Home birth tragedy as influencer’s baby ‘drowns in amniotic fluid’ after being delivered by unqualified ‘water birth expert’

A woman who positioned herself as a midwife but had no formal training has been arrested after a baby she delivered in a home birth died. 

Aisha Rakaeva, 27, gave birth in an inflatable pool at her flat in Moscow, Russia, on 13 December last year. 

The infant, a boy, was born alive but died an hour later, which according to local news media was because he drowned in amniotic fluid.

The woman who assisted Aisha, 59-year-old Natalia Kotlar, was arrested shortly after the tragedy. 

‘The baby choked on amniotic fluid,’ a law enforcement source told Russian newsite KP.RU

While in the womb, babies are immersed in amniotic fluid – a mixture of water, nutrients, and electrolytes which acts as a cushion against injury, keeps a constant temperature, and allows for lung and musculoskeletal development.

They absorb oxygen from their mother’s blood supply via the placenta and umbilical cord. 

After birth, any fluid in the baby’s lungs is naturally absorbed into the body, but there are complications which can lead to severe breathing problems when this doesn’t happen. 

However, there is a potentially deadly complication called Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN) where babies have extra fluid in their lungs because it failed to clear as expected. It is not known if Ms Rakaeva’s baby had TTN. 

Usually diagnosed by a doctor in the first few hours after birth, the baby usually needs to be given extra oxygen.  

Kotlar 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.

‘According to investigators, the woman, born in 1965, was not a medical professional and did not have a higher medical education or qualification in obstetrics and gynecology,’ the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow reported.

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.

Obstetrician, gynaecologist and public health expert Lyubov Yerofeyeva told local media that there is more to safely delivering babies than just practical know-how. 

She said: ‘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.

On January 27, she posted on Telegram: ‘It’s with a heavy heart that I write this to you… Tragedy struck during my home birth… my newborn baby didn’t survive. 

‘I was hospitalized, and now I’m experiencing incredible pain; the night was terrible. 

‘This is the hardest moment of my life, and I don’t even know how to find the strength to continue. Plus, there are still numerous hearings, consultations, investigations, and funerals ahead.’

She added that she needed the support of her fans more than ever. 

‘You’ve always been with me: in joy, in dancing, in creativity. Now I need your moral support more than ever.

‘I receive a lot of threats and hate, but much more care and support. Thank you for your love and kindness; you give me the strength to hold on. 

‘I’ll definitely get in touch later; I’m facing many other problems right now, primarily psychological ones.’

Last month an inquest in the UK heard how a newborn baby girl died after community midwives failed to properly monitor her heartbeat during a botched home birth over a busy Bank Holiday weekend.

Pippa Gillibrand was delivered after her mother, Victoria, 33, was blue-lighted to hospital after more than five-hours of labour in August 2024 – but by then it was too late. 

The 8lbs 5oz tot had suffered brain damage after being deprived of oxygen during her delivery and died aged 12 days.

An inquest into Pippa’s death, due to open next week, is expected to hear that staff shortages over the August Bank Holiday weekend, in 2024, impacted her care.

Mrs Gillibrand, a public health practice manager, and her husband, Thomas, 34, today said Pippa would be ‘eternally missed’ and that they hoped the inquest would provide answers about why she died.

The couple said: ‘While it will always hurt not knowing her smile, her laugh, her voice, or the milestones we expected to share, we take comfort in knowing she is now at peace, free from pain, and so deeply, deeply loved, not just by us, but by everyone who was fortunate enough to meet her.

‘Pippa will live on in memory of all and be eternally missed beyond all meaning.’