Australian influencer Stacey Warnecke died after freebirth, coroner hears

Melbourne influencer Stacey Warnecke, a certified nutritionist, sought no prenatal care during her pregnancy other than a single blood test.

An Australian food influencer who died after a freebirth in her home suffered a postpartum haemorrhage, a coroner’s court heard.

Stacey Warnecke was rushed to a Melbourne hospital on September 29 after giving birth to her son without a qualified medical professional attending.

Coroner Therese McCarthy presided over the first directions hearing for the matter today and said her role is to “look at how Warnecke died and to establish a finding around those facts”, ABC reports.

Warnecke, 30, gave birth to her son at 3am with only her husband, Nathan, and birth support worker Emily Lal present.

The coroner’s court heard Warnecke was observed by her husband and Lal to be fine immediately after the birth.

However, after the passing of the placenta, Warnecke took a turn for the worse.

She turned down the offer for an ambulance to be called, but soon after experienced difficulty breathing.

She was transported by ambulance to the hospital, arriving at 5.07am.

The court was told 24 medical staff were involved in the effort to treat her, but she later died after suffering a series of cardiac arrests.

Her son survived the incident and has been described as healthy.

Warnecke maintained a large following on her social media page Natural Spoonfuls; the account had close to 20,000 followers when she died.

A certified nutritionist, she sought no prenatal care during her pregnancy other than a single blood test.

Counsel assisting the coroner Rachel Ellyard told the court that Covid vaccine mandates deeply affected Warnecke, making her determined to live a chemical-free life.

Lal, who supported Warnecke through the birth, is also an influencer and content creator, known as the Authentic Birthkeeper.

The court heard that Lal refused to give police a statement when they attended Warnecke’s Seaford home the day after the birth.

She had also cleaned the house after the birth.

Lal is an adherent to the freebirth movement, which supports women to give birth in their “full sovereignty and autonomy”.

They often take place at home and with no oversight from medical professionals such as a midwife.

Following Warnecke’s death, the Health Complaints Commissioner issued a public warning and ban preventing Lal from providing any general health services in Victoria.

“She was my lighthouse in the storm and the world is less bright without her in it,” husband Nathan said of his wife shortly after her death.

The case will return to court in March.