Free Birth Society (FBS) is a North Carolina-based company that promotes the idea of women giving birth without the presence of midwives or doctors.
It is led by Emily Saldaya and Yolanda Norris-Clark, former doulas turned social media influencers who have gained a global audience with the FBS Podcast, which has been downloaded millions of times.
FBS generates revenue from the sale of its free childbirth educational video guide and access to a paid membership group for pregnant women. He runs two online schools that train “radical midwives” and “real midwives” to support women during childbirth.
IN year-long investigationWe reviewed hundreds of hours of FBS podcasts, videos, documents, and training materials, interviewed 10 former insiders, and analyzed thousands of pages of diary entries, medical records, message threads, and legal documents related to the births of his followers.
We also interviewed more than 60 mothers affected by FBS, reviewed videos of unassisted births, and consulted with some of the world's leading obstetricians and obstetrics experts. Here are five things we learned.
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1. Many of FBS's claims are contrary to evidence-based medical advice.
For a healthy mother with a low-risk pregnancy, experts say the risk of free labor is generally low, although most do not recommend it. “Across all populations, unsupported birth is associated with higher levels of risk to mother and baby,” said Professor Su Down, senior UK midwife at the University of Lancashire.
Down was one of four medical experts who reviewed FBS material for the Guardian. Everyone agreed that the information provided by FBS to pregnant women included content that was medically illiterate, misleading or dangerous. Examples include the false claim that there is “zero” risk of infection when the umbilical cord is cut, incorrect recommendations about how to treat a rare but potentially fatal condition called shoulder dystocia, and promotion of a passive approach to neonatal resuscitation that places infants at high risk of long-term neurological damage or death.
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2. FBS is linked to real harm around the world
We identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths or neonatal deaths or other forms of serious harm involving mothers or midwives who appeared to be associated with FBS, for example by enrolling in its courses or appearing on its podcasts. Most of the harm cases involve mothers in the US and Canada, but they include births in Switzerland, France, South Africa, Thailand, India, Australia, the UK and Israel.
When a free birth goes wrong, it is impossible to say whether the outcome would have been different with medical support. But in 18 cases, all of which included in-depth interviews with mothers, we found evidence that FBS played a significant role in maternal or midwife decision-making, leading to avoidable tragedies. These include the case of Gabrielle Lopez, a first-time mother from Pennsylvania. Her son Esau was stuck during his birth in 2022 and suffered a traumatic brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation. He I am now seriously disabled.
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3. Saldaya, CEO of FBS, directly counsels women during childbirth.
Saldaya sometimes gave direct advice to women during labor through phone calls or messages. This happened in the case of Lorren Holliday, who became the first known FBS-affiliated mother to lose a child in 2018. Saldaya denies giving advice to Holliday, telling students: “I didn’t know this woman at all.” However, The Guardian reviewed more than 100 messages between Saldaya and Holliday during her five days of active work at her home in the Californian desert.
Despite numerous signs that Holliday was experiencing a medical emergency, Saldaya urged forcing her to continue, before ultimately providing her with a script to deceive the hospital staff regarding the details of her birth. Her daughter Journey Moon was stillborn. In 2024, Saldaya also counseled Haley Bordeaux, a Virginia mother, through phone calls and text messages to a friend; she had a healthy baby, but suffered several strokes caused by severe preeclampsia, which left her temporarily blind.
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4. FBS profits from growing mistrust of maternity services
Women are attracted to FBS for obvious reasons. Maternity care scandals, as well as concerns among some about an overly medical approach to childbirth and, in some cases, obstetric neglect and abuse, have created a ready market for FBS. Saldaya and Norris-Clark exploit these concerns by accusing doctors and “medical workers” of “sabotaging” women’s births, sexually assaulting and “fingering” mothers, and even committing “murder.” Even some free-birthers argue that the couple are promoting an unusually dogmatic narrative.
But they are also savvy businesswomen who know how to monetize their ideology. FBS is estimated to have generated more than $13 million (£9.9 million) in revenue since 2018. About 1,000 students graduated from Radical Birth Keeper, which charged $6,000 for a three-month Zoom course for “real midwives,” and MatriBirth Midwifery Institute (MMI), “the gold standard in intensive online midwifery” costing $12,000 a year. school”.
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5. FBS executives appear unfazed by growing criticism
Saldaya and Norris-Clark did not respond to requests for comment. There are some signs that they may be adapting their approach. In a conversation with students this year, Saldaya suggested that FBS may have gone too far by calling its MMI a “midwifery” school (it has since been renamed MatriBirth Mentor Institute). In May 2025, FBS posted a disclaimer on Instagram, stating that its content is for “educational and informational” purposes and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease related to pregnancy or childbirth.
However, Saldaya and Norris-Clark also reject criticism of their business and the risk it poses to mothers and babies. Norris-Clark recently called critics “pathetic losers” while defending FBS as “the most ethical business you can run.” Following the publication of the Guardian investigation, Saldaya posted a statement on Instagram criticizing “mainstream news propaganda.” “This is what it means to be a disruptor,” she said. “They will try to discredit you. They will lie about you. They will try to suppress things they don't understand.”
The Guardian's multi-part podcast, Birth Guardians, will be released in December, exploring the Free Birth Society. (Subscribe now to The Guardian investigates feed.)
