EXCLUSIVE
A woman who decided to give birth to her first child at home spent 51 hours in labor while her partner sought medical advice in a Facebook group.
Kerry Pitman and Mathew Hadfield, from Queensland, Australia, decided to give birth to their daughter for free after 27 midwives refused to attend the birth due to the risks associated with Mrs Pitman’s type 1 diabetes.
Pitman, 43, and Hadfield, 39, finally found an unregistered Italian midwife on Facebook to guide the birth of baby Teilo at their home in Mount Crosby, in Brisbane’s outer west.
Laura Latina, who the couple call their ‘birth carer’, flew from Sydney and was present throughout the birth, while a doula in Canada stayed on the phone with them for two days while Teilo was born.
Latina has since been banned from practicing as a midwife by health authorities, who in December prohibited her from being present with her mother during childbirth.
Kerry Pitman and Mathew Hadfield found an unregistered midwife on Facebook to help her deliver their daughter Teilo in a ‘free birth’ without medical assistance at the couple’s Queensland home.
Freebirthing is the controversial practice of giving birth to a baby without any medical support.
It may involve a woman giving birth alone, with her partner or with the help of a doula or other support person but without a registered health professional.
A doula or midwife is not legally authorized to offer medical advice or assistance, or carry any surgical equipment.
When Ms Pitman went into labor early, at just 36 weeks, she and Mr Hadfield didn’t even have a birth group, so they made an urgent call to the Homebirth Australia Facebook group.
For 51 hours, Pitman worked at home with Latina’s help, while Hadfield posted on the Facebook page seeking more advice and practical help.
Hadfield described that part of Pitman’s labor as the “wild element” because a registered midwife would have sent her to the hospital.
‘Birth caregiver’ Laura Latina was present for the entire 51 hours of Kerry Pitman’s labor while a doula in Canada stayed on the phone. Since then, Latina has been prohibited from being present with her mother during her birth.
Her posts on the Homebirth Australia page sparked fierce debate among some of its 14,000 members who were divided over whether Ms Pitman should have gone to hospital or relied on her natural ability to give birth.
The posts also highlighted a divide between midwives and unregulated birth workers, such as doulas, over the safety of free birth.
Hadfield said Pitman’s labor did not progress on two occasions: the first for 12 hours when she entered ketosis, which occurs when the body begins to burn fat instead of glucose for energy.
The couple solved that potentially fatal problem for Pitman with rest, food and hydration.
The second failed delivery lasted six hours because Pitman’s bladder was so full that the baby could not descend.
Hadfield used the Homebirth Australia website to plead for someone to bring the couple a catheter to drain her partner’s bladder, to no avail.
He then called an ambulance, but said he was told the paramedics did not carry catheters and could not legally give him a nasogastric tube to use as an alternative.
Hadfield said paramedics eventually gave him a nasogastric tube, which is normally inserted through the nose, down the throat and into the stomach.
Instead, Latina used the tube as a catheter on Pitman.
When Pitman went into labor early, at just 36 weeks, she and Hadfield didn’t even have a birth group, so they made an urgent call to the Homebirth Australia Facebook group. The couple appears in the photo in the pool.
Once the tube was in place, Ms Pitman was able to drain her bladder and two and a half hours later, at 2am on December 6, 2020, she was born in the couple’s living room.
After the birth, Hadfield said Teilo experienced two hypoglycemic events, and his blood sugar dropped to 2.3 at one point.
When police arrived at the couple’s door after Teilo’s birth, Hadfield told the officers he would not speak to them. Children’s Services also visited and left after speaking with Ms. Pitman.
Mrs. Latina was reported to the Health Ombudsman’s Office, which issued a provisional prohibition order preventing her from being present during births.
You should also ensure that any advertising for your services includes a statement warning the public of that restriction.
Latina has since left Australia but still advertises her services and offers advice to women on Instagram and Facebook and has not released any statement regarding the restrictions.
When asked via Instagram about the restrictions, Latina responded: ‘How did you get this information? “It is not my place to speak of the birth of others.”
Kerry Pitman and Mathew Hadfield decided to give birth to their daughter after 27 midwives refused to attend the birth due to the risks associated with Ms Pitman’s type 1 diabetes.
Hadfield said he did not remember if the ombudsman contacted him regarding Teilo’s birth, but said he would not have “contracted” with the office if he had.
“If I had to help anyone, it would be Laura,” he later told the Ombudsman.
Hadfield said police called him last summer to tell him they were investigating the lack of a catheter, instead of the nasogastric tube they lent to the couple.
“I have very little faith in the system,” Mr. Hadfield said. “I think it’s horrible.”
Hadfield stood by Latina and thanked her for the support she gave the couple during Teilo’s birth.
“She was acting as a doula to care for a woman in need at the time,” he said.
“I am grateful for the experience I had, I have a beautiful daughter and I did not have to go through the madness of the barbaric hospital system.”
Hannah Dahlen, a professor of midwifery at Western Sydney University, said that while the number of women giving birth freely is unknown, research suggests it is increasing.
Mr Hadfield thanked him for the support he gave Mrs Pitman (above) during the birth. “She was acting as a doula to care for a woman in need at the time,” he said.
“Covid has really opened the floodgates for this,” Professor Dahlen said.
“There was a huge increase in women wanting to give birth at home and when they couldn’t get a midwife, they looked for midwives.”
Professor Dahlen said the largest number of women working in free and unregulated births were in southern Queensland. Home birth is now publicly funded in that state.
Professor Dahlen said unregulated midwives were operating outside their skills and domain of knowledge and training could consist of as little as a one-week course.
“Women who do freebirthing really trust these women in their birth space, but with trust comes great responsibility,” she said.
‘That trust cannot just be superficial, sometimes it means saying difficult things for the good of the woman and her baby.
‘It would be good if there were some rules for doulas and a code of conduct that said they will not attend births without a midwife or doctor present or without clinical assessments.
‘I’m nervous about excessive regulation. If we continually crack down, we will push them underground and that could be terrible.
“We have to respect women’s autonomy, but make sure they can determine the type of care they receive and understand what it is.”
However, Professor Dahlen said the blame should fall on a failed medical system and not on women.
“If we don’t fix the dysfunctional system that lacks sufficient models of midwifery care, we will have women who will seek other options and end up in the dark lands of the birth world, which is what is currently happening,” she said.
‘The system has to take responsibility and provide women with the type of care they seek.
‘There are some social media influences who are incredibly irresponsible in what they say and play on women’s fear and confidence.
“But now the system is just as bad in another direction.”