A Victorian doula has told the Coroners Court she initially believed Stacey Warnecke was having a panic attack as she lay dying.

In the months before her son, Axel, was born, Stacey Warnecke expressed a deep fear of birth trauma and was adamant she wanted to have her baby on her own terms.

The inquest into the death of a 30-year-old Victorian mum Stacey Warnecke has been told she died from blood loss after she opted for a “free birth”.