Infant death and cocaine: midwife loses licence in Finland
An experienced midwife lost her professional licence after a newborn baby died during a home birth. Ilta-Sanomat also revealed a cocaine finding.
Midwife involved in home birth that led to death – licences permanently revoked
According to an Ilta-Sanomat investigation, a midwife who had previously been presented as a leading professional in her field was involved in a home birth in which a newborn baby died. The licensing and supervisory authority confirms the incident, and the authority's lawyer admits in an interview with the newspaper that police requested a statement from the authority regarding this birth in August 2024.
Central Finland Police launched an investigation into the midwife's actions in connection with the home birth. Only a few months later, in October 2024, Valvira (the Finnish Health and Social Care Authority) temporarily prohibited the woman from practising as a midwife, nurse and practical nurse. In May 2026, the licensing and supervisory authority made a decision to permanently revoke her licences.
In the authority's decision, it is stated that the woman is "incapable of working as a nurse, midwife and practical nurse without endangering patient safety". According to the authority, she failed to monitor the foetal heart sounds during labour, did not sufficiently monitor patients' condition after delivery and did not arrive to the women giving birth quickly enough. Furthermore, she performed tasks that belong to doctors and failed to meet data security requirements for patient records.
Large portions of the official decision texts are redacted with black markings, which means that more detailed particulars remain obscured for the time being.
In her own report to the licensing and supervisory authority, the midwife stated that she had been involved in 250 successful home births and had acted responsibly. In May 2026, the authority made a referral to the Western Uusimaa Police for investigation, the contents of which are fully classified.
Ilta-Sanomat previously reported in October that the same midwife had assisted several public figures with home births. At least five babies have died in connection with home births between 2023–2025.
The investigation also revealed suspected cocaine use. In May 2026, the former midwife was caught using cocaine at Helsinki Police Headquarters detention facility. A drug rapid test showed a positive result, and 0.57 grammes of cocaine was found in a ziplock bag in her possession. She received a fine of 180 euros.
On social media, the former midwife has claimed to have voluntarily relinquished her healthcare titles and says she is continuing to work with pregnancies and births. She views the situation as a witch-hunt and claims that she has not been given an opportunity to defend herself publicly.
Ilta-Sanomat reached the woman by telephone, but she hung up once the journalist explained the matter. The woman was offered a written and oral opportunity to comment on the events following confirmation of the official information. She did not respond to the newspaper's questions.
Source: Ilta-Sanomat