Home-birth midwives fight negligence charges after death of patient
Two midwives are fighting negligence charges over the death of a 36-year-old woman who gave birth in a pool of water under their guidance.
Two midwives deny police allegations they were criminally negligent after a woman died following a home birth in a pool of water.
Melody Bourne, 44, of Mullumbimby, and Gaye Demanuele, 60, of Preston, appeared for a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, each charged with negligently causing the death of Caroline Lovell, 36, in 2012.
Ms Lovell died at 12.34am on January 24 in the Austin Hospital, almost 24 hours after first going into labour in her Watsonia home.
Prosecutor Patrick Bourke said she gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 8.52am on January 23 under the guidance of Ms Bourne and Ms Demanuele.
She sustained tears to the wall of her vagina and began haemorrhaging from those wounds, the court heard.
But the midwives did not examine her vagina and perineum, and did not realise she was injured, Mr Bourke said.
She told the midwives she was light-headed, became agitated and twice lost consciousness, he said.
The haemorrhaging triggered a cardiac arrest and she stopped breathing, the court heard.
After requesting an ambulance “two or three” times and telling the midwives “I’m dying”, one was called at 10.28am, Mr Bourke said.
Ms Demanuele’s lawyer Rishi Nathwani said she “recognises, as she always has, that Caroline’s death was a tragic one”.
“She has always denied that her care of Caroline amounts to criminal negligence,” he said.
Ms Bourne’s lawyer Robert Richter said the death was not foreseeable with no signs of haemorrhagic blood flow and that the midwives were not told Ms Lovell had complications with the birth of her first child.
“The two women acted as loving and caring midwives who had no reason to suspect what was about to befall (Ms Lovell),” he said.
Ms Demanuele had been a registered midwife since 2006 and Ms Bourne since 2009.
The hearing continues Friday.