A baby girl has died after a home birth ended in tragedy in Perth.
The child was born at a Wattle Grove home at around 3 am on Saturday, but was not breathing when she arrived.
The baby’s father and a doula were the only ones present when she became stuck during Labor, WAToday reports.
The doula reportedly did not know how to resuscitate the newborn, with the dad desperately trying to revive the baby with CPR until paramedics arrived 10 minutes later.
The baby was rushed to hospital, but could not be saved.
A doula is a trained companion, who is not a healthcare professional, who provides non-medical, one-on-one support and care for a woman during pregnancy and before and after the birth.
A Department of Health spokesman told WAtoday that it was against the law for a doula to provide any clinical care during labour or birth.
Any doula who breaches those rules is punishable by a fine of up to $30,000.
Australian College of Midwives principal midwifery officer, told PerthNow that it is crucial to have a trained medical professional present if a woman is birthing at home.
‘As you can see in these tragic circumstances, there’s no trained health professional there to be able to recognise when there’s a deviation from the norm, there was no one there to identify the emergency situation early,’ she said.
‘If a woman is birthing at home, it’s important to have a trained professional who is an expert in emergencies and has the ability to resuscitate, even though birth is inherently safe.’
Police will prepare a report on the baby’s death for the coroner.
A baby girl has died after a home-birth tragedy in Perth. Pictured is a stock image of ambulances.
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