Woodstock midwife convicted on all counts after home birth nearly killed new mother

WOODSTOCK — A Cherokee County jury found a Woodstock midwife guilty on all nine counts against her Wednesday, four years after a new mother nearly bled to death during a home birth the midwife handled without a license.

What happened: 64-year-old Cynthia “Cindy” Morrow ran a business called Birth Servant Midwifery LLC. In 2022, she assisted a home birth in Woodstock and, after the mother delivered, performed a series of medical procedures she was not licensed to perform. She gave the woman an injection of Pitocin, a drug used to control bleeding after birth, started an IV, inserted a catheter, and performed a manual procedure on the woman’s uterus.

How bad it got: The mother lost about half her blood. Her blood pressure fell to 63/55 and her heart rate climbed to 139 beats per minute. She was vomiting and unconscious by the time Morrow called 911. When Morrow did call, she asked for a non-emergency transport. She did not tell the woman’s family their loved one was in a medical emergency. Cherokee County firefighters and paramedics stabilized the woman and took her to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed severe postpartum hemorrhage. She needed medication, multiple blood transfusions, and emergency surgery. Medical experts who testified at trial said they would have sent her to a hospital at least five hours earlier.

What the jury decided: After nine days of trial and about three hours of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all nine counts. Seven of the counts came from the 2022 incident and included practicing medicine without a license, practicing nursing without a license, two counts of unlawfully practicing midwifery, two counts of reckless conduct, and possession of Pitocin, a controlled drug. The remaining two counts involved a second victim in Cherokee County and a charge tied to expired Pitocin found when investigators searched Morrow’s home in 2024.

What else the jury heard: Two other former clients testified about their own experiences with Morrow in separate incidents outside Cherokee County. One woman nearly died during childbirth. The other lost her baby. Prosecutors introduced more than 100 exhibits, including the 911 call recording, the victim’s medical records, client logs Morrow kept, cell phone data, and records confirming she held no license as a physician, nurse, or certified nurse midwife. Search warrant photographs from her home showed expired Pitocin, needles, sutures, IV supplies, and other medical equipment.

What’s next: Morrow is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday, November 10.