PHOENIX — After an Arizona midwife surrendered her license to practice following the deaths of one of her clients and newborn baby, the family was alerted that she was practicing again.
12News learned the midwife, Sarah Kankiewicz, has now been served with a complaint from the Arizona Attorney General's Office for allegedly violating a settlement agreement with the state.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Una partera de Arizona siguió ejerciendo después de renunciar a su licencia tras la muerte de una madre y un bebé bajo su cuidado
"On June 13, 2024, Kankiewicz entered into a settlement agreement, in lieu of suspension or revocation, and surrendered her license to practice midwifery. Nevertheless, Defendant is acting as a midwife and is performing midwifery services and using terms that may indicate that she is a licensed midwife," the complaint said.
The AG's office is seeking an injunction to prevent Kankiewicz from continuing to practice.
"The Department received complaints of unlicensed care and conducted an investigation that confirmed the allegations," the complaint said. "Because Defendant continues to act as a midwife and perform midwifery, Defendant is guilty of a class 6 felony."
In response to the civil complaint, Kankiewicz has informed the court she intends to "defend these allegations."
After the mother and child's death, an ADHS investigation found Kankiewicz had failed to protect her patients and stated she shouldn’t have been doing the home birth. The Arizona health code regulating midwives said she was prohibited from it, because the client had previously had a C-section and a blood transfusion, raising the risk of a complicated pregnancy.
Kankiewicz was a non-nurse midwife.
ADHS filed a notice of intent to revoke Kankiewicz's license and in June, they reached a settlement agreement.
Kankiewicz was barred from working as a midwife in Arizona for 15 years and was ordered to remove all advertisements and social media pages suggesting she could provide any midwifery services.
At the end of July, Parker Terry, the father and husband of the child and mother who died, was told Kankiewicz was again practicing.
“We were going along our merry way healing and then it was sent to me that Sarah is practicing," Terry said.
12News briefly spoke with Kankiewicz by phone that week. She said she was limiting her services to birth pool rentals and breastfeeding support through her company Wild Birth Services.
“Of course she's going to say that because admitting to it is a class five felony in the state of Arizona," Terry said.
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