Inquest Into Influencer Stacey Warnecke’s ‘Freebirth’ Death Comes to a Halt as Critical New Evidence Emerges: Report

The content creator died on Sept. 29, hours after giving birth to her first son

NEED TO KNOW

• A coroner’s court has halted the inquest into influencer Stacey Warnecke’s death after critical new evidence emerged
• The content creator died on Sept. 29, hours after delivering her son in a “freebirth”
• At an inquest beginning on June 15 and 16, a court heard the 12-minute emergency services call from the day of Warnecke’s death and testimony from Warnecke’s doula, painting a harrowing picture of the influencer’s final moments

A coroner's court has halted the inquest into influencer Stacey Warnecke's death after critical new evidence emerged.

In September, Warnecke, a 30-year-old wellness content creator based in Australia, died hours after giving birth to her and her husband's first son from a “postpartum haemorrhage in the setting of a home birth,” per The Sydney Morning Herald.

The internet personality had opted for a “freebirth” — delivering her baby without a nurse or midwife present, touted online as an alternative to a clinical delivery but condemned by experts as risky for the mother and baby — and suffered extreme blood loss after delivery, reported multiple news outlets, including 9News and Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Beginning on June 15, a Coroner's Court inquest in Melbourne, Australia, has heard from medical professionals, the 12-minute emergency services call from the day of Warnecke's death and the testimony of Warnecke's doula, Emily Lal, to determine a definitive story surrounding Warnecke's death.

But on June 18, Rachel Ellyard, the counsel assisting the coroner, told the court that they had received the results of a forensic analysis of Warnecke's phone, which “raise issues that are going to require some further investigation and perhaps the gathering of further evidence,” reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Though no further details were shared about the contents of Warnecke's phone, coroner Therese McCarthy requested to adjourn the inquest as investigations into her phone continue, the outlet reported.

“I take the view that this material is of such significance that the court must delay making any findings and hearing submissions until we've had an opportunity to undertake a proper analysis of that material,” McCarthy said, per The Sydney Morning Herald.

During the inquest earlier in the week, the court heard that, in the months before the internet personality gave birth, she was adamant that she wanted to deliver her baby without any medical intervention, concerned about the number of C-sections and induced births in recent years, reported the outlet.

She had “a strong view about the cascade of interventions that can occur within a hospital environment, and a strong wish to avoid them,” her husband, Nathan Warnecke, wrote in a statement to the court, per The Sydney Morning Herald.

Stacey had refused routine pregnancy screenings, including ultrasounds, the court heard, and had refused to give birth with a registered midwife present because of fears of healthcare regulations, the outlet reported.

Citing the inquest, Stacey also resisted when Lal suggested, twice, that they call for an ambulance as her condition deteriorated after giving birth, though she accepted upon her third offer, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

In the emergency services call, played for the court on June 15, Nathan told the operator, “My wife's just given birth, and she is having trouble breathing,” reported The Sydney Morning Herald. According to the outlet, Lal told the operator that Stacey appeared pale and her skin was hot.

Paramedics found Stacey lying on the floor of a dark room near the birth pool, the court was told, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

On June 16, the second day of the inquest, Lal was questioned about why she accepted Stacey's refusal to call an ambulance, to which she responded, “Her autonomy was very important to her. There was no way I was going to call an ambulance against her wishes,” per The Sydney Morning Herald.

Lal — who reportedly acknowledged to the court that she was “not clinically trained” — said in the inquest that she viewed herself as attending the birth “as a supportive friend,” despite the fact that she was paid for her services, per The Sydney Morning Herald.

When asked about her qualifications during the inquest, the outlet reported that Lal said she drew upon her own experience of giving birth to four children and had taken an online course in 2020.

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Lal previously marketed her services online under the name “The Authentic Birth Keeper” and was banned on Oct. 21 by Australia's Health Complaints Commissioner from providing or advertising any form of health services, per documentation obtained by PEOPLE.

The Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner also opened an investigation into her after receiving allegations that Lal was “facilitating and/or participating in homebirths which may put both mothers and babies at risk,” per a press release.

On June 16, Lal told the court that she did not have her messages or correspondence with Warnecke because she had replaced her phone shortly after Warnecke's death, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Stacey was known by roughly 30,000 Instagram followers, posting under the handle Natural Spoonfuls, for promoting a toxin-free lifestyle and foods with natural ingredients. Her husband first shared the news of her death in a post to her Instagram page on Oct. 18 and launched a GoFundMe after her death to pay for memorial and childcare costs.

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