A woman who lost her child after a prolonged pregnancy has told a tribunal hearing she had total faith in her midwife.
The Northland woman, whose name is suppressed, was giving evidence at a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in Auckland to decide whether her midwife, Monique Kapua, is guilty of professional misconduct.
Her baby was stillborn in September 2006, more than three weeks after she was due to have given birth.
Kapua is alleged to have failed to provide the woman with details of tests she could have taken, failed to provide details of the dangers of a long pregnancy, and not documented the care she provided until after the child's birth.
She is also alleged to have gone on holiday near the date her client was due to give birth without providing adequate provisions for alternative care.
Giving at times tearful evidence before the tribunal's five-woman midwifery division, the woman said she wanted a home birth and she took on Kapua's services because she supported this and was very confident.
Sitting with a picture of her stillborn child on the table beside her, the complainant said she was also interested in following Maori cultural practices regarding childbirth, though she was Pakeha herself.
However, she said her biggest focus was the safety of her baby.
"I was very happy to have the usual tests but I did not know what they were and Monique never offered them to me."
She said Kapua had told her that if she was feeling healthy and looking healthy that the baby would be healthy and there was no need to undertake tests or scanning, which Kapua felt were invasive and could harm the child.
"I was completely in awe of Monique and relied on her professional judgment completely and would have done anything that she suggested was needed," the woman said.
"Monique always said that there would be signs if anything was wrong and that I would know. She never specifically told me what 'signs' to look for, nor did she give any specific information about what could go wrong during pregnancy."
She said she was surprised when Kapua informed her when she was one day overdue that she was taking leave because her mokopuna was due to be born soon.
The complainant said Kapua told her there was a back-up midwife but that she wouldn't give birth for some time and she should call her in Auckland if she went into labour.
"Monique talked at length about how babies always wait for her, how there would be plenty of time, how my baby wasn't going to come for ages anyway," she said.
"However, I remember she did talk to me about how I could deliver the baby myself in case she didn't make it back in time."
Two days later she realised she hadn't felt the baby move for some time. Kapua arrived shortly afterwards but couldn't detect a heartbeat. She eventually went to Kaitaia Hospital and then Whangarei Hospital, where the 4.365kg child was delivered stillborn after a long and painful labour.
She said an obstetrician said the baby was perfectly formed and implied it was only the length of the pregnancy which led to his death.
"I felt that I died the day that (my baby) did, as I will never be the same again."
She said Kapua never discussed any risks of prolonged pregnancy with her, and that some of her notes about the pregnancy were "a totally distorted version of events".
She said she wouldn't have complained if Kapua had not said she had done nothing wrong in her treatment and would act the same way in the future.
"She has taken no responsibility whatsoever. To try to blame a bereaved mother for her beloved child's death is unspeakably cruel, and in my view, unforgivable."
Under cross-examination, she denied asking Kapua to write some notes in a booklet outlining her care after seeing at Whangarei Hospital that there were very few.
The hearing is due to take three days.
