The Free Birth Society (FBS) operates as a multimillion-dollar enterprise advocating for childbirth without any medical aid.
It is run by two former doulas who have transitioned into social media influencers: Emilee Saldaya and Yolande Norris-Clark. Both lack midwifery or medical qualifications but assert they possess considerable knowledge gained from witnessing the births of other women.
FBS has attracted a worldwide audience through its popular podcast, Instagram profile, private online group, and e-learning platforms. A report by the Guardian has connected FBS material to infant fatalities and significant maternal harm globally.
FBS did not reply to requests for remarks. Following the release of the Guardian’s report, Saldaya shared a message on Instagram denouncing “propaganda from mainstream media.” “This is the essence of being a disruptor,” she stated. “They will make attempts to undermine you. They will fabricate stories about you. They will strive to mute what they cannot comprehend.”
A disclaimer from FBS published in May indicated that its content was intended for “educational and informational” purposes and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. “Consult your healthcare provider for medical advice,” it further indicated.
Below is a response from four medical professionals to specific claims made by FBS regarding pregnancy and childbirth.
Norris-Clark advised students of FBS’s MatriBirth Midwifery Institute (MMI) in 2025 that while she sterilised surgical scissors used for umbilical cord cutting out of respect for her clients, there was no risk of infection, even with an “old rusty fork.” “I don’t subscribe to germ theory,” she stated, “But even if contagion existed … there would be a virtually 0% probability of any issues arising.”
Soo Downe, a midwife and academic at the University of Lancashire, characterized this as highly dangerous advice. She noted that many infants in low-income nations die annually from sepsis after having their cords cut with unclean tools or sealed with materials like used engine oil or non-sterile Vaseline.
When a student at MMI in 2024 inquired about what to do if remnants of a placenta lingered inside a woman days following childbirth and she was experiencing a fever, Saldaya recommended that a husband or friend was more qualified to remove them than “some random ass pervert at a hospital.” “I’d be like: ‘Johnny, my husband, you’re going diving.’”
Mary Littlefield, a home birth midwife from Texas with 25 years of expertise, remarked that this was hazardous. Manual removal was not a “casual skill” that anyone could perform; it carried multiple risks, including infection, perforation, and hemorrhage. Such a procedure requires a qualified professional, she emphasized, stating that the notion that a postpartum fever could be disregarded is “ignorant and life-threatening.”
Saldaya informed FBS podcast listeners last year that while some babies emerge “screaming and pink,” others take five minutes or longer to begin breathing. She mentioned having heard of babies taking up to 10 or 15 minutes to breathe.
Downe warned that it was perilous to imply that it was acceptable to leave a baby without intervention for 15 minutes. She asserted that if a baby does not breathe within one minute, it is essential to initiate resuscitation. If breathing has not commenced after five minutes, the likelihood of long-term neurological damage is significantly high.
During a 2024 session of MMI (recently renamed the MatriBirth Mentor Institute), Norris-Clark recounted that her son was born “completely pale, limp, and lifeless,” but the thought of resuscitating him never entered her mind. In her 2023 publication, Portal, she characterized medical resuscitation as a “form of sabotage.” In a guest appearance on the Alec Zeck podcast in 2024, Saldaya said she would never perform resuscitation on a baby during a birth and to do so would be “cuckoo bananas.”
Dr. Michelle Telfer, an associate professor of nursing at Yale, specializing in midwifery, indicated that fewer than 1% of babies require significant resuscitation, such as chest compressions, to begin breathing at birth. However, as many as 15% require some form of assistance to start breathing independently, such as bag-and-mask ventilation or oral suction. These measures, she noted, are life-saving and “brain-sparing.”
In a session of The Complete Guide to Freebirth, which FBS has offered since 2018, Saldaya stated that she couldn’t envision a scenario where she would seek medical assistance for a urinary tract or kidney infection “since I’m simply never going to take antibiotics while pregnant.” She expressed that she believed the risks associated with antibiotics outweighed any potential advantages.
If left untreated, urinary tract or kidney infections could pose serious threats to both mother and baby, resulting in issues such as premature birth, low birth weight, or even sepsis. Downe stated that it was dangerous to suggest that women should never take antibiotics, and while she acknowledged their overuse in maternity care, they can be life-saving when genuinely needed.
Saldaya informed listeners of the FBS podcast in 2024 that it was safe to give birth at home outside the timeframe that medical recommendations typically advise (between 38 and 42 weeks). She asserted that she knew of “numerous” babies born at home as early as 33 weeks who “survive and thrive” without any medical intervention.
An infant born at 33 weeks may not survive without prompt and intensive medical care. Littlefield noted that a non-hospital birth before 36 weeks could lead to neurological damage or neonatal death due to inadequate lung maturity.
In The Complete Guide to Freebirth, Saldaya advised students not to be concerned about babies “born blue” because while “this can be alarming … truly, a blue baby is an oxygenated baby!”
Kenga Sivarajah, a lead obstetrician at King’s College Hospital in London, asserted that this was incorrect; a blue baby might be suffering from a lack of oxygen. Telfer concurred, cautioning that if a baby is born blue and no intervention takes place, the risk of asphyxiation and organ damage, including brain injury, is significantly heightened. (Blue hands and feet are usually not a cause for concern, but those babies should be monitored closely.)
In a segment of The Complete Guide to Freebirth, Saldaya mentioned that mothers feeling light-headed and bleeding excessively after childbirth should clamp their umbilical cords, cut a small piece off the end, and place it in their mouth to absorb hormones. “This sounds disgusting,” she acknowledged, but it could help to “staunch the bleeding.”
Experts refuted this, stating there is no evidence supporting such a claim. Telfer characterized the advice as dangerous and “utterly outlandish.” There are no bioavailable hormones in a cord, and this would not aid in controlling bleeding, she clarified.
