To find this desperately sad? TW: freebirth death

[ExtraHotDoubleShot]

I just feel so sad for her husband and little boy. I also understand why she didn’t want to go into hospital. Feels like women are stuck between a rock and a hard place with childbirth at the moment.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/20/stacey-warnecke-melbourne-influencer-died-freebirth-inquest-ntwnfb

Lots of things don't make the news. Thats the ironic thing, women die every 6 minutes from PPH most of whom don't make the news, and probably don't have access to 21st century medicine, yet we are discussing this woman who died from PPH but had rejected modern health care.

Home birth and free birth are two totally different things.

yet another ridiculous trend from the internet. in this country home births if properly done have mid wives i do not know any other country. i just wondered where the husband was? if he was present or in the house you think he would ring for help

What a terrible tragedy. Im not against homebirths at all but free birthing is so dangerous. Birth is dangerous. So many women and babies diesmd pre nhs.

Quite. When everyone woman in the world has access to modern health care when giving birth, then I'll start caring about the loss of a few idiots who want to go it alone.

The vast majority of women giving birth in hospital do so in bed. For most of human history, women gave birth in upright positions such as squatting, kneeling, sitting (often on birthing stools), or standing.

Upright positions help with gravity, better contractions, better oxygen supply and more pelvic room.

And I’m very upset that these uninformed choices (often supported by uneducated people pushing their agenda) result in deaths of women and children, and leave other children orphaned (children who had no say whatsoever)

Many people who chose free birth have educated themselves. There are books on unassisted childbirth, and I read some when I was pregnant.

I think "educated" is a very strong term for someone reading a book or two, following an influencer trend and swallowing a lot of made up partial statistics.

This seems to be a new trend and I just don't understand this. To me birth and postpartum is just traumatic and awful but you just have to accept that if you want a baby. Birth is medical and not this 'beautiful" thing. I mean yes having a newborn is beautiful but birth is incredibly dangerous and anything could go wrong. I would never have a freebirth, let alone a home birth. In my opinion it is just dangerous and stupid and puts both mother and baby at huge risk of death (free birth i mean, not home birth...I think obviously that's fine if it's a low risk pregnancy, just not something I would personally choose to have).
I listened to the podcast 'the birthkeepers' and it made me so angry. These women are cashing in by giving pregnant women completely unrealistic expectations and very dangerous advice.
That being said, maternity care in the UK is dismal and I dont think new mothers are given proper support to cope with the impacts of birth and new motherhood. Ive never been anywhere as miserable as the post natal ward it was a real eye opener for me. However, as much as I hated it I would rather visit the hospital than be at risk by choosing free birth. It's just so irresponsible

Women who choose to give birth in hospital can die there. You cannot predict the future and many of these choices are educated. Mine certainly were.

@Bobbieiris “Birth is medical”

Childbirth was traditionally a natural, social, and domestic event managed by women rather than a medical procedure.

Birth took place in the home and was handled exclusively by female relatives, community members, and traditional midwives.

I suspect that after medical birth became a thing you'd always get at least some people that accidentally on purpose left it too late to go to the hospital or call a midwife. I don't think it's completely new but I do agree that the way it's becoming more of a trend is concerning.

Maybe some proponents are genuinely concerned about obstetric violence but I've no doubt that some very morally dubious people use it to make money. Taking $6000 and not even bothering to call an ambulance says it all here.

To me birth and postpartum is just traumatic and awful but you just have to accept that if you want a baby. Birth is medical and not this 'beautiful" thing.
This is really sad and a dreadful inditement of the state of maternity services. DD2's birth at home was not traumatic or awful. It was painful but quick and amazing and empowering and I was on a total high for days afterwards. Very different to DD1's high intervention and medicalised birth in hospital which was indeed traumatic and awful.

The modern ‘free birth’ movement has been around since the mid 20th century.

And so? Doesnt make it sensible or safe.

@Philandbill Agreed! My home birth, after two awful (and quite frankly pretty unsafe) NHS hospital births, really was a beautiful, and highly empowering, experience. It was also incredible for my husband who was highly involved and supported throughout for the birth of his first (and last) baby. My IM was superb and I felt listened to in a way I didn't in hospital. All also at the height of Covid lockdown.
I would have a home birth all over again if low risk as before ❤️

@Philandbill I've only ever had one birth with my twins. It was quick and very medical which was fine (Epidural, magnesium drip, emergency C section for one twin). But it took me a while to get over and the staff on the post natal ward were as useful as a chocolate teapot.. i had to change my own sheets hours after a C section, missed my food due to being with twins in NICU despite calling the ward to ask them to save me something, pain meds always late. I just see birth as a medical thing you have to get through. It's literally an assault on the body. I hated the feeling after, not just the pain but feeling like a huge inhuman blob. Hospital staff never even bothered to remember my name, I was just constantly called 'mum' and I hated that. I plan on hopefully having another baby but birth and the post partum period will just be something to endure. I can't ever imagine birth being empowering to me. I dont know if that's the NHS or just me. The midwifes, anaesthetist, doctors and neonatal staff who were present during the actual birth of my twins were fantastic and I couldn't thank them enough but I dont look back on it fondly. Birth to me is just something to get through to get to having your baby and I would never risk that happening safely with a free birth.

I think anyone thinking of a "free birth" should spend time looking into all the things that can go wrong with childbirth and have a look at the mortality rates from a few hundred years ago when everyone was free birthing because there was no other option. I absolutely understand why some women want to birth at home but you need a qualified midwife with you who can deal with any unforseen complications and get you to hospital ASAP. I hemorrhaged after my births it was an extremely scary experience the thoughts of being left to bleed out fills me with horror. May she rest in peace

It makes it safe in most cases, but hospital births aren’t always safe either.

It is less safe than either a hospital or home (midwife assisted) birth by some orders of magnitude. That's kind of the point.

It’s the medical professionals who think free births are unsafe, but women who choose them feel they are much safer than hospital.

Widespread staff shortages, overstretched maternity services and suspended home birth units would make me consider one.

What an utterly irresponsible thing to say. Anyone who believes free births are safer than hospitals have been brainwashed by fear mongerers.

I don't think people are knocking a properly planned and assessed home birth with adequate attendance, I certainly wouldn't. What, though did the 'birthkeeper' in this tragic case have to offer in the way of experience, even if we leave qualification out?

Whatever, she failed to summon help when it must have been obvious to anyone with a single braincell it was needed.

There is a decline in maternity safety in the NHS. Postpartum haemorrhages and maternal mortality are rising.