The death of Stacey Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist and first-time mother, has brought to light the dangers of 'freebirthing' and the role of unlicensed birth attendants. Warnecke's death from complications of a massive postpartum hemorrhage after a freebirth attended by Emily Lal, an unlicensed birth attendant, has raised questions about the safety of this practice. The Free Birth Society (FBS), which promotes the idea of freebirthing, has been linked to multiple maternal deaths, including Warnecke's. The society's founder, Emilee Saldaya, has always claimed there had been no maternal deaths linked to the movement, but this appears to be false. The Guardian's investigation identified 48 cases of late-term stillbirths or neonatal deaths or other forms of serious harm involving mothers or birth attendants who appeared to be linked to FBS. Lal, a former insurance industry worker with no medical qualifications, was personally trained by Saldaya and her business partner, Yolande Norris-Clark, through their Radical Birth Keeper School. In her five years as a birth keeper, Lal would be named in inquests into two deaths, that of Warnecke and of a newborn baby in 2022. The inquest into Warnecke's death remains open pending forensic analysis of her phone. It is expected to determine why she chose to reject medical care. After the death, the Victorian health complaints commissioner suspended Lal from providing or advertising health services while it investigated concerns about her services. Lal, Saldaya and Norris-Clark did not respond to requests for comment. In response to previous Guardian reporting, Saldaya said in one email that "some of these allegations are false or defamatory". She has previously responded to criticism by saying she does not care if women freebirth but wants them to have the choice. She has also described past Guardian reporting on the Free Birth Society as "propaganda" based on "lies".
