In Austria: Midwife Trial Margarete Wana - We have objections
Austria: Trial against midwife Margarete Wana.
MORE MIDWIVES has included the view of Margarete Wana and, far from the Austrian press, attempts to reconstruct the trial in the Vienna Regional Court in the first instance before the appeal.
On February 17, 2025, at the Vienna Regional Court, midwife Margarete Wana was sentenced to 15 months' suspended imprisonment for grossly negligent homicide in connection with a planned home birth she supervised (not final, as the case is under appeal).
The mother : It was important to me to give birth at my own pace. During my first hospital birth, the doctors made many decisions without my knowledge. The medications I was given in the hospital also affected my child.
The court : assumed several breaches of due care, including the lack of a CTG and undetected pre-existing conditions of the mother that would have prevented a home birth.
UNBELIEVABLE AND TERRIFYING. The cesarean section in the first pregnancy was said to have been a warning signal missed by the midwife. Today, one-third of babies are born by cesarean section. Should a third of women who have a cesarean section be denied the fundamental right to freely choose where they give birth in a subsequent birth?
Does self-determined home birth have to give way to hospital births?
In light of such rulings, it is becoming increasingly IMPOSSIBLE for midwives (and doulas) to attend home births with even the slightest indication of possible risks, although the criteria are already very strict
Ultimately, it seems that only a medical expert opinion counts in court – a view that is imposed retrospectively on a birth that takes place outside of a hospital.
A doctor?
In most cases it would not be vulnerable if consent to a Caesarean section had been given, not so with a midwife who had explained the risks of a home birth.
The mother distributed a flyer before the verdict was announced:
The midwife is not to blame for the death of our daughter.
I would like to see this procedure discontinued
What Margarete Wana shares in the interview and which we have picked up again in our process post on Instagram :
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The ultrasound findings showed a normal placenta with no malformations. Due to the cesarean section of the first birth alone and the fact that gestational diabetes had not been diagnosed despite testing, the midwife had no reason to forego a home birth.
- The allegation regarding the missing CTG states that an earlier transfer would have been possible, not just under certain circumstances, but definitely. However, the acute stress situation was detected in a timely manner using the Doppler ultrasound, and the transfer took place immediately.
- Why was the second midwife (especially regarding the timing allegation), who also attended the birth, not admitted as evidence by the court?
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2 comments
Liebe Hebammen,
ich finde es ungerecht, dass aufgrund des Vorfalls alle weiteren werdenden Mütter nach Sectio keinerlei Chance mehr bekommen, den Geburtsort frei zu wählen! Wohlgemerkt, dass der vorherige Kaiserschnitt, der Mutter in Wien nicht einmal die Ursache für die tragische Geschichte war! Das hätte meinem Verständnis nach auch bei einer Hausgeburt einer risikofreien Gebärenden passieren können, die zuvor keinen Kaiserschnitt erleben musste.
Wer in Österreich nimmt sich das Recht heraus einer werdenden Mutter vorzuschreiben wo und wie sie ihr Kind zur Welt bringen darf?!
Es passieren viele Vorfälle in Krankenhäusern während einer Geburt, die vertuscht werden! Das hinterfragt keiner und das wird nicht öffentlich in den Medien gebracht?
Wir werdenden Mütter nach einer Sectio werden vom System gezwungen das Kind in einem Krankenhaus auf die Welt zu bringen, wo es nur so von Keimen schwirrt und wo viel zu früh viel zu viele Interventionen gesetzt werden!
Denn eine andere Option wäre noch eine Alleingeburt zuhause, bei der man aber leider rechtlich verklagt werden kann!!
In welcher Welt leben wir?
Ist es nicht normal, sein Kind zuhause auf die Welt zu bringen?
Österreich müsste für Hebammen nur einen geregelteren Schutt bieten, dann würden so viel mehr Hebammen eine HABC (Home birth after cesarean) begleiten!
Liebes Hebammenteam,
ich finde es schlimm, wie mit der Hebamme umgegangen wird. Aus meiner Sicht trifft sie keine Schuld. Auch im Krankemhaus gibt es Todesfälle vom Babys und man erlebt es kaum, dass sich Ärzte dafür verantworten müssen. Geschweige denm für die vielen Traumats, die durch eine nicht selbstbestimmte umd aufgezwundene Geburt im Krankenhaus entstehen können.