Flashbacks, insomnia, anxiety: Doctors report trauma from fatal free birth

Doctors who desperately tried to save the life of a wellness influencer as she bled to death following a free birth have been left with ongoing trauma and are considering leaving the profession, a court has heard.

Frankston Hospital’s director of obstetrics and gynaecology Nisha Khot told the third day of a coronial inquest into the death of Stacey Warnecke, who died hours after giving birth at home last year, that the tragedy had left some doctors questioning their profession.

“Each doctor described flashbacks, insomnia, anxiety, depression, guilt and an overarching feeling of hopelessness in the days and weeks following this tragedy,” Khot told the Victorian Coroners Court on Wednesday.

“[They] found themselves questioning the value of their training and the purpose of their chosen profession.”

Khot said this hopelessness stemmed from the fact the cause of the 30-year-old’s death – a postpartum haemorrhage – was a common and treatable condition when quickly dealt with in hospital.

The nutritionist arrived at hospital by ambulance after an unassisted home birth attended only by Warnecke’s husband, Nathan, and doula Emily Lal on September 29.

The court heard medical staff at Frankston Hospital exhausted their supply of a key blood type while trying to save the new mother’s life, performed a hysterectomy and drained fluid that had pooled around her heart.

Khot, who was tasked with supporting Warnecke’s family and spearheading the health service’s review into its handling of the tragedy, was presented with a copy of the young woman’s birth plan on Wednesday.

The plan, which was displayed on a screen in the Coroners Court, instructed her husband, Nathan, to use his fist to push on her pubic bone as a way of dislodging the baby if it became stuck during delivery.

If the baby’s body did not emerge following the head and turned a whitish grey, the birth plan also gave instructions for Nathan to internally “grab an armpit” and “try to twist baby”.

There were also instructions for how to respond in the event of a breach birth, stuck shoulders or an umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck.

Khot said she was “very concerned” about an untrained person following the orders outlined in the birth plan.

“These manoeuvres could very easily cause significant injuries to babies,” she said.

Warnecke’s husband ultimately did not need to perform any of the manoeuvres outlined in his wife’s birth plan, with the pair’s baby boy, Axel, being born without complication.

The court also heard that on the afternoon of Warnecke’s death, Bayside Health Peninsula ex