Clinician reported birthkeeper to police the day Melbourne wellness influencer died following freebirth

A senior clinician reported a birthkeeper to police the same day one of her clients died after giving birth at home – something the senior clinician said he had not done before. The evidence was heard during the third day of the inquest into the death of 30-year-old wellness influencer Stacey Warnecke, who died on 29 September in Frankston hospital in Melbourne. She had paid Emily Lal $6,000 to support her to have a freebirth at home without any clinically trained staff involved. Lal described her role at the time as a “birthkeeper”. Birthkeepers have no medical training and operate outside the medical system, and do not believe in the involvement of trained clinical staff throughout pregnancy. Lal on Tuesday told the inquest that her role was not a medical one, nor was it to keep Warnecke safe. Rather, she was acting primarily as a friend when she was hired and attended Warnecke’s birth at home, Lal said. She also said it was not her role to call an ambulance unless specifically asked to by any mother she was hired by. Warnecke gave birth to her son shortly after 3am, and to the placenta about 20-25 minutes after that, when she suffered a bleed. At this point she said she needed to lie down, the court heard earlier. She became short of breath and panicked, and Lal told her she might be suffering from a panic attack, the inquest heard. …