A court has determined a cause of death for the popular Australian wellness influencer, Stacey Warnecke, who died in October.
Stacey’s husband, Nathan, initially announced the news that his wife had died unexpectedly during childbirth.
On Wednesday, a coroner’s court in Victoria, Australia, was told that Warnecke died from a postpartum hemorrhage.
Stacey — who described herself on Instagram as a “low tox nutritionist and food content creator” gave birth to her son Axel using the freebirth method, meaning she delivered without any medical professionals present, such as a doctor or midwife.
Attorney Rachel Ellyard revealed in court that the influencer chose not to receive any prenatal care while pregnant, except for one initial blood test with a general practitioner, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
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Her decisions stemmed from her skepticism about COVID-19 vaccine mandates and her desire to live a lifestyle free of what she saw as additional chemicals, Ellyard told the court.
Emily Lal, known online as The Authentic Birthkeeper, was present for the birth. The court heard that when police returned to the house the following day, they discovered Lal had cleaned the property but refused to provide a statement. She has since been banned from providing care by the Victorian Healthcare Complaints Commissioner, which is now investigating her.
Stacey gave birth to her son — who is healthy — at 3 a.m. on September 29, according to ABC.
The court heard that Stacey initially declined an ambulance but soon began struggling to breathe. An ambulance was eventually called at 4:13 a.m., and she reached the hospital at 5:07 a.m. “after some difficulty extracting Stacey from the house,” Ellyard said.
Once there, the hospital reportedly exhausted its supply of her blood type as they tried to save her. Ellyard described the ordeal as “a profoundly complicated and distressing experience for all who cared for her.”
The 30-year-old suffered several cardiac arrests in hospital and later died.
The coroner, Therese McCarthy, is considering whether there will be an official court hearing regarding Stacey’s death. The case will be further investigated in court in March.
Stacey’s death was first announced on her Natural Spoonfuls Instagram page by her husband, who revealed that she died shortly after giving birth to their first son. The couple was just two months shy of their first wedding anniversary.
“Its with heavy heart that i share with you the unexpected passing of my beautiful wife, soul mate and best friend, Stacey Warnecke (Hatfield),” the lengthy Instagram caption began.
“Stace passed on the 29th September 2025 after successfully giving birth to our firstborn son, Axel, at home,” he wrote. “Tragically, shortly after, an unforeseen and extremely rare complication arose, and she passed after being transferred to hospital. Hospital staff were amazing and did the utmost to help, but ultimately nothing could be done despite their best efforts.”
Describing his wife as “the reason I got up in the morning,” he continued: “As her husband, i couldn’t ask for a better partner,” he added. “She was the most beautiful, loving, caring, hardworking, disciplined, intelligent and trustworthy human being i’ve ever known.”
