Southwest Mo. woman charged in infant death

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A 52-year-old southern Missouri woman who claimed to be a midwife has been charged in the death of an infant.

Elaine Marie Diamond has been charged in Greene County court with involuntary manslaughter after a child she had been called in to deliver died. The infant died days later of complications from birth.

The Springfield News Leader reported that Diamond is accused of allowing the woman to spend almost three days in labor before taking her to the hospital. The baby was put on a ventilator and suffered some brain damage. The parents later decided to take him off life support.

Diamond is accused of saying she's a midwife, although she has not been certified by a national midwife organization.