Death after home birth: Trial against midwife Wana causes a stir!

Death after home birth: Trial against midwife Wana causes a stir!

In September 2023, a tragic incident occurred in Vienna: a baby who was born shortly after a planned home birth under the direction of midwife Margarete Wana died in hospital just a short time later. This shocking story now has legal repercussions, as the public prosecutor's office accuses the midwife of gross negligence. The court upheld this charge and ruled in the first instance that Wana violated the Midwifery Act by not carrying out the home birth professionally and according to the required guidelines, as the Austrian Midwifery Board made clear in a statement. The verdict is provisional as Wana still has time to think about whether she wants to appeal OTS reported.

The birth of the mother's first child required a cesarean section, and there were complications that apparently were not adequately addressed during the second birth. The tragic impasse of the home birth led to a lack of oxygen in the newborn, which ultimately led to the fatal outcome. An expert found at the trial that the midwife should have acted much earlier at the time of the arrested birth to initiate a transfer to the hospital. Little Charlotte, who could probably still be alive given the circumstances, would now be almost a year and a half old. When the judge's decision was announced, the mother of the dead child burst into tears, while many of midwife Wana's colleagues were present in the courtroom to support her. The court sentenced Wana to 15 months of conditional imprisonment with a three-year probationary period, a sentence that has not yet become final Crown newspaper reported.

This case shines a bright light on the responsibility of midwives during home births, especially when there are health risks such as in this case. The President of the Austrian Midwifery Council, Gerlinde Feichtlbauer, expresses regret over such tragic incidents and emphasizes the need to maintain trust between midwives and expectant mothers. The decision to have a home birth requires a thorough medical analysis and should only be made in strict consideration of the Midwifery Act.