Midwife Could Face Criminal Charges After Woman Dies Following Home Birth

A midwife in Melbourne could face criminal charges after a woman died following a home birth during which she was in charge in January 2012. The Guardian reports that coroner Peter White concluded that midwife Gaye Demanuele, who is now deregistered, did not handle the birth appropriately. Twelve hours after giving birth to a healthy baby, her second child, the mother suffered a post-partum haemorrhage which resulted in her death. Both the coroner and the woman’s mother have said that the director of public prosecutions should consider criminal charges against Demanuele. The court heard that Demanuele and another midwife set up the birthing pool in a dark room which made visibility difficult. White found that Demanuele did not examine the mother immediately after birth and left her and the child sitting in the pool for approximately one hour without checking her blood pressure. The mother of the woman who died also said that her daughter asked for an ambulance to be called, a request which the midwife did not carry out.