Walidah Burns
Reference: UQMQ-AUBP-G5B7-NW8N
- Outcome
- Foster Care
- Outcome detail
- Still in care a year later
- Jurisdiction
- Durham, NC, United States
- Year
- 2025
- Account type
- Mother's Account
Quick summary
- Quick summary
- After Walidah refused to be induced at Duke Regional Hospital, she was involuntarily committed, had an emergency caesarean and lost her newborn son to Durham County CPS.
Full story
- Full story
- Walidah Burns, 28, a first-time mother who planned a natural birth with a doula, went to Duke Regional Hospital's emergency room at 37 weeks after a scuffle on public transport to check the baby was okay. Nurses urged her to be induced and she refused. She says that set off involuntary commitment, an emergency caesarean and the loss of her son to Durham County Child Protective Services in May 2024. A year later she was still waiting for a judge after two recused themselves, seeing him only in monitored visits at the social services office. A review of Durham County civil cases found no child abuse or neglect case against her, and police held no reports involving a child.
Where
- Hospital
- Duke Regional Hospital
- Agency
- Durham County Child Protective Services
- City
- Durham
- State
- NC
- Country
- United States
- First Nations
- Not Stated
The removal
- When the baby was taken
- At Birth (Delivery Room)
- Where the baby was taken from
- Maternity Ward
- Stated reasons
- Medical Disagreement / Refused TreatmentMental Health
- How it was done
- Hospital Hold (No Agency Order)
- What happened during separation
- Mother's Health IgnoredVisits Restricted
Support after
- Grief counselling offered
- Not Stated
- Contact / visits
- Monitored visits at the Durham County Social Services office
Getting baby back
- Steps taken
- Court Hearings
- Did she get her baby back
- Not Yet
- Where the baby is now
- Foster Care
People, hospitals and agencies
| Name | Role | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Whitney Williams-Black | Other | Doula |
Official response
- Official response
- Duke University Hospital did not comment. Durham County Social Services referred questions to police, who held no reports about her involving a child.