Texas Midwife License Suspended After Infant and Maternal Deaths

State regulators suspended a Georgetown midwife after investigations into two deaths raised concerns about whether care met Texas standards.

A Central Texas midwife has been barred from practicing after state regulators took emergency action following two deaths linked to her care.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation last Tuesday suspended the midwifery license of Georgetown resident Salli M. Gonzalez, following investigations into two cases — an infant death in February2023 and a maternal death in April2023 — where regulators concluded Gonzalez did not follow required standards of care under Texas midwifery laws and rules. She is now prohibited from providing services anywhere in Texas unless a court overturns the order.

According to the agency, investigators also reviewed a social media exchange between Gonzalez and another midwife about a complicated clinical situation that would normally prompt a recommendation to transfer a patient to higher-level medical care. Regulators said Gonzalez responded in the discussion that the complications "were not concerning," which the agency said raised additional concerns about her clinical judgment.

State officials said the combination of those incidents and what they described as a pattern of conduct posed an urgent risk to pregnant patients and unborn children, prompting the immediate suspension.

"TDLR’s responsibility is to protect the health and safety of Texans," Executive Director Courtney Arbour said in a statement. "When a license holder’s conduct poses a risk to the public, TDLR will take action to protect Texans."

The order remains in place indefinitely while the case moves through the State Office of Administrative Hearings, according to the agency’s disciplinary listing. Gonzalez cannot practice midwifery unless the emergency order is lifted following a hearing or overturned by a court.

Photo: A woman stands with a newborn baby at the hospital window (Photo by Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Aerial photo Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation building Downtown austin (felixmizioznikov/Getty Images)