Mum 'traumatised by hospital birth'

The mother of a baby boy who died within hours of a home birth has given tearful evidence at an inquest in Perth this morning, telling the court she had opted for the home delivery after the traumatic hospital birth of her first child.

The woman, whose identity is suppressed, told the Coroner's Court that the decision to have a home birth in February 2010 was complex and had followed significant research.

Giving evidence at a joint investigation into the deaths of three babies after home births, the woman told Coroner Sarah Linton that she had been comfortable with her decision and there had been nothing specific to suggest it was a bad idea.

She said her first child had been born by a caesarean section after risks were identified late in her pregnancy and she had suffered post traumatic stress disorder after the experience.

The woman said she had felt abandoned after she was excluded from the birthing centre because of the late high risk assessment, which had led to a loss of control and support.

She said she had sought an independent midwife for her second birth and understood she was not eligible for the publicly funded Community Midwife Support service because her first birth had been a c-section.

"I feel very passionately that women need to have options within the system, because otherwise they will take those out of the system," she said.

The mother had not seen an obstetrician during her second pregnancy, saying she had previously encountered "bullying" and did not want to be exposed to stories which attempted to scare her out of her decision to have a home birth.

She had also not had any ultra sounds and decided not to have a screening test for streptococcal infection.

At the opening of the inquest yesterday, the court was told that a post mortem determined the cause of the baby's death was streptococcal infection and meconium aspiration with early bronchopneumonia.

The woman told the court that she had a vague memory of the possibility of being transferred to hospital being raised during the delivery, but she did not want to go.

Asked what may have convinced her of the need for a transfer to hospital, the woman said evidence of an immediate threat to herself or her baby.

The inquest continues.