‘That Was the Scariest Part’: Hospital Sent a Pregnant Black Woman Home — The Next Stop Was a Casino Parking Lot Where Her Husband Had Seconds to Save Their Baby
An Arizona woman says the way she welcomed her newborn daughter into the world was not exactly what she had planned.
She had to give birth in a casino parking lot in the middle of a monsoon after a suburban Phoenix hospital turned her away.
Regena Felix, a mother of now five children, wrote on Facebook that her contractions started on July 13. She and her husband, Frankie Felix, then went to Mercy Gilbert Hospital in Gilbert, Arizona, to give birth.
Hospital Sends Felix Home
“My contractions were consistently three to five minutes apart,” she said. “I had only progressed to two centimeters dilated, so we were discharged and sent home to continue laboring.”
Within minutes of the couple leaving the hospital, labor began.
“We get back onto Gilbert Road by the casino, and I’m like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to pull into the casino. She’s about to come’,” she told AZ Family.
Frankie then quickly parked the car.
“My husband and I were delivering our beautiful daughter ourselves IN OUR NEW CAR…IN A CASINO PARKING LOT!” Felix wrote on Facebook.
To add to the chaos, the baby had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Thankfully, the couple was able to unwrap the child without any complications.
“That was the scariest part,” Frankie told AZ Family. “I was like, OK, I got to stay calm, you know, we got to get her out, try to unwrap this thing. And then luckily we were able to in time.”
“We know without a doubt that God had His hands over every single second of those moments,” Felix said.
Back to the Hospital
The couple then went back to the hospital, carrying their newly delivered baby in their arms. According to Felix, they had been gone from the hospital for about 30 to 45 minutes after they were discharged.
“When my husband called, they said, ‘I hope this isn’t the patient we just sent home,’ and to their surprise it was us,” she told WCNC.
Felix told AZ Family she had prepared extensively for the birth.
“I had printed, I think like five birth plans out because I didn’t know how many nurses we were going to have,” she said.
Was What the Hospital Did Legal?
According to the University of California San Diego, hospitals can and frequently do send women home if they haven’t reached active labor. They need to be at around four to six centimeters dilated to be considered “in labor.”
It’s against federal law for any Medicare-funded hospital to refuse to provide a medical screening or stabilize a patient in active labor. That includes women who don’t have insurance or the ability to pay.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the hospital and received the following statement:
“We are unable to comment on specific patient care due to privacy laws. Our organization is committed to treating every patient with dignity, respect and compassion. We are dedicated to providing equitable, high-quality care to all members of our community.“
Why it Matters
The couple said they’re grateful their story had a happy ending, but Felix said she hopes other women learn from her experience.
“I wish they would listen to their patients just a little bit more,” she told WCNC. “As women, we know our bodies, so advocate for yourself even more.”
Felix, who is Black, is also a good example of why it’s important for Black women to advocate for themselves.
The maternal mortality rate for Black women in the United States as of 2025 is 50.3 per 100,000 live births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some contributing factors include systemic and implicit racial bias in the healthcare system or maternity care deserts, where there is limited access to medical experts.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the family for statements but hasn’t heard back.