Heartbreak as baby dies during Queensland homebirth – why the tragedy is likely to spark a government crackdown
The death of a baby during a home birth in Queensland attended by two doulas has increased calls for a government crackdown on the controversial practice.
Paramedics who attended the Toowoomba home found a shocking scene on Wednesday, with the baby reportedly going into cardiac arrest and dying.
Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman is working closely with the coroner, who will advise her on recommendations around what is known as freebirthing.
“I’m very concerned if women choose to do this,” Ms Fentiman told reporters in Townsville on Friday. ‘This was a free birth, meaning a woman decided to give birth at home, without any medical supervision.
‘Doulas are not registered healthcare providers, they cannot provide clinical or medical services.’
A doula is a non-medical ‘companion’ who supports a pregnant woman before, during and after childbirth.
The death of a baby during a home birth in Queensland attended by two doulas has increased calls for a government crackdown on the controversial practice (stock image)
The coroner is already investigating a similar case as midwives call for an inquiry into ‘the death, disability and harm associated with having babies by women without properly trained professional care’.
The Health Secretary said her message to women is: ‘I know you want to have a choice about where you give birth, but it has to be safe. Therefore, seek the help of a doctor.
‘If women now choose to give birth at home, you must seek the help of a private midwife or obstetrician.’
Ms Fentiman said about 0.6 per cent of births occur at home in Queensland and very few of those are free births.
She said because women want a choice, the state is about to trial a government-funded home birth program on the Sunshine Coast from July 1.
It is offered to women who meet clinical criteria and live within a safe traveling distance of Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
“If this is successful and safe, we hope to roll that out statewide,” she said.
The doula industry is unregulated and some practitioners charge up to $3,000 per birth.
Ms Fentiman said it was important for pregnant women to understand that doulas were not registered health professionals under Australian law.
‘Home birth is very different from a free birth. A home birth program involves medical professionals in your home, with women who received great obstetric care during their pregnancy.
“A decision to become free is what I’m most concerned about, and that’s where a woman will choose to give birth without any medical assistance at home, so they’re two very different things.”
Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman (pictured) is working closely with the coroner, who will advise her on recommendations around what is known as freebirthing
She added: “Safety must be the priority, and I want all women in Queensland to understand that engaging a doula is absolutely their choice, but the doula is there to support the mother, but not medical or clinical care to offer.’
Gino Pecoraro, president of the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, has called for a review of freebirthing.
‘There must be an appropriate legislative and judicial response. Now is the time to act before anyone else is harmed,” he told the newspaper Courier mail.