10/28/2026
This is long but a very good read. Please don’t skip over it because you see a picture that says “free birth”. READ this. Understand where families are coming from. Help educate and answer their questions if you are a birth worker - WITHOUT JUDGEMENT.
Freebirth is a hot topic.
In my opinion, freebirth is the intersection of family autonomy, medical trauma, maternal empowerment, and trust in physiological birth.
But what does that even mean?
Many families are led to alternative birthing options outside of the medical model because they want autonomy to make their own decisions regarding their labor, birth, postpartum, and newborn experience. They don't necessarily want to reject everything, but they want to have control over it, and have a say. And many families feel the best way to guarantee this is to give birth outside of the system entirely via freebirth.
This is where medical trauma comes in. Some families have experienced or heard about traumatic medical experiences where a patient or family's autonomy was disrespected or ignored, and this furthers their decision to give birth outside of the system - because it may feel like the only option in order to avoid further trauma and loss of autonomy. It's important to note that some people are so averse to feeling like their autonomy is being taken away from them, that even a homebirth midwife can feel like an intrusive intervention - because even a home birth midwife can ignore and disrespect a family's desires for birth. We have to remember that birth is incredibly vulnerable and a woman and her family may not be capable of advocating for themselves thoroughly during that process, and quite frankly, they should have to fight super hard to do so in the first place.
But people don't choose freebirth solely out of fear or a negative association with the medical system. Many women have a deep trust in physiological birth and also in their own intuition as women and as mothers, and believe that they can rely upon the physiological process of birth and their own intuition to guide them through labor and birth safely and effectively without medical support. Please know that many people that choose freebirth are NOT anti-medical intervention when they feel it is indicated. They simply want the chance to trust in the process and to listen to their body and to seek that medical intervention only when they feel it is truly necessary.
I think all birth workers need to hold space for the things that lead a woman and her family to seek out freebirth - not necessarily because it is a good idea, but because there is certainly some logic behind that decision when you consider these factors.
Midwives and delivering physicians need to actively work to welcome these women and families into their practice. Without judgement. Without fear mongering. Without critical commentary. Providers need to lead with curiosity and with meeting them where they are at. Especially if you truly believe that freebirth is not the safest or best option, you need to act in a way that makes other options feel like legitimate choices for the family, not alienate them further.
Providers need to recognize and accept that these families' desires and concerns are not stupid. There is nothing wrong with a family wanting and expecting autonomy. Providers need to acknowledge that medical and birth trauma are real, and that birth is a vulnerable time, and that it is an HONOR to be invited into that time in someone's life. Not a right. And if a family invites you into that, you need to handle that responsible while maintaining trust.
Providers need to be willing to have non-judgemental, evidence-based conversations about the risks associated with birth, and openly discuss how a family may handle that in a freebirth setting. Do thry know about the most common complications? Breech, shoulder dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage? Do they know about less common complications? What is their plan if those emergencies occur? Do they have a plan? What if baby needs help transitioning to life outside of the womb? Does the family know how to resuscitate baby? How far are they from the hospital? How long would it take an ambulance to get to them? Does the EMS system in their area know how to and have the equipment needed to perform neonatal resuscitation? Do they know how to and have the medications needed to manage a postpartum hemorrhage? And the more calmly providers can have this discussion, without judgement and criticism, they more likely these families are to listen.
And lastly, poviders need to accept that some families may still choose freebirth, and that is their right. So the next question is, what can providers do to best support those families to have the safest freebirth and postpartum and newborn experience as possible?
What are your thoughts about freebirth? Have you had a freebirth before, or considered having one? Are you a maternal care provider?
