Stacey Warnecke died after choosing a birth free of all medical help. An inquest wants to know why

A coroner is looking into the final moments of a Melbourne influencer’s life and what leads women to choose ‘freebirth’ over obstetric care

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As Stacey Warnecke lay on the floor of her home, short of breath after a massive postpartum haemorrhage, the woman she hired as her birthkeeper, Emily Lal, told her she was likely having a panic attack.

“Don’t leave me,” Warnecke said to Lal, who had no medical qualifications, but who Warnecke had paid $6,000 to support her pregnancy, a coroner’s court heard this week.

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Bending forwards a lot at work in early pregnancy may increase miscarriage risk, study suggests

More walking and standing in the workplace also associated with higher risk, according to Danish research

Bending forwards and walking a lot at work in the early stages of pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage, a study suggests.

Miscarriage affects about 15% of women. Risk factors include parental age, smoking, night shift work and exposure to air pollution and various chemical compounds.

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Inquest into Melbourne influencer’s death following freebirth halted after new phone evidence discovered

Coroner tells inquiry new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysed

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The closing submissions in an inquest into the death of a woman who gave birth at home with no support from medically trained health workers has been delayed, after new evidence came to light after a forensic analysis of her mobile phone.

Stacey Warnecke, a 30 year-old nutritionist, died on 29 September in Frankston hospital in Melbourne.

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Leading OB-GYN group breaks from CDC on maternal vaccination schedule

Medical societies endorse ACOG’s schedule, saying maternal vaccines are ‘key element’ of protection

The leading professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists in the US has launched its first maternal vaccination schedule and diverged for the first time from federal recommendations.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has long recommended giving the shots during pregnancy, but this is the first time releasing them as an official schedule.

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Birthkeeper hired by woman who died after freebirth tells inquest she was ‘not there to make a birth safer’

Emily Lal – paid $6,000 to provide freebirth support package to Stacey Warnecke – tells coroner her role was primarily to be a ‘supportive friend’

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A birthkeeper hired by a woman who died after giving birth at home has told a coroner that she was “not there to make a birth safer”.

Emily Lal gave evidence on Tuesday at the inquest into the death of 30-year-old Stacey Warnecke, who died on 29 September in Frankston hospital after giving birth at home with her husband and Lal present.

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Blood test can find thousands of genetic conditions in pregnancy, say scientists

Technique that examines fragments of foetal DNA in mother’s bloodstream could limit need for invasive screening, according to researchers

A new maternal blood test that can detect thousands of serious genetic conditions in the developing foetus could limit the need for invasive screening during pregnancy, according to scientists.

The test, to be described at the European Society for Human Genetics conference in Gothenburg on Saturday, relies on detecting tiny fragments of a foetus’s DNA that circulate in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. Using advanced sequencing techniques, scientists were able to identify a very high proportion of genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are currently only reliably diagnosed using amniocentesis or other invasive tests.

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A religious hospital denied her a life-saving drug during an ectopic pregnancy. She lost her fertility

Harmonie Perrone, 28, is suing Advocate Good Shepherd in Illinois, where reproductive rights are enshrined in law

Harmonie Perrone, 28, knew she was probably having an ectopic pregnancy, and she knew exactly what she needed to do: seek medical care immediately, before life-threatening complications set in.

But she was denied that care twice as she feared for her life – and, after the delay in care, she lost her fertility, she says in a new lawsuit filed Monday.

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