Several Maryland families accused same midwife of insufficient care. Months later, they're still searching for accountability, justice
Several families hired Kai Parker for their home births. Those families claim they paid thousands of dollars for midwifery services they never received.
In October 2022, Jenell and David Burns were supposed to be celebrating the birth of their first child. Instead, the couple found themselves planning a memorial for their baby boy.
Jenell Burns gave birth in the living room of the couple's Crofton home, but their son, Onyx, was stillborn. The couple decided on a home birth because they were concerned about the high Black maternal mortality rates in hospitals. They interviewed six midwives. Their top choice was Dr. Kai Parker, a licensed naturopathic physician and certified professional midwife in Maryland. Parker was also the former chair of the state’s midwifery committee. She is also a Black woman herself.
The couple paid Parker’s $7,500 homebirth fee. But Jenell and David Burns tell WUSA9 they only saw Parker in person once for a prenatal checkup. All other appointments were virtual, with David Burns using a fetal doppler to check for his baby’s heartbeat.
“That pressure shouldn’t have been on me as a first-time dad, or on my wife as a first-time mom," David Burns said. "We paid a medical professional. She should come in and work these tools herself."
The couple didn’t know it at the time, but Parker’s license to practice naturopathic medicine in Maryland expired during their pregnancy, according to state records. When Jenell Burns went into labor on Oct. 29, 2022, only Parker’s midwifery license was still active.
'What went wrong' was everybody's question
According to medical records the family gave WUSA9, their midwife notes arriving at the Burnses home at 11 p.m. on Oct. 29. Maryland law requires all midwives to bring an assistant with them for home births. The couple says Parker came alone.
In Maryland, the Board of Nursing oversees midwives, while the Board of Physicians regulates naturopathic doctors. In complaints filed with both agencies, the couple recounts the moment Parker had trouble finding their baby’s heartbeat on Oct. 30.
“I was starting to freak out because there was no sense of urgency, even though you had trouble finding our son’s heart tone,” said Jenell Burns.
The family said Parker asked David Burns to try, saying her fathers sometimes have better luck finding a heartbeat. Maryland Midwifery Regulations state 911 should be called at the first sign of fetal distress.
At 1:55 p.m. on Oct. 30, according to medical records, Parker notes Jenell Burns’ water breaking and seeing meconium. Meconium is a baby’s fecal matter that can cause a baby to suffocate. Parker calls 911. The first-time mother gave birth to her son just as EMTs arrived. Onyx was unresponsive.
“We’re both trying to call out to Onyx and tell him to breathe," Jenell Burns said. "The whole time we’re trying to yell out to Onyx, my husband is hysterical. It was just one of the worst moments of my life."
Jenell Burns was rushed to the hospital by ambulance after the delivery. David Burns stayed behind at the couple's home with medics, Parker and their son, who was also transported to the hospital.
"What went wrong was everybody's question. How did we get here?" David Burns asked.
Onyx’s autopsy report does not pinpoint his exact cause or time of death. But the report does note the baby’s skin was peeling --a condition doctors say indicates the infant likely died hours before he was delivered. Medical records show the only time Parker documented trouble finding a heartbeat was just before calling 911.
Disciplinary Action
Looking for answers after their son’s death, the couple went to state health regulators in early 2023. For months, they heard nothing. Then in April of that year, according to official records, the Anne Arundel State's Attorney's Office also reached out to regulators regarding the Burns' allegations.
On Jan. 10, 2024, more than a year after their son’s death, the board barred Parker from practicing naturopathic medicine in Maryland. On Jan. 18, 2024, the board charged Parker under the Maryland Naturopathic Medicine Act and Medical Practice Act. Those charges included practicing without a license and unauthorized practice. Parker has a hearing scheduled before a disciplinary panel in late April. She faces civil fines up to $100,000.
According to charging documents obtained by WUSA9, the investigation found Parker continuously gave Jenell Burns naturopathic medical advice as a doctor, even though she wasn’t licensed.
WUSA9 tried several times to reach Parker by phone and email to ask for an interview about these allegations. We have not received a response.
Additionally, the investigation found Parker treated at least four patients for pediatric newborn appointments without being properly licensed. The documents also reveal the board initiated a second investigation of Parker, after someone described only as “Patient 2” alleged they paid Parker $7,000 for midwifery services they never received.
The Board of Physicians’ investigation relates only to Parker’s naturopathic doctors license. The family is still waiting to sit for an interview with a Board of Nursing investigator about the allegations concerning Parker’s midwifery services.
“I’m praying no other family has to endure the pain that we have, but I feel like it’s almost inevitable at this point,” Jenell Burns said.
Backlog of complaints
The complaint Jenell and David Burns filed with the Board of Nursing could take years to be resolved. The Maryland General Assembly ordered an independent analysis of the board. It found at the end of 2022, the board had 2,808 open cases dating back to 2013. The analysis also found only 560 Board of Nursing complaints were closed yearly. At that rate, it would take more than five years to clear the backlog if no new complaints were filed, according to the report.
