To think free birthing should be entirely banned

[StandFirm]

I have come across this article earlier which made me feel so very angry at the cynical extremists who brainwashed a mum into an entirely avoidable tragedy: https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/nov/22/free-birth-society-linked-to-babies-deaths-investigation
If I'd listened to similar cretins, I would have died in childbirth aged 19 and none of my three DCs would have been born alive or at the very least without severe disabilities. 'Pearls of wisdom' which gave me the rage include:
-ultrasounds are not safe
-women’s “bodies do not grow babies that we cannot birth”
Such ignorant perfidious lies. I hope the cult leader gets sent down for a very long time. That poor little child was robbed of a healthy body and many more actually died. I really hate the internet's ability to spawn dangerous cults entirely unchecked.

The reason I was advised to have DD2 was nothing to do with candles etc... it was due to the high risk of giving birth on the journey to the hospital due to the speed of DD1s birth. (The unassisted birth... ironically in hospital but they didn't think I was in active labour).

Well they are not that bloody competent are they if they made disasterous decisions are they

Yep, I agree with this. I think the focus should be on the people who are spreading misinformation, rather than the mums. I know a few people who had babies at home/in the car/in the hospital car park! It’s not that uncommon!

But why should they only be in hospitals? That's crazy

When I was pregnant with my 3rd the community midwife dropped off a home birth kit after 12 min labour with 2nd. Just in case. I'm the end I did go to the unit to use their birthing pool

Many birth problems are caused by over intervention anyway which is far more likely in a hospital

Ok, sure, but I do see that she was subjected to extensive brainwashing - it's the same issue with any victims of any cults, ie how can someone who is otherwise sane and smart fall for absurd bullshit.

This is really sad. Unfortunately it does happen though . A woman local to me opted for a home birth with no medical staff despite repeated warnings from midwifes and consultants that her baby was to big to deliver naturally and for her and the babies safety she should have a c section. She refused to listen, critisced the medical staff all over Facebook and when she went into labour her baby got stuck as predicted by the medical staff.

Sadly the baby suffered a life changing disability. The mum then proceeded to blame the same medical staff for her child's disability. She didn't have a leg to stand on legally as she had signed a medical disclaimer prior to the birth about how risky this was. She spent years criticising the poor medical staff online that had done everything they could to safeguard her child but ultimately couldn't stop her delivering the baby at home.

A midwife is still required, so the location (hospital or a home birth) is completely irrelevant.

But hospitals regularly send women home because they ignore the woman and tell her she’s not far advanced enough. Happened to me twice, the first time I nearly gave birth in the car footwell and the second time I ended up with an unplanned home birth delivered by paramedics. If I had had another child I would have gone for a planned home birth because it would be safer.

My grandmother died in labour at home, while giving birth to her 11th baby (Irish catholics, in the days before contraception). The baby also died, and my grandfather decided that he couldn’t work and raise 10 children, so he put them all in an orphanage.

It’s not.

it’s not one midwife to one woman on labour and delivery. It’s one to one in a home birth. You could increase the number of midwives on the wards by banning home births or making them so that they’re unsupported by the NHS.

That is so sad...

I had a friend who free-birthed. Didn't want to go to hospital or have medical intervention so delayed calling midwife until child was born. Cord round neck. Luckily her husband (a farmer) know what to do. Luckily.
Some of this 'birth is natural' (which it is) and safe (it's not) and it's better not to intervene has infected the NHS and coupled with targets of keeping down caesarians is part of the reason for so many maternity scandals lately. Birth is naturally dangerous and women can and do have babies too large to come out 'naturally'. In places without medical help mothers and babies die of this and of other complications. I hope whoever peddles this rubbish in the US goes to prison for a long time.

Oh I get it, happened to me with my first I was only 16 though and they thought I was a stupid little girl. Still IF something is going wrong at least your chance of being in the right place is higher especially if you live miles from the hospital

so you think women should be forced to undergo invasive medical procedures without their consent.
Excellent.

What in the Handmaids tale is this thread?!!

a lot more work needs to happen to make hospitals a safe places for women and babies. There are scandals all over the country and awful, dangerous ‘care’ in hospitals is absolutely standard. It is no surprise that traumatised and damaged women are choosing a non medical route. Really some in depth interview work is needed to look at route causes respectfully. This is not a “cult”, it’s families responding to the realities of the hospital system. You are the brainwashed one here.

multiple studies have shown Homebirth to be the safest option for low risk pregnancies. Access to great care at home births should be improved, prevent the trauma, the unnecessarily injured babies and maternity mortalities. It’s time to step out of derisive discourse like this and into a conversation about how all women can be offered safer choices where ever they choose that to be.

Having proper organized services in place for midwife attended homebirths is really helpful for women with a history of precipitous (super fast) labour! Usually if you’re someone who has super fast labours then they are fairly uncomplicated too. Even if the midwife doesn’t make it in time with a 12 minute labour, having the equipment already there is helpful, and hopefully the midwife or some paramedics arrive shortly after a birth like that to check everything is ok and do all the normal post birth checks and potentially send you in to hospital if needed.

Women also die giving birth in hospital.

Thousands of women and babies died for lack of medical attention in the past.

It’s not handmaids tale, it’s just the reality of the NHS.

I need a medical procedure that’s not necessarily offered on the NHS. I can either get over it and accept the care they are willing to provide, or go private.

Look at the death rates of women and babies before modern medical interventions. Absolutely ridiculous comment

And in years gone by there was limited contraception and marital rape wasn't illegal so women had baby after baby until they died. When my mother had my baby brother in Bangor N Wales in 1968 the woman in the bed next door had just had her 12th baby. They offered to sterilise her but her husband had to sign the papers and he refused. . Wonder how many she had in the end

The 'silly little girl' thing was alive and well with my first, even at 19. I was in labour for close to 24 hours and in the last 6 was begging for a midwife to do something. It turned out ok but DS and I had to both crash for them to get their arses into gear.

Exactly this, even the midwives in the hospital once I’d given birth and they were feeling bad they hadn’t taken me seriously on the phone/when I was waiting outside the birth centre in agony said I’d be a good candidate for a home birth. A lot of people who know nothing about home births seem to just think the medical profession is completely against them and that they don’t work well together.🙄 In reality a midwife will send you to hospital at the smallest sign that something isn’t right and get taken much more seriously than I clearly would!

Yes but if you’re at home miles away from a hospital something like an emergency c section cannot be done and you could end up dying of something entirely preventable if you’d been in a hospital

You can't have unsupported home births. And to home birth in the UK is legal and is an option. But it is severely restricted e.g. the obstetrician must be certain that there will be no complications that can be foreseen. And midwives trained in home births know when to call an ambulance and get to hospital. We cannot have women giving birth at home without supervision. We could train more midwives - this would be a better idea.