Woman who lobbied for home births dies after delivering daughter

An Australian woman who lobbied for more support for home births has died after delivering her baby daughter at home.

The coroner will investigate the death of Caroline Lovell, who passed away in a hospital last Tuesday.

The 36-year-old, who had a planned home birth, was taken to Austin Hospital in Melbourne's northeast by ambulance on Monday morning.

It was believed private midwives assisted with the birth of her second child.

Lovell was a passionate home-birthing mother who had made a submission to the federal government in relation to the Inquiry into Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009.

She spoke out about the need to ensure that midwives who do home births have funding and indemnity.

Dozens of tributes for Lovell, who is survived by her husband Nick and daughters Lulu and Zahra, were posted online.

A spokeswoman for Midwives in Private Practice said it was the first time she has heard of a maternal death following a home birth in her 15 years' experience working as a midwife.

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