Newborn In Australia Dies After Mother Uses Home-Birthing Pool Hired From Instagram Influencer

A newborn baby in Australia died after her mother gave birth at home using a birthing pool rented from Instagram influencer Emily Lal. According to The New York Post, the mother, Ms. E, rented a birthing pool from Emily Lal, also known as The Authentic Birthkeeper, who describes herself as being "disillusioned with the medical system". The incident happened in December 2022.

After giving birth, Ms. E messaged Lal saying, "I did it", and planned to have a postpartum visit. However, she struggled to deliver the placenta until the next morning. It was then that she realised something was wrong with her baby.

Ms. E sent Lal a message at 8 am saying, "We can't wake her, we aren't sure if she's breathing," along with a photo of the baby's blue face. However, Lal didn't see the message for 25 minutes.

After seeing the message, Lal made a FaceTime call and, believing the baby was dead, instructed the parents to call an ambulance. Paramedics attempted CPR for 30 minutes but couldn't revive her. According to forensic pathologist Yeliena Baber, a hospital birth would have allowed for preventive measures to be taken.

"If Baby E were born in a hospital and Ms. E had received appropriate antenatal care, it is highly unlikely that Baby E would have died, as she was a healthy baby and her death was caused by the prolonged delivery in a home birthing pool," Dr. Baber said. 

She further stated that a trained midwife present during the prolonged labour would have likely transferred the mother to a hospital if the baby showed signs of distress. 

The coroner concluded that the baby's death likely wouldn't have happened if the birth had occurred in a hospital or if it had been a planned home birth with proper midwife support.

"A homebirth is distinguished from a 'freebirth', which is when someone chooses to birth their baby without medical or midwifery assistance. The publicly available information regarding water birth … is not directed at women intending to birth at home with no medical assistance or antenatal medical management,” she said.

"The single consultation with (Ms. E's GP) late in the pregnancy provided no real opportunity for education to be given regarding birth options,'' she added.