Five Key Findings From Our Investigation Into The Free Birth Society

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The Free Birth Society (FBS) is simply a business tally from North Carolina that promotes nan thought of women giving commencement without midwives aliases doctors present.

It is led by Emilee Saldaya and Yolande Norris-Clark, ex-doulas turned societal media influencers who person gained a world pursuing done nan FBS podcast, which has been downloaded millions of times.

FBS profits from income of its instructional video guideline to freebirthing, and entree to a paid-for rank group for pregnant women. It runs 2 online schools that train “radical commencement keepers” and “authentic midwives” to support women erstwhile they are giving birth.

In a year-long investigation, we reviewed hundreds of hours of FBS podcasts, videos, documents and people materials, interviewed 10 erstwhile insiders, and analysed thousands of pages of diary entries, aesculapian notes, connection threads and ineligible documents relating to births by its followers.

We besides interviewed much than 60 mothers influenced by FBS, studied video footage of unassisted births and consulted immoderate of nan world’s starring obstetricians and experts successful midwifery. Here are 5 things we learned.

1. Many FBS claims conflict pinch evidence-based aesculapian advice
For a patient mother successful a low-risk pregnancy, experts opportunity nan consequence of freebirthing is mostly low, though astir would not urge it. “Across full populations, going done labour and commencement without master support is associated pinch higher levels of consequence for mother and baby,” said Prof Soo Downe, a elder British nurse astatine nan University of Lancaster.
Downe was 1 of 4 aesculapian experts who reviewed FBS worldly for nan Guardian. All agreed nan accusation FBS provided pregnant women included contented that was medically illiterate, misleading aliases dangerous. Examples see nan mendacious declare that location is “zero” consequence of infection erstwhile cutting an umbilical cord, incorrect guidance connected really to resoluteness a uncommon but perchance fatal information called enarthrosis dystocia, and defense of a passive attack to newborn resuscitation that posed a precocious consequence to babies of semipermanent neurological harm aliases death.
2. FBS is linked to real-world harm each astir nan world
We identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths aliases neonatal deaths aliases different forms of superior harm involving mothers aliases commencement attendants who look to beryllium linked to FBS, for illustration having enrolled successful its courses aliases appeared connected its podcasts. Most of nan cases of harm subordinate to mothers successful nan US and Canada, but they see births successful Switzerland, France, South Africa, Thailand, India, Australia, nan UK and Israel.
When free births spell wrong, it is intolerable to opportunity whether nan result would person been different pinch aesculapian support. But successful 18 of nan cases, each of which progressive in-depth interviews pinch nan mothers, we recovered grounds suggesting FBS played a important domiciled successful nan mother aliases commencement attendant’s decision-making, starring to perchance avoidable tragedies. They see nan lawsuit of Gabrielle Lopez, a first-time mother from Pennsylvania. Her boy Esau sewage stuck during his commencement successful 2022 and sustained a encephalon wounded caused by oxygen deprivation. He is now severely disabled.
3. Saldaya, nan main executive of FBS, straight advises women during birth
At times, Saldaya has fixed nonstop proposal to women during their labours via telephone calls aliases messages. This occurred successful nan lawsuit of Lorren Holliday, who became nan first known FBS-linked mother to suffer a baby, successful 2018. Saldaya has denied advising Holliday, telling students: “I didn’t cognize this female astatine all.” However, nan Guardian has reviewed much than 100 messages betwixt Saldaya and Holliday during her 5 days of progressive labour successful her location successful nan California desert.
Despite galore signs that Holliday was successful a aesculapian emergency, Saldaya encouraged her to support going, earlier yet providing her pinch a book to deceive infirmary unit astir nan specifications of her labour. Her daughter, Journey Moon, was stillborn. In 2024, Saldaya besides advised Haley Bordeaux, a mother from Virginia, via telephone calls and texts to a friend; she had a patient babe but had respective strokes caused by terrible pre-eclampsia that made her temporarily blind.
4. FBS profits from increasing distrust successful maternity services
Women are attracted to FBS for understandable reasons. Scandals successful maternity care, and a interest among immoderate astir an overly medicalised attack to commencement and, successful immoderate cases, negligence and obstetric violence, person created a fresh marketplace for FBS. Saldaya and Norris-Clark utilization these concerns, accusing doctors and “medwives” of “sabotaging” women’s births, sexually assaulting and “fingering” mothers, and moreover committing “murder”. Even immoderate advocates of free commencement reason that nan brace beforehand an unusually dogmatic version.
But they are besides adept businesswomen, bully astatine monetising their ideology. FBS is estimated to person generated much than $13m (£9.9m) successful revenues since 2018. Nearly 1,000 students person graduated from nan Radical Birth Keeper school, which charged $6,000 for a three-month Zoom people for “authentic midwives”, and nan MatriBirth Midwifery Institute (MMI), a $12,000, year-long “gold-standard online intensive midwifery school”.
5. The leaders of FBS look undeterred by mounting criticism
Saldaya and Norris-Clark did not respond to requests for comment. There are immoderate signs they whitethorn beryllium adapting their approach. In a telephone pinch students this year, Saldaya suggested FBS whitethorn person gone excessively acold successful calling their MMI a “midwifery” schoolhouse (it has since been renamed the MatriBirth Mentor Institute). In May 2025, FBS posted a disclaimer connected Instagram, saying its contented was for “educational and informational” purposes and was not intended to diagnose, treat, cure aliases forestall immoderate aesculapian information related to gestation aliases birth.
However, Saldaya and Norris-Clark are besides pushing backmost astatine disapproval astir their business and nan consequence it poses to mothers and babies. Norris-Clark precocious called critics “pathetic losers”, defending FBS arsenic “the astir ethical benignant of business you tin run”. After publication of nan Guardian’s investigation, Saldaya posted a connection connected Instagram criticising “propaganda connected mainstream news”. “This is what it intends to beryllium a disruptor,” she said. “They will effort to discredit you. They will dishonesty astir you. They will effort to soundlessness what they don’t understand.”