A self-styled ‘midwife’ has been arrested after an influencer’s newborn drowned in amniotic fluid during a home birth.
Aisha Rakaeva gave birth in an inflatable pool at her flat on 13 December last year.
The infant was born alive but died an hour later, it was reported at the time.
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Only now has the cause of death emerged – the baby boy drowned in amniotic fluid.
The woman who assisted Aisha with the birth in Moscow, Russia, was arrested shortly after the tragedy.
She was identified as 59-year-old Natalia Kotlar, who presented herself as an experienced psychologist, educator, head of a parenting culture centre and instructor of “Gentle Birth” courses.
She had written a book on water births – having delivered one of her five children in the Indian Ocean – and claimed she was frequently invited to work abroad.
However, police later discovered she had no formal qualifications allowing her to provide midwifery services, contrary to what Aisha apparently believed.
She was swiftly charged with illegal medical practice and providing services that failed to meet safety requirements.
Kotlar reportedly denies wrongdoing and is challenging her pre-trial detention in court, as reported by Need To Know.
Obstetrician, gynaecologist and public health expert Lyubov Yerofeyeva told local media: “The woman who assisted with the birth had no medical training and, in my view, simply didn’t understand the cause-and-effect processes or the mechanics of childbirth because she hadn’t undergone proper training – which involves not just a huge amount of theory but extensive practical skills.
“If I were in her place and heard that the baby’s heart rate was rising – assuming she even knew how to monitor a foetal heartbeat – I would have suspected something was wrong and called an ambulance.
“In hospital, doctors could have worked out what was happening and saved the baby.”
Aisha, 27, has more than 1.5m followers on social media, where she goes by the name Aisha Chigga.
She is also a choreographer, dancer, model and actress, having worked on “The Masked Singer” and “Star Factory”, appeared in the TV series “Patriot”, and featured in music videos.
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