A pregnant woman’s struggle in a New York jail cell will leave you stunned and inspire people to honor women a little more than usual. This is the story of an inmate named Cheree Byrd who gave birth under unimaginable circumstances.
The woman had been begging corrections officers from an upstate New York jail cell, telling them that her water had broken and she was going into labor, and that she needed to be taken to a hospital to give birth to her premature baby.
“My baby’s coming out,” Byrd repeatedly yelled to jail staff who ignored her. Other inmates who saw the situation also called out for help, but there was no proper response from the authorities.
Instead of helping her, jail staff dismissed the 35-year-old Black woman—who had been arrested on a misdemeanor petit larceny charge—as a liar. Instead of transporting her to a hospital, officers gave her Tylenol and a tampon.
My Baby Is Coming Out’: Pregnant Black Woman’s Pleas for Help Were Ignored as She Went Into Labor In a New York Jail Cell, Resulting In Baby’s Death. Now, It’s Haunting the Countyhttps://t.co/KgbQYMMIk9
— Robert Winston Jail account (@JailWinston) February 5, 2026
On July 27, Byrd’s water broke—around the 25th week of her pregnancy. This information alone should have prompted immediate medical intervention, as births before 28 weeks carry a significantly higher risk of death and serious complications, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Byrd ultimately gave birth to her daughter, Ayanna Byrd, alone inside her jail cell. Only after the baby was delivered was she taken to the hospital. Sadly, Ayanna was declared dead when she arrived at the hospital.
What police officers thought was a lie has now turned into an issue drawing scrutiny in Onondaga County. Last month, Byrd was awarded a $100,000 settlement after a state investigation concluded that corrections officers, nurses, and doctors at the Onondaga County Justice Center were negligent.
According to The Atlanta Black Star, the Commission of Correction further claimed that baby Ayanna would have been alive if the officers on duty had listened to the pregnant woman instead of dismissing her concerns as lies.
According to a lengthy 15-page investigative report, the Medical Review Board has found that medical care and treatment of Byrd during her incarceration was both deficient and negligent and may have led to her child’s death.
“The Board found that Byrd was not properly assessed or timely transferred to a hospital over the course of six days during which she made multiple reports of being in labor.”
Cheree Byrd’s lawsuit accused corrections officers, nurses, and a doctor of several violations, including denial of basic human needs, deprivation of rights, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
According to the complaint, despite Byrd’s loud screams of pain, visible and significant bleeding, and repeated requests for medical attention, deputies ignored her.
Deputies ignored her and failed to provide the necessary medical care to ensure a safe delivery or prevent potentially life-threatening complications.
The victim was already diagnosed with mental illness at age 12. She was jailed on July 1, 2022, after a warrant was issued for petit larceny, a misdemeanor often associated with shoplifting. Unable to afford the $5,000 bond, she remained incarcerated for more than a month.
Consequently, her mother also contacted the jail several times, warning officers that her daughter was pregnant, had a history of mental illness, and came from a family with a record of premature births that could lead to significant issues.
In 2018, the State Commission of Correction issued a report saying that the Onondaga County Justice Centre was one of the worst jails in New York, as basic rules were not being followed and there was overcrowding of inmates.
“The complaint alleged that 16 and 17-year-old inmates at the Onondaga County Justice Center were routinely subjected to the imposition of solitary confinement in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and were thereafter denied minimal education instruction and special education guaranteed by state law.”
