A self-described “birth keeper” has left a court stunned after insisting she had “no obligation” to seek medical help for a mother who later died following an at-home birth in Australia.
Keep reading to know more.
‘Emily Lal, who operated as an unregistered doula under the name The Authentic Birth Keeper, was paid A$6,000 (about US$4,200) by influencer Stacey Warnecke to provide support during the birth of her son. Warnecke, 30, died from complications related to postpartum hemorrhage hours after delivering a healthy baby boy, Axel, in September last year.
During a coroner’s inquest this week, the court heard a recording of a frantic emergency call made by Warnecke’s partner, Nathan, while the mother struggled to breathe. When the phone was handed to Lal, she reportedly identified herself as a “friend.”
Questioned about why she did not call an ambulance sooner, Lal maintained that it was not her role to assess medical emergencies or override the wishes of the mother.
“If she wanted support, I would call an ambulance if that’s what she wanted,” Lal told the court. “If she said no, then that’s the answer.”
Asked whether she had an obligation to seek help when Warnecke was no longer capable of making decisions herself, Lal replied, “I don’t think I have an obligation.”
She argued that responsibility lay with the family, saying the mother was surrounded by loved ones and that a husband or father could call emergency services if they wished.
Lal repeatedly emphasized that she did not consider herself a medical professional and described her role as “woman-to-woman support,” likening herself to a friend or “big sister” rather than an expert.
According to testimony, many women who seek so-called “free births” which are essentially home births without licensed medical staff present, do so because they value autonomy and want complete control over the experience.
However, counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, suggested that charging thousands of dollars for birth support created a relationship in which mothers relied on Lal.
“No, I wouldn’t say they rely on me,” Lal responded, insisting she was simply there to listen and provide emotional support.
She also told the court that she would not assess blood loss or check a mother’s pulse because she lacked clinical training.
“I’m not there to make a birth safer,” she said.
The inquest heard that paramedics arrived around ten minutes after an ambulance was finally called. They found Warnecke lying on the floor, gasping for breath and with yellow-colored skin. She was rushed to Frankston Hospital, where doctors reportedly exhausted supplies of her blood type while trying to save her, but she later died.
Lal said she had asked Warnecke whether she wanted an ambulance three times and only contacted emergency services after the mother agreed while struggling to breathe.
“I don’t know how many times I need to reiterate this,” Lal said. “There was no way I was going to call an ambulance against her wishes.”
The court also heard that Warnecke chose a “free birth” because she feared medical interventions and wanted to deliver her baby on her own terms.
Further testimony revealed that Lal no longer had text messages exchanged with the couple after changing her phone. She also admitted that she disposed of the blood-stained carpet from the birth because she believed that was what Warnecke would have wanted.
Before the tragedy, Lal had built a large online following among mothers and charged thousands of dollars for her services, increasing her fees from $4,000 in 2020 to $6,000 Australian dollars by 2023.
She was previously linked to another free-birth case in which a baby died after birth, although Lal insisted she had nothing to do with that tragedy beyond renting the mother a birth pool.
“It was a birth that had absolutely nothing to do with me,” she said, criticizing media reports that she claimed unfairly blamed her.
The inquest into Warnecke’s death is continuing.
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