Emergency physician who called police after Stacey Warnecke’s free birth death gives harrowing evidence

A doctor at the Victorian hospital where a free birther died has given harrowing evidence about her last moments and why he called police.

In the hours after a Melbourne woman’s free birth went horribly wrong, resulting in her tragic death, staff at a major hospital began sharing serious concerns.

A “red light” meeting took place at Frankston Hospital on September 29 last year after 30-year-old wellness influencer Stacey Warnecke was rushed from her Seaford home with a post-partum haemorrhage, struggling to breathe and turning white.

Associate Professor Shyaman Menon, who is the Chief Medical Officer at Peninsula Health, told the coronial inquest into Ms Warnecke’s death on Wednesday that the meeting was called after staff raised concerns about the conduct of a “birth keeper” paid $6000 to help deliver Ms Warnecke’s baby.

He said that as a result of that meeting, it was decided that he would call police to report those concerns.

Emily Lal, the unregistered doula whose business name was the Authentic Birth Keeper, was contacted by police but refused to provide them with a statement.

Stacey Warnecke (right) died after giving birth with doula Emily Lal (inset).
Ms Lal gave evidence to the court on Tuesday on the condition that it cannot be used against her in any future criminal or civil proceedings.

Prof Menon said that never before in his career has he called the police following a staff meeting after concerns were raised about a patient’s care.

“Not to the police during my time,” he said.

The concerns, he said, centred on Ms Lal’s language and what she had said during Ms Warnecke’s birth.

“We knew there was a person named Emily at the birth,” he said.

“(Concerns were) raised around language used during the treatment, when care was delivered. (The) feeling was that language used (by Ms Lal) was more than a general public member would understand.

“And which raised concern whether there was someone who had an element of knowledge being provided during that care.”

He said staff at the hospital “felt the concern was in terms of advice — or whether there was not advice being provided”.

Asked whether the concern was that the advice was relevant to the outcome — that Ms Warnecke died — Prof Menon said: “Correct.”

“In circumstances where (Ms Lal) didn’t have medical training?,” counsel assisting the inquiry Rachel Ellyard asked.

“Correct,” Prof Menon said.

During his evidence, Prof Menon went into detail about Ms Warnecke’s final moments.

He said that after she had been rushed from Seaford to Frankston — just a five minute drive — Ms Warnecke was being cared for by cardiology staff concerned about her heart while other doctors were preparing to perform a hysterectomy.

Frankston Hospital exhausted its entire supply of Ms Warnecke’s blood type and carried out the emergency hysterectomy but doctors could not save her.

Also giving evidence on Wednesday was Clinical Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peninsula Health, Dr Nisha Khot.

Dr Khot said post-partum haemorrhages are “the most common complication of childbirth” and new mothers are regularly successfully treated in hospital for that condition.

She said clinicians treat the condition with great respect because it is “absolutely expected” that it can occur in the moments after childbirth.

“I would say that in fact that is one of the most important things,” Dr Khot told the court.

“We know we may not see the blood externally and the blood we see we tend to underestimate.

Stacey Warnecke paid $6000 to recruit Emily Lal for help during her childbirth journey.
“Clinicians are trained to look at increase in heart rate, decrease in blood pressure … (if a mother) starts to become cold and clammy, is not aware of her surroundings because those are the things that can happen when you suffer a critical blood loss.”

The court on Tuesday heard that Ms Warnecke sought help for a free birth prior to the birth of her son Axel. She enlisted the services of Ms Lal.

But in the moments after delivering her first child, Ms Warnecke had trouble breathing, began bleeding profusely and turned white.

She twice refused to have an ambulance called to her home but conceded it was necessary on the third occasion she was asked.

The court heard Ms Lal did not want to call an ambulance for Ms Warnecke because she respected her “autonomy”.

“There was no way I was going to call an ambulance against her wishes,” Ms Lal told the inquest.

The court heard Ms Lal changed phones soon after Ms Warnecke’s death and “lost” all the texts between herself and the Warnecke family.

Emily Dal gave evidence at the coronial inquest into Stacey Warnecke’s death on Tuesday. Picture: David Caird
It also heard that Ms Lal returned to the home after Ms Warnecke’s death where she “threw away” blood-stained carpet in the process of cleaning.

“You were worried about consequences for you — do you see how someone might draw that inference in you cleaning up, throwing away the carpet and refusing to give a statement (to police)?” Ms Ellyard asked.

“I think that’s really unfair,” Ms Lal replied.

“I think I was doing something nice by cleaning up for (Nathan). He wouldn’t have left the house in that state because Stacey would’ve hated that.”

Ms Lal on Tuesday recalled what happened at the Seaford home before Ms Warnecke was rushed to hospital.

“I asked her for an ambulance three times,” she said. “(Stacey) started gasping and saying she couldn’t breathe.”

Asked why she “took no for an answer” the first two times, Ms Lal said: “I don’t know how many times I need to reiterate this. There was no way I was going to call an ambulance against her wishes.”

“Even if that meant a speedier arrival to help with her breathing?” Ms Ellyard asked.

“Yes,” Ms Lal replied.

Stacey and Nathan Warnecke during the pair’s pregnancy.
“If someone was going to override her decision, it wasn’t going to be me.”

Ms Ellyard said “Stacey was in a really advanced state of clinical unwellness described as clammy and yellow and agitated and lying naked on the floor” while Ms Lal spoke to a Triple-zero operator.

“What’s your explanation (that you were so calm on the call) while looking down at a friend in that state?” Ms Ellyard asked.

“I’m pretty calm in emergencies,” Ms Lal said

When paramedics found Ms Warnecke at the couple’s home, she was lying on the floor in the dark between a couch and a birth pool.

A fundraising page set up for the Warnecke family after Stacey’s death has received almost $90,000. Stacey and Nathan were planning to marry shortly after the birth of their first child.

The hearing continues.