Ernesta Chirwa and Chifundo Bingala, a couple from Malawi living in Cape Town, South Africa, hired a woman they believed to be a licensed midwife for the birth of their first child. Instead, they encountered a 'birth keeper' linked to the Free Birth Society (FBS), a radical online group that promotes unassisted home births and has been connected to baby deaths worldwide.
On 15 February 2022, after Chirwa went into labour at 43 weeks, the woman, Caitlyn Collins, arrived at their home, turned off the lights, and fell asleep. When Chirwa's condition worsened, Collins drove her to Retreat Day hospital, a facility ill-equipped for emergencies, and then left. At the hospital, midwives discovered Chirwa was carrying twins in a dangerous footling breech position. She was transferred to Mowbray Maternity Hospital, but both babies were stillborn.
Collins had been recommended by a friend and agreed to accept clothing as payment for her services. She had trained with FBS, a North Carolina-based business founded by Emilee Saldaya that promotes 'wild' pregnancies without medical oversight. A Guardian investigation identified 48 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, or serious harm linked to FBS followers.
Chirwa, who is Black, said she was reassured by the sight of wealthy white couples at Collins's home, believing it indicated competence. She did not realise that Collins's prenatal care, which included massages and listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope, fell short of standard midwifery practice.
