The inquest into the death of 36-year-old Caroline Lovell in 2012 resumed on Tuesday with the observations of a paramedic who was called to their Watsonia home after Ms Lovell became unresponsive.

Paramedic Marie Daley noted that Nick Lovell had told her at the scene that his wife had grabbed him by his shirt, looked him in the eye and pleaded with him for help,

Lawyer Michael Magazanik, representing Ms Lovell's mother at the inquest, read Ms Daley's notes to the court.

"'Nick I'm telling you, you need to call an ambulance, I'm going to die'," Mr Magazanik read from the notes.

"Nick replied 'No' and started sobbing uncontrollably."

It was not clear during proceedings the meaning behind the word "No", with Ms Daley due to give evidence on Wednesday.

The inquest had previously heard that the now unregistered midwife Gaye Demanuele believed Ms Lovell was panicking and did not identify any physical symptoms, which she expressed to Mr Lovell when his wife started hyperventilating.

Dr John Campbell, a specialist obstetrician of 40 years, told the inquest on Tuesday that the "classic symptoms" of significant blood loss were anxiety, agitation and shortness of breath.

He said he complained to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority about Ms Demanuele, but was told that because she was unregistered, they had no jurisdiction.

Ms Demanuele describes herself as an "(un)midwife" on Twitter who handed in her "papers". She told the inquest last year that she was still attending home births as a support person.

Dr Campbell said the way the midwives responded to Ms Lovell was "significantly" below standard.

"I'm quite supportive of home births, but only safe home births," he said.

Ms Lovell, a former photographer, and her husband planned a home birth for their second child, employing private midwives Ms Demanuele and the less experienced Melody Bourne, who has since "distanced" herself from the practice.

About an hour after the couple greeted their daughter on January 23 at 8.52am in a birthing pool, Ms Lovell became distressed and begged to be taken to hospital. Ms Lovell died later that night in the Austin Hospital.

Dr Campbell said Ms Lovell most likely died from postpartum hemorrhage with the obstetrician at the Austin on the night, Dr Claire Petterson, estimating Ms Lovell lost three litres of blood. The midwives estimated Ms Lovell had lost 400 millilitres in the birthing pool. Medical experts had previously told the court there was no accurate way to measure blood loss in a pool.

Ms Lovell had already suffered a postpartum hemorrhage during the birth of her first child in 2008 at a Geelong hospital, but this was not disclosed to her midwives before the fatal home birth and Ms Demanuele has said the relevant medical records were "missing".

But Ms Demanuele was aware of other complications during the first birth and did not believe it would impact the impending home birth. She did not ask for outside medical advice.

"Caroline was a well-informed woman. She had taken the responsibility on herself to inform herself. She was happy to hear my advice and she made choices," Ms Demanuele said during the inquest last year.

"She desired to birth her baby gently... she didn't feel she was endangering herself."

The inquest before Coroner Peter White continues.