Freebirth ‘strongly discouraged’ for pregnant women in wake of Geelong tragedy

Pregnant women are being urged to make informed choices around birth, after a shocking report detailed the tragic death of a Geelong baby weeks after he was delivered at home without medical supervision.

Associate Professor Dave Fuller from Barwon Health says freebirth is “strongly discouraged”. Picture: David Caird

Pregnant women are being urged to make informed choices around birth, after a coroner’s report detailed the tragic death of a Geelong baby weeks after he was delivered at home without medical supervision.

The report, released last week, said the baby died in January 2022 when he was two-and-a-half weeks old, with his cause of death listed as pneumonia in the setting of malnutrition.

State coroner John Cain said there were other coronial investigations into the deaths of newborns during or immediately after an unassisted home birth, where medical intervention may have prevented the infants’ deaths.

“Whilst the decision about where and how a woman chooses to labour is a deeply personal issue for the parents-to-be, this case and other cases highlight the importance of appropriately consulting with medical professionals to ensure the birth and development of the child is safe and healthy,” Judge Cain wrote.

Coroner John Cain.

Freebirths usually occur at home and involve mothers choosing to give birth without medical or midwifery assistance.

It is different to a homebirth, which is a planned birth at home with midwifery care.

Barwon Health women’s, children’s and families clinical director Dave Fuller said while the organisation respected individuals’ autonomy, free birthing was “strongly discouraged” as birth was best supported by health professionals who had training and education in caring for mothers and babies during birth.

“Freebirth does create risk to mothers and babies and there are many documented cases in Australia of very sad outcomes for families where freebirth has gone wrong,” Associate Professor Fuller said.

“Barwon Health offers a public homebirth program for women with low-risk pregnancies, focusing on providing a low-intervention birth experience.

“This program assists women to birth at home safely with health professionals (two homebirth trained midwives).

“Many women are birthing safely at home with this program every month.”

Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West chief executive Jodie Hill said research showed some women opted for freebirths after previous traumatic hospital experiences.

“Women should always be entitled to have a choice, but it should be a really informed choice,” she said.

“I would hope women who are making any choices around prenatal and antenatal care are doing it with really good guidance and … evidence-based information.”

She said it was important to hear what women considering freebirth had to say about their fears and experiences, so they could be provided information.

The strictly religious parents of the baby in Judge Cain’s report prayed over their son instead of seeking medical attention after he showed signs of deteriorating.

The Hamlyn Heights couple also forewent medical care during the pregnancy.

Judge Cain found that while he could not determine if the death was preventable, there may have been some benefit from specialist maternity or medical support.

In January, an infant was rushed to hospital in a critical condition following what was understood to have been a freebirth gone wrong in Ocean Grove.

Originally published as Freebirth ‘strongly discouraged’ for pregnant women in wake of Geelong tragedy