Genesis Metcalfe

Genesis Metcalfe was twenty-four when she gave birth prematurely to her baby at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver, Colorado in December, 2002. An autopsy showed that she had been given fifteen times the normal amount of magnesium sulfate in her blood, an overdose of the drug given to treat her during the premature labor. According to the medical examiner, Metcalfe's blood levels were four to five times higher than they should have been after such treatment. Metcalfe began having contractions more than eight weeks before her baby was due. She died on December 20, 2002, following an emergency cesarean to deliver the baby. Her son survived.