Midwife Arrested After Influencer Newborn Pass Away During Home Water Birth

A midwife has been arrested following the d£ath of a newborn baby who reportedly drowned in amniotic fluid during a home birth.

The tragic incident occurred on December 13, 2025, in Moscow, Russia. According to reports, a social media influencer identified as Aisha Rakaeva gave birth at home using an inflatable pool. The baby boy was born alive, but sadly passed away about an hour later.

Investigations later revealed that the cause of death was drowning caused by amniotic fluid during the water birth.

Shortly after the incident, the woman who assisted Aisha during the delivery was taken into police custody. She was later identified as Natalia Kotlar, a 59-year-old who presented herself as an experienced professional.

Kotlar reportedly claimed to be a psychologist, educator, head of a parenting culture centre, and an instructor of so-called “Gentle Birth” courses. She also allegedly said she had written books about water births, delivered one of her five children in the Indian Ocean, and was frequently invited to work abroad.

However, police investigations found that she had no formal medical qualifications permitting her to practice as a midwife, contrary to what Aisha had believed.

As a result, Kotlar has been charged with illegal medical practice and providing services that failed to meet safety standards. She has denied any wrongdoing and is reportedly challenging her pre-trial detention in court.

Reacting to the Incident, 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.