DALLAS — When Amanda Callicutt was deciding how she wanted her pregnancy journey to go, certain words came to mind.
"More natural," Callicutt said. "No medications. No interventions. I wanted to have a natural birth in a beautiful space...my own experience that was calm, without the bright lights and the doctors and the scrubs."
Her research led her to Origins Birth Services, a company offering pregnancy and midwife services in Dallas and Ft. Worth. Callicutt received care from Origins Birth and Wellness Dallas.
"I started in September 2022 and had my baby in July 2023," Callicutt said.
Despite giving birth to a healthy baby boy, Callicutt said multiple things stood out to her about her delivery experience with Origins Dallas. She said she didn't feel like she received proper care during her delivery until she had to be transferred to the hospital- ironically, the place she wanted to avoid.
"I was in labor for 60 hours," Callicutt said. "It was long and excruciating and exhausting...that's not right. That's not normal. There were no complications leading up to that."
Callicutt said she started connecting with other women who had been in her birthing class at Origins Dallas and learned she wasn't the only one who felt she didn't receive proper care.
"There were more moms," Callicutt said. "There just kept being more. What a sick feeling."
Earlier this month, Callicutt and half a dozen other women who received their maternal care at Origins Dallas held a protest outside of the birth center. With signs, chants, and personal stories, the women and their loved ones called for the center to close.
The mothers claimed they had negative experiences with midwives who they say lacked experience, delays, and a lack of clarity in getting transferred to the hospital when needed. Multiple women feared the lives of their babies and themselves.
Some of the women filed their complaints with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which confirmed with WFAA that it is "actively investigating the Origins Birth & Wellness Center in Dallas to assess its compliance with all relevant health and safety rules."
WFAA obtained emails between one of the mothers and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation that confirm the department opened an investigation into complaints against the center as well as two individual midwives who work there. TDLR is the agency that licenses Licensed Midwives in Texas.
The women also complained to the City of Dallas over concerns that the clinic where expecting mothers go for their appointments, which sits right next to the birth center, does not have a certificate of occupancy from the City.
This week, the City of Dallas confirmed that the Department of Code Compliance issued a violation for the location after finding that it was operating without a certificate of occupancy.
Origin Dallas's clinic currently has a sign that says it's closed, directing women to come next door to the birthing center for their appointments.
"Knowing that I was in care in a clinic that hasn’t been inspected by the City…that’s scary. That’s not safe. There’s nothing safe about that," Callicutt said.
WFAA reached out to the co-owners of Origins Birth Services, Gina Thomson and Kaitlyn Wages, who are both licensed midwives. They invited WFAA for an on-camera tour of the Dallas birth center but did not want to answer any questions on camera.
Instead, they provided this statement:
“Origins Birth Services has provided comprehensive maternity care since 2013, delivering over 1,900 babies. We are and continue to be honored to serve these low-risk women and walk alongside them as they make decisions regarding their care. Our experience and training has helped us to put in practice policies and procedures to ensure, to the best of our ability, the safety of both mother and baby. We have worked throughout all these years with the State licensing board, both for our Birth Center and for our Midwifery licenses. Our center is inspected regularly and these policies and procedures are reviewed regularly as well. Unfortunately, medical privacy laws do not allow us to speak about specific patients. This leaves us with little recourse when anger and frustration are channeled in such a public forum. We can only welcome anyone to come and see for themselves what we have offered to so many, and what we will continue to offer to the families of the D/FW community."
Off-camera, the women said they were in contact with the state this week and do not expect to receive any citations. They also said they are currently in the process of getting a certificate of occupancy for their clinic.
Texas HHSC said that once its investigation is complete, the full report will be available through an open records request.
When speaking with WFAA, Thomson and Wages said they are "heartbroken" about the claims being made against their business and emphasized the number of pregnancies they have served without issue.
Callicutt said those experiences don't change what happened to her and the other women who are speaking out.
"It doesn’t matter," Callicutt said. "It doesn’t doesn’t matter how many women bad things happen to. Bad things shouldn’t happen to any woman. Every woman should feel safe giving birth whether it’s at the hospital, a birthing center…at home..it doesn’t matter.”
She believes there are "legit" birth centers in DFW but said she will likely go to a hospital for her next child.