The backlog stems from the aftermath of a 2021 ransomware attack that crippled the Maryland Department of Health’s systems.
“The Maryland Department of Health acknowledges the challenges the Board of Nursing has faced. Many long-standing challenges have made it difficult for the Board to carry out its responsibilities efficiently,” said Chase Cook, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health.
According to Cook, the department is working closely with the Board of Nursing to address the backlog of outstanding complaints. That includes hiring a new executive director, appointing an entirely new board, and hiring non-nurse investigators to help get through the backlog of investigations.
More allegations
Somewhere in the backlog of complaints filed with the Board of Nursing are allegations from other Maryland families who hired Parker. WUSA9 spoke with six other families who described similar experiences with the same midwife. Their deliveries didn’t end in a still birth, but they accuse Parker of providing insufficient care.
Makai Ashley found out she was pregnant in early 2023. She wanted a holistic approach to deliver her baby. The first-time mother and her parents met with Parker, after a trusted family doctor recommended the midwife for her home birth.
In complaints filed with the Maryland Board of Nursing and the Maryland Board of Physicians, the family claims they paid Parker $7,500 for midwifery services they never received.
There were missed appointments and Parker was hard to get ahold of during the pregnancy, according to the family’s account. They say they confronted the midwife and asked for a refund, but Parker refused. Makai Ashley’s mother, Holly Ashley, said they looked for a different midwife, but no one would take her daughter because she was too far along in her pregnancy.
“It was too late at that point. We were like we have to go through with it," Holly Ashley saud. "Maybe when you have the baby is when the services kick in, maybe she’ll start to do something."
Labor and birth are listed as part of Parker’s homebirth package. But Makai Ashley says most of her labor was without her midwife.
The family tells WUSA9 the problems did not stop there. Midwives in Maryland are required to report a baby’s birth to the Division of Vital Records. They claim that never happened, leaving Makai Ashley’s now 5-month-old son without a birth certificate, social security number and no medical coverage.
“The birth was never registered," Holly Ashley said. "No one outside of us telling them knows this baby exists."
'I kept basically chasing her to see me'
When Malachi and Scheera Robinson first met Kai Parker during a virtual home birth consultation, they were impressed with her credentials. They decided to hire her.
But the family says they only saw their midwife in person for one prenatal appointment. In official complaints filed with state health regulators, the couple says their appointments were either virtual or didn’t happen at all.
“I thought it was going to be more hands on," said Scheera Robinson. "It went downhill the last few weeks and months of pregnancy. Those essential appointments kept getting rescheduled. I kept basically chasing her to get her to see me."
The couples' complaint also details Scheera Robinson laboring for hours without her midwife present. They say Parker made it to their Gaithersburg home in time to deliver their baby, but never showed up to the postpartum checkups promised in the homebirth package.
“The next day after the birth I didn’t hear anything," she said. "The day after that I didn’t hear anything. It’s like she just disappeared,."
Both families said Parker advertised and referred to herself as a physician before and after they hired her. They didn’t know it at the time, but Parker’s naturopathic physician license expired in 2022, more than a year before they hired her, according to state records.
“We did our research, but clearly that wasn’t enough," Malachi Robinson said. "The next person that wants to experience a midwife or home birth, just really do your thorough research."
Both families are still waiting to speak with investigators regarding their allegations against Parker. Meanwhile, Parker’s 2-year midwifery license in Maryland expired in October 2023. It is currently listed as non-renewed.
'All I want to know is why?'
Another Maryland woman, who asked us not to share her name, hired Parker in February 2023. She and her husband paid the midwife's $7,500 home birth fee. In a complaint filed with several oversight agencies, including the Board of Nursing, the couple says six months into the pregnancy, Parker had still not completed a prenatal appointment in-person.
"She said I'll be coming out to you, I want to see you, I need to rub on your belly and do an exam and it never happened," said the mother.
The expectant mother continued to see an OBGYN during her pregnancy because of Parker’s inconsistencies. In her complaint, the woman describes being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The family wasn’t aware at the time, but Maryland law says a midwife "may not assume care or continue to take responsibility for a patient’s pregnancy and birth care" if the patient has a condition like gestational diabetes.
The woman’s complaint details the multiple appointments Parker changed to virtual at the last minute and recounts the only time she saw her midwife in-person for a prenatal exam, was after her diabetes diagnosis.
Due to other complications, the woman gave birth in July 2023, via C-section in a hospital. She says Parker came to the hospital to discuss postpartum care, but never provided the services they paid for.
In the mother's complaint, she also alleges Parker never provided her with an informed consent agreement. Maryland law requires midwives to provide patients with the document that provides clients information about the midwife's training, how to file a complaint with the board, and instructions to access the Code of Maryland Regulations.
Nearly six months after filing complaints against Parker, the family is still waiting to hear from those oversight agencies, including the Board of Nursing.
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