Socialist Action /April 1999
FIGHTBACK by Sylvia Weinstein
'Child is Pending'
A Black woman has been accused of recklessly causing the death of her
son.
Tabitha Walrond, a 19-year-old welfare recipient, gave birth to her first
child on June 27, 1997. She decided to breast-feed him. But seven weeks
later her son, Tyler Isaac Walrond, died in her arms of malnutrition. Now
the mother is charged with homicide.
When she was 15, Tabitha Walrond underwent a breast reduction operation.
She did not know that this could affect breast feeding. The medical personal
at the hospital did not inform her of this possibility, and she continued
to breast feed her baby without knowing that her breast milk was inadequate.
She did not know of the dangers because, even though she qualified for
medical coverage for both her son and herself, she was denied medical help
for him.
Ms. Walrond received her prenatal care through a Medicaid-managed health
care plan. Tyler was supposed to be enrolled there before his birth. But
because the baby lacked his Medicaid number, he was turned away for care
when his mother bought him in for his checkup.
Four months before the birth of the baby, the family began to try to
get approval for Medicaid coverage. They made separate trips to at least
three city offices, including one to Tremont Multi-Service Center Number
41 six days before he died. Each time, the city's Medicaid computer came
up with the word "pending".
So what we have here is murder by a system that refused care for a baby
and a serious attempt to charge the victim, Ms. Walrond with the crime.
Tyler was never examined by a pediatrician when Ms. Walrond went to the
clinic for her postpartum check up. Even her own doctor noticed that Tyler,
then five weeks old, looked underweight.
Her doctor should have checked Tyler for potential problems because he
had been delivered by Caesarean because of fetal distress. Ms. Walrond developed
a fever and blood clots that kept her in the hospital for 12 days.
In that time she was allowed to nurse only for the first three days and
the last two because she was being treated with medication. No one checked
Tyler, since his medical coverage was "pending".
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breast-fed newborns
be checked after they have been home for 48 hours. But pediatricians still
typically schedule a baby's first check-up at two weeks of age, with a second
check-up at six weeks for immunizations.
Ms. Walrond's face still lights up when she recalls her 3 a.m. breast-feedings
of Tyler. "When he would hear my voice, you'd see his little face turning
in my direction, and his eyes would open wide and he'd stop crying,"
she said.
Here is a mother who did everything she could to care for her child.
She was given the royal runaround by a system that has no heart-and that
has dollar signs instead of a conscience. And, of course, that wants to
place the blame for Tyler's death at his mother's door instead of its own.
The blame for Tyler's death is not "pending" as far as I'm
concerned.
The economic system called capitalism is responsible for this baby's
death. The time is short for that cold-blooded system to continue. And it's
not "pending."
Socialist Action /April 1999 |