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The Free Birth Society, a multi-million dollar online movement that romanticizes childbirth without medical assistance, has been blamed for several deaths and injuries to newborns.
The Free Birth Society is accused of pushing a radical practice: unassisted childbirth, rejection of ultrasounds, prenatal scanning and medical procedures. (Generated by artificial intelligence)
It’s natural for expectant mothers to turn to the online community for support, advice, and sometimes reassurance. But what if the community they end up falling into is a cult that promotes an unscientific “wild pregnancy” doctrine that rejects prenatal check-ups, ultrasounds, professional interventions and instead advocates unassisted childbirth?
The results can be catastrophic, and have involved at least 48 women who have had stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or babies born with severe physical or developmental disabilities.
According to extensive research The GuardianIn all of these cases, the preventable harm is linked to the Free Birth Society, a multi-million dollar online movement that romanticizes birth without any medical professional and convinces expectant parents that relying on nature is safer than relying on medicine.
According to the report, the experience of at least 48 women was not the empowered, transcendent birth these families imagined, but grief, 911 calls made too late and lifelong injuries that experts believe were preventable. The research paints a picture of a cult-like community that lures vulnerable mothers with promises of liberation – only to leave some of them suffering unimaginable losses.
What is the Free Birth Society?
Free Birth Society is a North Carolina-based organization founded by former doulas Emilee Saldaya and Yolande Norris-Clark. According to the report, it promotes “free birth” – intentional childbirth without the presence of doctors or trained professionals – and advocates “wild pregnancy” without delivery.
Group teaching is not the same as home birth. Home births are traditionally attended by a midwife who detects and reacts to the mother’s or baby’s symptoms of anxiety or at least prepares for the need for medical help.
According to the report, the Free Birth Society instead pushes for a much more radical practice: unassisted childbirth, rejecting ultrasounds, prenatal scans and medical procedures.
Over time, the group achieved considerable success online as it grew across multiple platforms. Most of its followers, The Guardian says, were women who had seen or experienced negative treatment in the traditional health care setting, mainly doctors pushing for C-sections even when they weren’t needed.
Many of its subscribers are said to be women who have lost faith in professional maternity services and an increasingly medical approach to childbirth. Although the free birth trend is rare worldwide, it is particularly acute in the United States, where the maternal mortality rate is one of the highest in rich countries.
The Free Birth Society’s podcasts have reportedly been downloaded millions of times, while its YouTube videos have garnered around 25 million views. The organization also runs for-profit online courses that charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for programs that teach women how to give birth without professional help.
While American midwives spend years studying under experienced mentors and learning how to deal with life-threatening birth complications, Free Birth Society offers short online courses and Zoom sessions to prepare for unassisted birth.
The Tragedy of Esau Lopez
The Guardian focused on 18 cases, conducting interviews with mothers, corroborating their accounts with family members, partners, diary entries, medical records, video evidence and legal documents.
In all 18 cases, the study found, evidence suggested the Free Birth Society played a significant role in the mothers’ decision-making, leading to potentially avoidable tragedies.
One of the most heartbreaking stories is that of Esau Lopez, who was born in October 2022. According to the report, the atmosphere during the birth was peaceful — his mother’s friends there offered reassurances like “you’re a queen” while soft music played.
What no one in the room knew, since none of them were trained medical professionals, was that Esau’s umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and he was experiencing shoulder dystocia, a birth emergency in which the baby’s shoulder is stuck in the mother’s pubic bone after the head is born, delaying the birth of the rest of the body.
No one recognized the danger. There, people relied on the teachings of the Free Birth Society and delayed calling 911.
At the hospital, a delay of even a few minutes would have triggered emergency assistance. But among people who had no training in childbirth, 17 minutes passed between the appearance of the baby’s head and the birth of the body. When Esau was finally out, his body was limp and pale; her feet were purple, The Guardian reported.
Finally, her mother Gabrielle’s friends called 911. Paramedics revived him, but Esau suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen. Now three years old, he is severely disabled and relies on a feeding tube.
Reflecting on her experience with the Free Birth Society, Gabrielle said she believed she was part of a powerful, liberating movement: “You think you’re joining a great movement.”
The Billion Dollar Ideology
The Free Birth Society is reportedly not just a grassroots or fringe movement – it’s a multi-million dollar enterprise. By The Guardianthe group has earned over $13 million as of 2018.
In its imagery and language, the movement relies on mystical and spiritual symbolism. For example, one of the founders, Saldaya, once wore a golden crown in a gathering, presenting the birth as a kind of “liberation” or holy act.
The Doctrine of “Radical Responsibility”
At the heart of the Free Birth Society philosophy is the theory of “radical responsibility” – a belief system that places the onus of birth outcomes solely on mothers. The Guardian claims that the Free Birth Society curriculum normalizes serious complications such as haemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, placental retention as mere variants of ‘natural birth’. It is said to teach women to accept all consequences, even death, as part of their birth journey – and to resist calling for medical help.
Women who experience tragic consequences are allegedly taught to blame themselves instead of questioning the instructions they receive. Former members described how this isolated grieving mothers, leaving them to carry the guilt and shame of losses that medical intervention could have prevented, while shielding the organization’s founders and leaders from accountability.
Is it a cult?
Health professionals and critics see the Free Birth Society as a cult — accused of stifling dissent, tightly controlling the narrative and glorifying unassisted childbirth while discouraging scrutiny.
Medical professionals have called the philosophy of the Free Birth Society “ignorant and life-threatening”, especially since neither of its founders has formal medical training.
Although the group includes a disclaimer in its material – stating that its content is for “educational and informational purposes, not medical advice”, critics say it is not enough.
How the Free Birth Society responded
Reacting to the accusations, the group issued a statement accusing the media of spreading “propaganda”. Saldaya posted a statement on Instagram declaring that as “disruptors,” critics would try to discredit and silence what they don’t understand.
The group is said to have made cosmetic changes, changing parts of its teachings and updating legal disclaimers, but the core ideology remains the same.
Nitya Thirumalai, News Editor at News18.com, writes on Indian and global politics and Formula 1. He was a Google News Initiative -Columbia Journalism School Fellow in the Newsroom Leadership program…Read more
Nitya Thirumalai, News Editor at News18.com, writes on Indian and global politics and Formula 1. He was a Google News Initiative -Columbia Journalism School Fellow in the Newsroom Leadership program… Read more
United States of America (USA)
November 25, 2025, 11:13 AM IST
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