birth without invention and that women possess the God-given wisdom and intuition to birth their babies free from regulation,” Hock wrote on her website.

Dornan said Hock had performed about 50 deliveries in the past without any episodes, as well as aiding in an additional 25 to 50 deliveries before that as a doula, a person who has no medical training but provides guidance during pregnancy and birth. He cited the case of a home birth attendant in upstate New York, who has been arrested twice on charges of illegally practicing as a midwife despite strong support from the local Mennonite community.

“She is not a medical provider,” Dornan said of Hock. “She makes that clear with respect to her clientele. My client is an old school midwife, in that she’s not certified. Midwife is in the Old Testament, if you will.”

The couple paid about $4,000 for Hock’s services, according to Dornan, who said Hock served as a midwife when Noe gave birth to another child two years earlier.

“They wanted to have a birth in their bedroom,” Dornan said. “Didn’t want to go to the hospital."

Similar complications arose during the earlier pregnancy with a breeched baby, he said, and Noe opted to have a C-section at the hospital after Hock advised her of the risks. This time, he said, Hock once again warned Noe of the risks of a breeched birth, but she had opted to remain at home.

Dornan said Hock tried a maneuver to dislodge the baby, but she was unsuccessful. She was accompanied by her 9-year-old daughter and a doula, who Dornan said called 911. When the emergency responders arrived at the home, Dornan said, they gave Hock a pair of scissors to try to help make a wider opening for the baby, which is considered to be a surgical procedure and is mentioned in the criminal complaint against his client.

“You’re looking at a choice of evils, if you will,” he said.