Former reality TV star Pala Negara, whose newborn baby died just hours after a home birth, previously spoke about her distrust of hospitals and revealed she refused to seek medical help during a gruelling 60-hour labour with another child.
asserted
she → die → child
The 38-year-old Balinese model gave birth to her son, whom she named Harmony Hunter, on August 28 at home in northern NSW, 20 days after his August 8 due date.
Ms Negara's home birth took a devastating turn when complications saw both mother and baby rushed to Lismore Hospital before being transferred by a NeoRESQ helicopter across the state border to Gold Coast University Hospital.
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mother → give → Hospital
Despite desperate efforts by medical teams to save him, Harmony died at 8pm that evening.
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Harmony → save → pm
NSW Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the infant's death, with officers attached to the Tweed and Byron Police District preparing information for the coroner.
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officers → launch → coroner
It is not suggested that Ms Negara was in any way responsible for the death of her baby, only that there is a police investigation.
Ms Negara first announced her child's death in a social media post alongside her partner, Byron Bay hairdresser Chris Hunter, in September.
Now, the Daily Mail can reveal that in an earlier podcast interview, Ms Negara spoke openly about her decision to reject hospital births, describing how she trusted her body even when labour with one of her older children stretched to about 60 hours.
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labour → suggest → hours
Ms Negara first announced her child's death in a social media post alongside her partner, Byron Bay hairdresser Chris Hunter, in September
Ms Negara's home birth took a devastating turn when complications saw both mother and baby rushed to Lismore Hospital
She also revealed that her first home birth ended with her being admitted to hospital days later after suffering a haemorrhage.
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her → announce → haemorrhage
In the interview, recorded in 2023, Ms Negara discussed her experiences giving birth to her two older children, Tiger Lily, eight, and Taj, six, and explained why she had chosen to deliver them at home.
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she → record → home
'I went to all of the private hospitals that money could buy to have a viewing, and there was one theme in all of those visits,' she said.
'There was always a code blue.'
Ms Negara claimed these code-blue announcements related to babies who were not breathing or needed resuscitation or assistance from breathing machines.
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who → go → machines
'And so I was just thinking, "Oh, my God.
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I → think → ?
That's so many code blues",' she said.
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she → say → ?
'But now what I realise is that there's a lot more interventions in births in the hospital system.
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realise → realise → system
'And the protocols are to put them on a breathing machine.'
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protocols → put → machine
In the interview, recorded in 2023, Ms Negara discussed her experiences giving birth to her two older children and explained why she had chosen to deliver them at home
She said she had heard about five code blues at each hospital she visited, which she found deeply concerning.
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she → record → hospital
'I think that was a little bit too much of a coincidence for me,' she said.
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she → think → me
Ms Negara also explained that during her first pregnancy eight years ago, doctors warned her about possible complications.
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doctors → explain → complications
'At 28 weeks, they told me that Tiger Lily was most likely going to die,' she said.
'
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she → tell → me
They said that was from a termination I had at 21.
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I → say → 21
I had scar tissue.
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I → have → tissue
I had a lot of haemorrhaging after that and it was done by a professional place; however, there was an anaesthetist that later went to jail.
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that → have → jail
'It was a huge, huge thing in the media that he was giving women HIV.
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he → give → HIV
The Daily Mail cannot find reports of an Australian anaesthetist jailed for giving women HIV.
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Mail → find → HIV
However, drug-addicted former anaesthetist James Peters was sentenced in 2013 to 14 years' jail after infecting 55 women with hepatitis C while working at a Melbourne abortion clinic.
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Peters → addict → clinic
It is possible this is what Ms Negara was referring to.
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Negara → refer → what
Drug-addicted former Melbourne anaesthetist James Peters was sentenced in 2013 to 14 years' jail after infecting 55 women with hepatitis C while working at an abortion clinic
Ms Negara claimed that during her first pregnancy eight years ago, doctors warned her about possible complications only for them to admit there had been a mistake and her child was born healthy.
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child → addict → complications
This made her question a hospital birth
'Any woman who has been pregnant for 28 weeks would know that's a long time,' Ms Negara added.
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Negara → make → weeks
'You feel the baby moving - the baby is quite big - and so I said I'd rather risk it and if my baby is going to die, then that was my journey.
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that → feel → it
But four weeks after the warning about Tiger Lily, Ms Negara claimed hospital staff admitted they had made a mistake about her child's chances of survival and apologised.
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they → claim → survival
The doctor said that they are really sorry on behalf of the hospital.
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they → say → hospital
They wanted to issue me with an apology because they made a mistake,' she said.
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she → want → mistake
The experience left her questioning what might have happened had she acted on the original warning.
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she → leave → warning
'I just think my heart just sank for all of the women who maybe listened, if that ever happened to them, and then their whole lives have been changed forever,' she said.
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she → think → them
It was then, she recalled, that she decided she no longer wanted to give birth in hospital.
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she → recall → hospital
'Basically, I went to my partner and I said, "That's it",' she said.
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she → go → partner
'And I told him and he said, "We can do this ourselves".
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We → tell → this
Ms Negara, a 38-year-old Australian-Balinese model, is pictured at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on May 14, 2024
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Negara → picture → May
Ms Negara said her partner initially favoured a hospital birth but changed his mind.
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partner → say → mind
Together, they found a home-birth midwife in Melbourne's Bayside region, who Ms Negara said remained a close friend.
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Negara → find → region
Her first daughter, Tiger Lily, was born at home following a labour she said lasted more than 40 hours.
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she → bear → hours
She said her midwife missed the delivery because the baby arrived before she could get there.
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she → say → delivery
The birth was followed by complications.
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birth → follow → complications
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
