Mother forced to have a C-section after doctors denied her a natural birth and called the police

A young mother who refused to have her baby by caesarean section was pulled over by police and threatened to drag her to hospital in handcuffs.

The 23-year-old mother of four had planned a natural birth after two previous caesarean sections, but claimed doctors denied her the option of another natural birth despite her baby being healthy.

On August 10, 2021, after she refused a C-section the day before, Heather – not her real name – claimed that a NSW Department of Communities and Justice policewoman and social worker in Deniliquin came to her home to take her to hospital .

“I was so tired and just cried with tears streaming down my cheeks,” she said of the ordeal.

Authorities say decisions are made in the best interests of the patient and their baby.

Heather takes care of her baby, who had to be delivered by caesarean section at the insistence of doctors and authorities

Heather was told she would be taken to hospital in handcuffs if she did not agree to have her baby delivered by C-section (pictured)

“They told me I’d have a dead baby if I tried a vaginal birth. I was told my vagina was too thick and my baby would get stuck. I knew it was wrong. I know bigger women than me who’ve had babies,’ Heather said.

“They told me if something went wrong they wouldn’t be able to help.”

Heather told Daily Mail Australia that authorities claimed to be concerned about the distance from the nearest hospital as she may not have had time to get there after contractions started.

However, she said that “didn’t make sense because other women from the city in Shepparton – 85 miles away – had given birth without having to come in early.”

Heather claimed the policewoman told her a story about a family member who went into labor and lost the baby after giving birth on the side of the road on the way to the hospital.

“I knew it was just another scare tactic. The policewoman said I could come voluntarily, but if I didn’t I would be handcuffed,” she said.

“My main thought was to make sure the kids wouldn’t see it, so I asked if I could go get my hospital bag.

‘I was terrified. I was terrified that I would lose my children. I went in and cried as I packed my bag.’

Heather was taken to Jerilderie Hospital in the social worker’s car after Shepparton Hospital was unable to provide a bed.

Once at the hospital, the social worker told her that the policewoman would be at her door.

Heather (her child is pictured) is traumatized by her experience with NSW authorities

Around midnight, Heather said she was taken to Shepparton Hospital, locked in the birth suite, and told there was a guard at the door.

A doctor didn’t see her until 10:30 a.m., she said.

When the doctor finally arrived, Heather pleaded for a natural birth as she had two toddlers to care for at home had experienced severe postpartum depression following the previous two cesarean deliveries.

Heather claimed the doctor told her she would have to go to a hospital in Melbourne for a natural birth, which would remove her children from her care and likely result in a custody battle with authorities to get them back.

‘I knew it was true. I was so scared, but I was also so tired I could barely keep my eyes open,” she said.

Heather and her husband reluctantly agreed to the C-section.

“It felt rushed. Everything was happening around me and I was just there to witness it. I was so tired and just cried with tears streaming down my cheeks. Nobody talked to me,’ she said.

Heather was already a mother when the doctors insisted they knew what was in her best interest. Her baby is depicted next to her son

Heather felt pressured to have her baby (pictured) via C-section

Two days after returning home from the forced C-section, Heather claims that social workers knocked on her door again.

For the next six months, Heather was forced to participate in a Brighter Futures program – an early intervention “building resilience in vulnerable families with young children.”

Heather said the experience left her traumatized and she is still seeing a psychologist after experiencing severe postpartum depression after giving birth.

Bashi Kumar, a lawyer who specializes in childbirth human rights, said an unborn fetus is not a legal person and the NSW government acted illegally in asserting the baby’s rights over the mother’s.

“By intervening, the DCJ is unlawfully forcing a pregnant woman to receive medical treatment,” Ms Kumar said.

“The NSW Children and Young Person’s Act 1998 does not confer any rights on the DCJ over a pregnant woman – who is the only person with legal rights and responsibilities over her body prior to birth.”

Ms Kumar said the law allowed health workers to prepare a ‘prenatal report’ but did not give the DCJ power to force or threaten a woman to receive medical treatment until the baby was born alive and physically separated from its mother .

“The DCJ has a history of abusing the prenatal reporting facility to discriminate against the most vulnerable women in our society, using it as a basis for removing Indigenous babies from their mothers within minutes of delivery,” Ms Kumar said.

“What DCJ has done is illegal. It is acting outside its legal powers and is an action that should be legally challenged and a complaint lodged with the respective human rights institutions.”

Donna Sherringham, Goulburn Valley Health’s executive director of clinical operations, told Daily Mail Australia that clinical decisions were always made by experts in line with what was in the best interest of the patient and their baby and the related issues at the time.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Communities and Justice said it was unable to comment on the case, but was committed to the safety and well-being of children.

“This also includes the protection of unborn children if there are concerns about welfare,” said the spokesperson.