How a delivery room tragedy landed Oyebola Coxon in the dock 

An Australian home birth influencer, Oyebola Coxon, has been arrested after a baby tragically died during a delivery she supervised.

Coxon, 36, who parades herself online as a midwife and preaches against hospitals and medical interventions to over 40,000 followers, was picked up in New South Wales and charged with manslaughter and grievous bodily harm.

Police alleged that Coxon ignored clear warning signs and even brushed off the mother’s pleas to be taken to hospital while she endured a grueling two-day labour at a home in Wallsend last October.

By the time the exhausted woman was rushed to John Hunter Hospital, doctors carried out an emergency C-section. The baby, however, died eight days later.

Coxon, Italian-born but based in Australia, runs a popular Instagram page called Mamma Informata. She is notorious for encouraging women to resist doctors, claiming that gestational diabetes “doesn’t exist” and that ultrasounds and blood tests are “unnecessary.” She also sold online courses to expectant mothers.

But her anti-medicine crusade has now landed her in court. She was granted bail under strict conditions, including a ban on giving pregnancy or birth advice. Her trial begins on October 15 at Newcastle Crown Court.

The arrest has triggered outrage online, with critics slamming social media platforms for allowing influencers to push dangerous health misinformation unchecked.

Home births remain a controversial subject worldwide. While some studies suggest they may be safe in low-risk pregnancies, experts warn of sharply higher risks when complications arise.

For Oyebola Coxon, the “natural birth” she promoted has ended in a tragedy and a courtroom battle that could define her future.