Modern midwifery company Oula, backed by Chelsea Clinton, has been the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the clinic left a baby with permanent brain damage.
The baby’s parents, who have not been identified, claim Oula midwives were negligent and “reckless” during the delivery, resulting in the baby being born with brain damage.
The Brooklyn, New York, couple alleges that midwives failed to get obstetricians in time to deliver the baby, according to reports the New York Post.
When the C-section was delayed, the baby went into “fetal distress” and suffered hypoxic brain damage, according to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn State Supreme Court.
The company, launched in 2019 by Adrianne Nickerson, a Harvard graduate, and Elaine Purcell, a New York University graduate, has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
Modern midwifery company Oula, backed by Chelsea Clinton, has been the subject of a lawsuit alleging that the clinic left a baby with permanent brain damage. Pictured: Oula founders Adrianne Nickerson (left) and Elaine Purcell (center)
The Brooklyn, New York, couple alleges that midwives failed to get obstetricians in time to deliver the baby. Pictured: Oula clinic in Manhattan
With initial funding from Clinton’s Metrodora Ventures LLC, Oula was able to open two clinics in New York. Pictured: Chelsea Clinton at the Oula event in March 2023
Oula has opened two clinics, one located in Brooklyn Heights and the other in Manhattan Soho, surrounded by upscale restaurants and designer brands.
The company offers “full-service pregnancy care, from prenatal to delivery and postpartum support,” according to its website.
A source who did not want to be identified said Mount Sinai West, where the brain-damaged baby was born last year, assigned a dedicated obstetrician to Oula patients after the incident.
Until recently, Oula did not have a dedicated obstetrician at the hospital, despite having delivered more than 1,500 babies since it opened in 2019, the source said.
‘Oula only cares about money. “It is truly an atrocious and dangerous line they are following.” a source who did not want to be identified told the outlet
The former first daughter is one of Oula’s earliest investors, as she posted on babies alike.”
Other investors include Jonathan Bush, nephew of former President George HW Bush, who admitted to violently attacking his first wife, DailyMai.com revealed in 2018.
In February, the company closed its Series B financing with $28 million, bringing its total funding to $50 million, including $3.2 million in seed funding and $19 million from a Series A round.
“The market opportunity that Oula is pursuing is enormous and we were able to demonstrate that we had a winning business model and positive unit economics,” Nickerson and Purcell said in an interview with Half.
‘More than anything, we hear from patients who value the personalized care at Oula. “They feel seen and heard, the opposite of the standard approach that is standard in this country,” they added.
A source who did not want to be identified said Mount Sinai West, where the brain-damaged baby was born last year, assigned a dedicated obstetrician to Oula patients after the incident.
Until recently, Oula did not have a dedicated obstetrician at the hospital, despite having delivered more than 1,500 babies since it opened in 2019, the source said.
Oula has opened two clinics, one located in Brooklyn Heights and the other in Manhattan Soho, surrounded by upscale restaurants and designer brands. Pictured: Oula clinic in Manhattan
Oula hosted a star-studded event last year with Chelsea Clinton (first left), Glamor magazine executive editor Natasha Pearlman (second left) and Olympian Allyson Felix (third left).
With initial funding from Clinton’s Metrodora Ventures LLC, Oula was able to open two clinics in New York, and the third is scheduled to open on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, near Columbia University.
More clinics will be planned in the tri-state area, as the co-founders said in February: “We are using this round of capital to expand beyond New York and launch new services for women during their reproductive years.”
“We are excited to delve deeper into the tri-state market and use our unique hybrid capabilities to address the experiences of women who are underserved today, such as miscarriage care and preconception counseling,” they added.
As the multibillion-dollar startup is being hit by the lawsuit, its spokesperson said, “Our hearts go out to any family who is grieving during what should be a happy time in their lives.”
‘We respect the privacy of healthcare and cannot comment on this statement. We founded Oula with a deep commitment to supporting families during pregnancy, birth and early parenthood and we continue to operate with this commitment.’