Pregnant Alabama woman claims jail staff ignored her for 24 hours as she went into labor on prison floor

The inner workings of running a county prison are back in the news again after a woman from Alabama filed a lawsuit claiming that both her civil rights and those of her daughter were violated.

Tiffany McElroy, 28, was reportedly booked into an Alabama prison in May 2024 after she was found guilty on charges alleging that she had been using substances while pregnant. According to her lawsuit, McElroy was only a couple of weeks away from giving birth — still, her water broke just three days after she was booked.

What makes matters even more complicated is that McElroy’s pregnancy already carried the risk of complications. According to court documents, she informed a guard that her water had broken, expecting that she would be taken to a hospital for treatment.

However, the guard allegedly accused her of simply wetting herself and ordered her to return to her cell. McElroy claims that over the following 24 hours, she repeatedly did everything she could to implore prison staff to call 911. They never did. Other inmates allegedly started pounding on cell windows and tables to pressure guards into doing something about McElroy’s condition.

McElroy’s pregnancy ultimately suffered a complication that could have progressed into sepsis. It was reportedly a fellow inmate who assisted her in delivering the infant while guards watched. The baby was allegedly born not breathing, and two inmates revived the child by removing mucus from her mouth until the newborn was finally able to breathe.

According to the lawsuit, guards only provided McElroy with a diaper and Tylenol afterward. This would not be the first major lawsuit involving women’s prisons in the country, as there was a similarly disturbing case in California accusing prison staff of turning a facility into a “rape club.” The case will certainly raise questions about how child protective services can claim to safeguard children from crimes against the unborn if prisons themselves are allegedly inhospitable to a safe pregnancy and delivery.

According to The Guardian, McElroy released a statement that in part read, “I’m so grateful that my baby and I are here today, and I owe that to other women because the guards treated me like I was less than nothing. My body was on fire, and I was terrified that I’d never see my other kids again. I barely got to hold her, and I couldn’t even breastfeed.”

She continued, “I have nightmares that we both died – and it’s like a part of me did die that day. I’m scared to even get pregnant again. They shouldn’t be allowed to do that to another woman ever again.”

McElroy was released in 2025. Her complaint names 20 defendants whom she believes were directly responsible for her labor situation. A former deputy from the jail, Kathy Youngblood, seemingly corroborated McElroy’s account, describing the entire incident as “barbaric.” Youngblood said, “I tried to help her, but I was told I was going to be fired if I did help her, so I could not assist.”