CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A Chattanooga woman who went into labor at 19 weeks and lost her baby is complaining that Erlanger Medical Center sent her home with a foam cooler containing the fetal remains.
Twenty-two-year-old Melvina Brown said doctors tried for days to stop her contractions before she gave birth Sunday. She said the hospital told her there initially was a heartbeat.
Brown said she asked the hospital to keep the remains while she decided what to do but in the confusion signed papers agreeing to take them.
The hospital told WRCB-TV in a statement that it followed state law for handling remains from a live birth (http://bit.ly/viJTDR ). Erlanger cited patient privacy in declining to discuss specifics.
Brown said she returned the remains to the hospital Sunday night, at the hospital's urging.
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