A growing movement promoting radical 'free birth', where women forgo all medical care during pregnancy and labour, is being linked to a series of tragic infant deaths and severe maternal injuries in Canada. At the centre of this trend is the influential Free Birth Society (FBS), a US-based company whose podcasts and courses have reached millions worldwide.
From Home Birth to Tragedy: Emma Cardinal's Story
Emma Cardinal, a 32-year-old holistic practitioner from British Columbia, initially planned a standard home birth with licensed midwives after becoming pregnant in May 2023. Her outlook changed dramatically after discovering the Free Birth Society podcast. A particular episode featuring ex-doula Yolande Norris-Clark, which falsely linked ultrasound scans to autism and claimed they "destroy cells", left Cardinal terrified.
When her local midwifery practice insisted on ultrasounds as a non-negotiable part of care, Cardinal, influenced by roughly 100 FBS podcast episodes, chose to freebirth instead. She purchased the FBS video course, "The Complete Guide to Freebirth", and wrote in her journal of feeling in her bones that it was her safest option.
Tragically, her son Floyd was stillborn in March 2024. During a prolonged labour at home, Cardinal noticed meconium in her waters, a potential sign of foetal distress, but dismissed it because FBS content had told her it was "totally normal". She stayed at home for three days, hearing the voice of FBS founder Emilee Saldaya in her head saying she "wouldn't be concerned for the first three days".
After Floyd's death, Cardinal was hospitalised with sepsis, placed in an induced coma, and required multiple surgeries. She reflects now that the information from FBS was "incomplete, biased, one-sided and kind of dogmatic".
The Global Influence and Local Impact of the Free Birth Society
The Free Birth Society, co-run by Yolande Norris-Clark and Emilee Saldaya, is estimated to have generated over $13 million in revenue since 2018. Its Instagram account has 132,000 followers, and its podcast has been downloaded 5 million times. A recent Guardian investigation identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants linked to FBS.
In Canada, a country with universal healthcare but vast "midwifery deserts" and sceptical alternative communities, FBS messaging has found a fertile audience. The organisation's "Radical Birthkeeper School" has trained 850 individuals globally, with at least 22 operating in Canada. This three-month Zoom course dedicates only half its content to birth; the rest focuses on self-development and business skills.
FBS advises its graduates, known as Radical Birth Keepers (RBKs), to begin attending births to gain experience. Alexandra Smith, 29, from Vancouver Island, hired an FBS-trained RBK for her birth in May 2023. Smith, a regular listener of the FBS podcast, believed RBKs were "trained, unregistered midwives".
She describes her RBK during the birth as "like a deer in headlights". The attendant missed signs of abnormal labour, and when Smith's son Aksel was born unresponsive with a white umbilical cord, she did not attempt resuscitation. Smith had to instruct her to call emergency services. Aksel was diagnosed with severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation and lived for only six and a half months.
Extreme Beliefs and a Regulatory Crackdown
Behind the slick marketing, FBS promotes extreme views not always visible to casual followers. In classes, Norris-Clark has told students she doesn't believe in gravity or germ theory, and suggested an umbilical cord could be cut with an "old rusty fork".
Canadian authorities are now moving to clamp down on unlicensed attendants. In British Columbia, the college for nurses and midwives issued a public warning about the RBK who attended Alexandra Smith. In Alberta, a different FBS-linked birth attendant was banned from all hospitals unless seeking personal care, following complaints linked to two stillbirths in 2021.
The most prominent case involves Gloria Lemay, 78, a famous unlicensed birth attendant on Vancouver Island who trained Yolande Norris-Clark as a doula. Lemay is currently awaiting trial for manslaughter related to the death of a baby girl in January 2024, marking the latest in a decades-long history of legal battles.
For mothers like Emma Cardinal and Alexandra Smith, the aftermath is a life-altering burden of grief and regret. Cardinal urges transparency, stating: "You can't just post about the good side of free birth. What happens when it goes very wrong?" Meanwhile, FBS founders have largely dismissed criticism, with Saldaya calling investigative reporting "propaganda" and Norris-Clark stating it is unfair to hold her responsible for the choices of mothers who consume her content.
