‘ignorant And Life-threatening’: Experts Condemn Free Birth Society Misinformation

The Free Birth Society (FBS) is simply a multimillion-dollar business that promotes nan thought of women giving commencement pinch nary aesculapian assistance.

It is led by 2 ex-doulas turned societal media influencers: Emilee Saldaya and Yolande Norris-Clark. Neither person midwifery aliases aesculapian training, but they declare to person extended acquisition from attending nan births of different women.

Through its successful podcast, Instagram account, backstage online organization and online schools, FBS has gained a world following. An investigation by nan Guardian has linked FBS contented to babe deaths and superior maternal harm astir nan world.

FBS did not respond to requests for comment. 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.”

An FBS disclaimer published successful May said its contented was for “educational and informational” purposes and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, aliases forestall immoderate aesculapian information related to gestation aliases birth. “For aesculapian advice, consult your healthcare provider,” it added.

Below, 4 aesculapian experts respond to examples of FBS claims astir gestation and birth.

1. Norris-Clark told students enrolled successful FBS’s MatriBirth Midwifery Institute (MMI) successful 2025 that while she sterilised surgical scissors utilized for cutting umbilical cords retired of respect for her clients, location was nary consequence of infection, moreover if you were to usage an “old rusty fork”. “I don’t judge successful germ theory,” she said, “But moreover if contagion were existent … location would beryllium a beautiful overmuch 0% chance of thing happening.”
   Soo Downe, a nurse and professor astatine nan University of Lancashire, said this was very vulnerable advice. Significant numbers of babies successful low-income countries died each twelvemonth of sepsis, she said, aft having their cord trim pinch soiled instruments aliases sealed pinch substances specified arsenic utilized motor lipid aliases non-sterile Vaseline.
   

2. Asked by a student of MMI successful 2024 what to do if remnants of a placenta remained wrong a woman’s assemblage days aft she had fixed birth, and she had a fever, Saldaya suggested a hubby aliases friend would beryllium amended suited to removing them than “some random ass pervert astatine a hospital”. “I’d beryllium like: ‘Johnny, my husband, you’re going diving.’”
   Mary Littlefield, a location commencement nurse from Texas pinch 25 years’ experience, said this was dangerous. Manual removal was not a “casual skill” that anyone could perform, she said; it carried a scope of risks, including infection, perforation and haemorrhage. Such a process should beryllium carried retired by a qualified professional, she said, adding: The thought that a postpartum fever tin beryllium ignored is “ignorant and life-threatening”.
   

3. Saldaya told listeners of nan FBS podcast past twelvemonth that immoderate babies came retired “screaming and pink” but others took 5 minutes aliases much to modulation to breathing. She said she has heard of babies taking arsenic agelong arsenic 10 aliases 15 minutes to breathe.
   Downe said it was vulnerable to propose it was OK to time off a babe for 15 minutes without intervening. If a babe was not breathing wrong 1 minute, it was clip to undertake resuscitation, she said. If a babe was still not breathing aft 5 minutes, location was a precocious chance of semipermanent neurological damage.
   

4. During a 2024 module of MMI (which has successful caller months been renamed nan MatriBirth Mentor Institute), Norris-Clark said her boy was calved “completely white, limp and lifeless”, but it did not transverse her mind to resuscitate him. In her 2023 book, Portal, she described aesculapian resuscitation arsenic a “form of sabotage”. In an quality connected nan Alec Zeck podcast successful 2024, Saldaya said she would ne'er resuscitate a babe erstwhile attending a commencement and to do truthful would beryllium “cuckoo bananas”.
   Dr Michelle Telfer, an subordinate professor of nursing astatine Yale who specialises successful midwifery, said little than 1% of babies needed extended resuscitation, specified arsenic thorax compressions, to respire astatine birth. However, arsenic galore arsenic 15% needed immoderate benignant of assistance to respire connected their own, specified arsenic bag-and-mask ventilation aliases oral suction. These interventions, she said, were life-saving and “brain sparing”.
   

5. Saldaya said successful a module of The Complete Guide to Freebirth, which FBS has sold since 2018, that she couldn’t ideate a script successful which she would activity aesculapian attraction for a urinary tract aliases kidney infection “because I’m conscionable not ever going to return antibiotics while pregnant”. She said she felt nan consequence of utilizing antibiotics outweighed immoderate benefit.
   If near untreated, urinary tract aliases kidney infections could earnestly harm nan mother and baby, starring to, for example, premature birth, debased birth-weight, aliases moreover sepsis. Downe said it was vulnerable to propose women should ne'er return antibiotics and while she believed they had been overused successful maternity care, they could beryllium life-saving erstwhile location was a existent need.
   

6. Saldaya told FBS podcast listeners successful 2024 that it was safe to present babies astatine location extracurricular the clip play aesculapian guidance usually recommended (between 38 and 42 weeks). She said she knew of “plenty” of babies who were calved astatine location arsenic early arsenic 33 weeks and “survive and thrive” without immoderate aesculapian intervention.
   A babe calved astatine 33 weeks whitethorn not past without urgent and intensive aesculapian support. Littlefield said a non-hospital commencement earlier 36 weeks could consequence successful neurological harm aliases neonatal decease owed to a deficiency of lung maturity.
   

7. In nan Complete Guide to Freebirth, Saldaya told students not to interest astir babies “born blue” because while “this tin look scary … really a bluish babe is an oxygenated baby!”
   Kenga Sivarajah, a lead obstetrician astatine King’s College hospital, successful London, said this was false; a bluish babe could person oxygen deprivation. Telfer agreed, informing that if a babe was calved bluish and nary involution was made, location was a precocious consequence of asphyxiation and organ damage, including to nan brain. (Blue hands and feet, however, were usually thing to interest about, but babies pinch those symptoms should beryllium observed closely.)
   

8. In a module of The Complete Guide to Freebirth, Saldaya said mothers who were bleeding a batch and emotion light-headed aft giving commencement should clamp their umbilical cords, trim a mini portion disconnected nan extremity and put it successful their rima to sorb nan hormones. “This sounds disgusting,” she said, but could activity to “staunch nan bleeding”.
   Experts said location was nary grounds to support this. Telfer said it was vulnerable proposal that was “just wholly retired there”. There were nary bio-available hormones successful a cord and this would do thing to thief pinch bleeding, she said.