Australian Woman Dies After Postpartum Hemorrhage Following Planned Home Birth

M. on September 29 after multiple cardiac arrests and continued bleeding at a hospital in Australia. m. the same day during a planned home birth attended by birthkeeper Emily Lal.

5 liters of blood within 25 minutes of delivery, according to her husband. Lal asked twice if an ambulance should be called, and Warnecke refused both times. One hour after the birth, Warnecke agreed to the call.

A paramedic found Warnecke lying on the floor between the birth pool and the couch. The room was dark, she was naked, her skin was yellow and clammy, and a large clot of blood lay on the ground, Rachel Ellyard, counsel assisting the coroner, told the inquest. Intensive care paramedics could not detect Warnecke’s blood pressure and identified a postpartum hemorrhage.

Two hours after delivery, she expelled a large volume of blood at the hospital and went into cardiac arrest minutes later. Dr. Michael Burke, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, told the court that death from blood loss is eminently treatable if recognized quickly and managed.

Postpartum hemorrhage occurs in 1-5% of births. Lal stated during the inquest: “I’m not clinically trained. ” In Australia and the United States, only midwives must meet healthcare standards to use that title.

Doulas and birthkeepers operate outside the regulated system and lack standardized training or certifications. A home birth attended by two midwives is considered as safe as hospital births for most women, while freebirths without a midwife or doctor present are legal in Australia. Warnecke and her husband Nathan had married less than a year before her death.