An Australian home birth advocate and privately practising midwife, Oyebola Coxon, has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a baby she assisted in a home birth. The incident occurred last October in Wallsend, New South Wales, where Coxon, known as a 'guru' in the home birth community, attended to a woman in labour.

It is alleged that the 36-year-old ignored clear signs of complications during the birth and the mother's repeated pleas to be taken to a hospital. Instead, she reportedly left the mother in labour for two days. The woman was eventually transported to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, where an emergency cesarean was performed. Tragically, both the mother and the newborn suffered significant medical complications, and the baby boy died eight days after the attempted home birth.

Ms. Coxon, an Italian-born influencer midwife, has a significant online presence, posting on Instagram under the profile 'Mamma Informata' to her 40,000 social media followers. She has actively promoted 'positive births' and frequently warned women against following doctors' advice. Her videos have encouraged home births even in cases considered high-risk, and she has controversially claimed that gestational diabetes does not exist, dismissing the necessity of blood tests and ultrasounds. Furthermore, Ms. Coxon has sold paid online courses designed for expectant mothers, covering topics like childbirth preparation and breastfeeding.

Following a police investigation into the newborn's death, Ms. Coxon was arrested in Wallsend, New South Wales, on August 14. She faces charges of manslaughter and grievous bodily harm, as confirmed by the New South Wales Police Force. She has since been granted bail, with conditions that explicitly prohibit her from acting, practising, or educating any person regarding birth or pregnancy. Her trial is scheduled to commence at Newcastle Crown Court on October 15.

Her arrest has sparked widespread outrage online, drawing attention to the broader issue of a lack of safeguards concerning the publication of potentially dangerous health advice and misinformation on social media platforms. Data indicates that home births are not uncommon, with approximately one in 50 women in England and Wales choosing to give birth at home, and nearly 50,000 births occurring outside hospital settings in the US in 2023.

Home births remain a subject of controversy due to the absence of immediate, specialised medical care if complications arise. Research suggests that while women who plan a home birth but transfer to a hospital might experience fewer 'obstetric interventions,' this 'may come at the expense of neonatal wellbeing.' The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) advises that home births, supported by a midwife, may be suitable for healthy, low-risk women undergoing a second or subsequent child, provided they have had a straightforward pregnancy. However, for first-time mothers, evidence suggests a home birth slightly increases the risk of a poor outcome for the baby.

Conversely, a 2019 Canadian study analyzed data from around a million births across 14 studies, concluding that home births could be as safe as hospital deliveries for low-risk pregnancies in countries with 'well-integrated health services' (such as England, the US, the Netherlands, Iceland, Canada, and New Zealand). While they found an eight percent higher risk of a baby dying as a newborn or within four weeks in home births in these settings, the researchers deemed this increase neither statistically nor clinically significant. However, the study noted a more than threefold increase in the risk of infant mortality in nations with 'less integrated settings,' which included Norway, Sweden, Japan, and Australia.