Coroner May Charge Birthkeeper With Perjury After $6,000 Home Birth Dispute

A Victorian coroner is weighing a formal perjury referral against a birthkeeper whose phone records clash with her court testimony.

Stacey Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist, died in September 2025 at Frankston Hospital after giving birth at home. She suffered a postpartum haemorrhage and lost up to 1.5 litres of blood. Emily Lal, a birthkeeper with no clinical training, was present during the event. Warnecke had paid Lal $6,000 for support throughout the pregnancy.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, told the court that forensic analysis of Warnecke's phone revealed messages and calls that contradicted Lal's earlier statements. Lal had previously testified that she acted primarily as a supportive friend and that the fee covered her time rather than medical guidance. The new evidence includes a WhatsApp group chat for freebirth participants and a recorded call between the two women.

In the recording played to the court, Warnecke expressed fear of hospitals. Lal responded by telling her she should be scared of the hospital, describing it as a terrifying place. Lal argued that staying home required a specific mindset and condition that were very solid. She also claimed that midwives at home births sometimes inadvertently sabotage the process by suggesting a move to a hospital when labor runs long, often due to their own exhaustion.

Ellyard stated that this evidence showed Lal was providing structured advice, referrals, and selling supplements. This contradicts Lal's claim that she only shared personal experiences and gave no medical advice. Ellyard described the arrangement as much more deliberate than a simple friendship where one person pulls hair back and wipes a forehead. She noted that Warnecke's husband, Nathan, had been reassured or indoctrinated into believing his role was only to sit back and support his wife.

Lal was invited to return to the inquest to address the new evidence but declined. She had initially testified only after receiving a certificate of protection, which prevents her evidence from being used against her in future legal proceedings. Ellyard told the court it is now open to the coroner to find that Lal was not truthful and to refer the matter to the Office of Public Prosecutions for perjury.

The inquest heard that Lal asked Warnecke three times if she wanted an ambulance after the placenta was delivered and Warnecke began struggling to breathe. Warnecke agreed on the third attempt, but she was seriously unwell by the time paramedics arrived. Lal had testified that it was not her responsibility to call an ambulance against a client's wishes, even if the woman was unconscious. Warnecke died in the hospital hours later after medical staff exhausted the facility's blood supply.

Ellyard argued that Warnecke would have survived if she had been in a hospital setting, noting that postpartum haemorrhage is a common and treatable complication in well-resourced systems. She also cited medical evidence suggesting Warnecke would have survived a home birth attended by a registered midwife. The coroner, Therese McCarthy, will deliver her findings at a later date.