In Austria: Midwife Trial Margarete Wana - We have objections
Austria: Trial against midwife Margarete Wana.
MORE MIDWIVES has taken the view of Margarete Wana into account and, far away from the Austrian press, attempts to reconstruct the trial in the Vienna Regional Court in the first instance before the appeal.
February 17, 2025 at the Vienna Regional Court, midwife Margarete Wana is sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment for grossly negligent homicide in connection with a planned home birth that she supervised (not final, as the case is under appeal).
The mother : It was important to me that I gave birth at my own pace. When I gave birth for the first time in a hospital, the doctors made a lot of decisions without my knowledge. The medication I was given in the hospital also affected my child.
The court found that there had been 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 caesarean section in the first pregnancy was said to have been a warning signal overlooked by the midwife. One third of children are now born by caesarean section. Should a third of women who have had a caesarean section be denied the basic right to choose where they give birth for another birth?
Must self-determined home births give way to hospital births?
In view of such rulings, it is becoming increasingly IMPOSSIBLE for midwives (and doulas) to accompany 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 retrospectively imposed on a birth outside of a hospital.
A doctor or doctor?
In most cases it would not be vulnerable if there had been consent for a caesarean section, but not 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 case stopped
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 medical findings in the ultrasound showed an unremarkable placenta without malformations. Due to the cesarean section of the first birth alone and the fact that gestational diabetes was not detected despite testing, there was no reason for the midwife to refrain from a home birth.
- The allegation regarding the missing CTG means that an earlier transfer would not only have been possible under certain circumstances, but would definitely have been possible. However, the acute stress situation was detected in time by the Dopton, whereupon the transfer took place immediately.
- Why was the second midwife (especially regarding the timing), who also attended the birth, not admitted as evidence by the court?
We at MORE MIDWIVES think the Margarete Wana trial is very important. It is important for all midwives, whether in Vienna, Austria or Germany. That is why our FREE WANA shirt will soon be available. 100% of the proceeds will go to Margarete Wana's fundraiser.
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