A Melbourne wellness influencer died from a treatable complication after giving birth at home without any trained medical staff, an inquest has heard. Stacey Warnecke, 30, gave birth to her son Axel in September with only her husband and an unregulated birth support worker present.
The inquest heard that about 25 minutes after birth, Warnecke delivered the placenta and lost up to 1.5 litres of blood. She experienced shortness of breath but twice declined an ambulance. The birthkeeper, Emily Lal, suggested she might be having a panic attack.
Approximately an hour after giving birth, Warnecke agreed to call an ambulance. Paramedics arrived within 10 minutes and found her lying on the floor, naked, with yellow and clammy skin, short of breath, and in an altered state of consciousness. A large blood clot was on the floor.
Intensive care paramedics arrived at 4.36am and found her blood pressure undetectable. She was stabilised and taken to Frankston hospital, where she expelled a large gush of blood during transfer. Despite heroic efforts, including multiple cardiac arrests and surgery, she died shortly after 11am.
The forensic pathologist, Dr Michael Burke, listed the cause of death as postpartum haemorrhage in the setting of a freebirth, noting that such deaths are rare in medical facilities and are eminently treatable if recognised quickly. The inquest continues.
