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 labour without medical support. Several NHS trusts referred women considering a 'free birth' to a charity website that, until Monday, featured FBS podcasts as sources of 'empowering stories'.
The charity, the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (Aims), provided a factsheet that recommended the FBS podcast. Until this summer, an NHS webpage entitled 'Where to give birth: the options' directed women to this factsheet. Although the link was removed in August, online patient information leaflets from trusts including Cambridge, Gloucestershire hospitals, and East and North Hertfordshire still directed women to the Aims factsheet.
FBS advocates an extreme version of free birth, advising against doctors, midwives, and pregnancy scans. Medical experts warn that FBS claims are at odds with evidence-based advice, with founders describing newborn resuscitation as 'sabotage' and alleging sexual assault by medical staff. An investigation by the Guardian identified 48 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or serious harm linked to FBS, with 18 cases where FBS significantly influenced decision-making.
After being contacted by the Guardian, Aims removed the FBS references from its factsheet, stating it 'never recommended or referred' women to FBS, but listed the podcast as an example of material some women used. An NHS spokesperson said the health service does not endorse FBS or its ideology. Kenga Sivarajah, a lead obstetrician at King's College Hospital, described the NHS's role in directing women to FBS as 'very shocking'.
The prevalence of freebirthing in the UK is low but believed to be rising, fuelled by distrust of maternity services. A 2024 study by Robert Gordon University found that a 'quest for a safer birth' and 'mistrust of institutional midwifery' influenced women's decisions. In September 2025, the Nursing and Midwifery Council is expected to address concerns.
