The NHS has been directing pregnant women to a website that connected them to the Free Birth Society (FBS), an organisation linked to baby deaths worldwide after promoting unassisted labour. Several NHS trusts referred women considering a 'free birth' to a charity website that, until Monday, featured FBS podcasts as sources of 'empowering stories' for those 'preparing for their own birth'. Medical experts warn that FBS radicalises women with misinformation.
FBS advocates an extreme version of free birth, advising against doctors, midwives, and pregnancy scans. Run by former doulas Emilee Saldaya and Yolande Norris Clark, it operates a podcast, Instagram following, festival, and online schools. While freebirthing remains rare in the UK, it is believed to be rising, fuelled by distrust of maternity services and fears of over-medicalisation.
Experts have criticised FBS claims as contrary to evidence-based medicine. Saldaya and Norris-Clark have described newborn resuscitation as 'sabotage' and alleged that doctors and midwives sexually assault women in hospitals. A Guardian investigation identified 48 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants linked to FBS, with 18 cases where FBS significantly influenced decision-making, leading to potentially avoidable tragedies.
The NHS web page 'Where to give birth: the options' directed women to a factsheet from the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (Aims), which recommended the FBS podcast. Although the link was removed in August, online leaflets from NHS trusts in Cambridge, Gloucestershire, and East and North Hertfordshire still directed women to the Aims factsheet. After the Guardian contacted Aims on Monday, it removed the FBS references, stating it was unaware of the concerns and had listed the podcast as an example, not an endorsement.
An NHS spokesperson said: 'The NHS does not endorse this society [FBS], or its ideology which could harm women.' Kenga Sivarajah, a lead obstetrician at King’s College Hospital, described FBS information as 'dangerous and harmful' and found it 'very shocking' that the NHS directed people towards it. A 2024 study by Robert Gordon University found that a 'quest for a safer birth' and 'mistrust of institutional midwifery' influenced women's decisions to freebirth. In September 2025, the Nursing and Midwifery Council is expected to address concerns.
