Freebirth Folke

In this season finale, I want to share with you the story of my most recent birth. The stillbirth of my boy, Elis. In November 2024, 8 months ago, after a difficult pregnancy filled with doubt and hope and dread, I freebirthed my baby who had died sometime before birth. I went on to have the most profound experience of love and grief and beauty and sorrow and one that remained, throughout, just about within the limits of bearable. It's a story that isn't often heard, and yet one so important to tell.

Milly shares the story of her pregnancy and first birth, in which she realises at 16 weeks that medical midwifery isn’t the support she wants, and that she’d rather continue with a wild pregnancy, freebirth, and finding knowledge and support elsewhere. She speaks about the deep learning and questioning she did around all her fears and unknowns in order to lean whole heartedly and confidently into a home birth without midwives. This pays off when she is later presented with the challenge of a 6 day labour, with waters open, and the long and exhausting pushing phase needed to birth her brow presentation baby.If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Elisabeth, a self professed people pleaser, figures out what she feels comfortable saying no to and what she finds herself agreeing to without question. She has the clarity from the offset to refuse to be weighed and have her BMI calculated, which serves her well throughout pregnancy, and goes on to lean ever further into her trust worthy gut feeling, confidently and unwaveringly walking towards the unassisted home birth of her 11lb 4 baby.She then talks us through her significant blood loss after birth, including episodes of losing consciousness, and how that was managed peacefully, lovingly and without medical intervention. As well as the challenge of advocating for her newborn to remain home without monitoring for hypoglycaemia against recommendations and threats of safeguarding triggers.

Abigail takes us briefly through her initial birth in which she experienced a postpartum hospital transfer after what she describes as midwifery sabotage, and how doing her research and absorbing from her community led her to hope for a freebirth (albeit secretly) for the birth of her 11lb second born. She also speaks about her experienced with hyperemesis with both pregnancies, her three weeks of prodromal labour, and shares her wisdom around being rhesus negative and anti D.  f you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Laurie shares the story of her second pregnancy, in which she comes to realise that the hospital hadn’t saved her and her baby in her first birth, as she had always believed, and describes the anger she then felt at having experienced such an unnecessary cascade of intervention. She then talks about the life changing inspiration gathered from her community of powerful women, which fuelled her journey to making the decision to freebirth, despite insistence from doctors that her group b strep status was risking her babies life. She describes her beautiful, blissful home birth, and the subsequent challenge of not birthing the placenta until 17 hours later.  If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Georgie speaks with pure delight about making plans for the birth of her first baby. As a single woman preparing to parent alone she shares the ways in which this added challenge, and the ways it added clarity, and how ultimately it left space for her to find support and guidance from her community and peers instead. Leading her to a simple and blissful Freebirth surrounded by her sisters, mother and doula. She then goes on to share the impact this birth had on her postpartum and parenting which she has found to be filled with ease and joy.If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Roz explains how uterus didelphys and polycystic ovaries contributed to a long and difficult journey to finally becoming pregnant, and then came a constant stream of discouragement and doubt in her ability to birth from outside voices. And yet how a deep self trust carried her through to birth her baby on the MLU with no medical intervention or midwifery presence, despite additional hurdles of iron level and glucose levels thrown in her path. She then talks us through her symptomatic post-partum haemorrhage that she managed calmly, slowly, and in full control.  If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

In today’s episode Kate shares her first birth story. She speaks of the simplicity of making her home birth choice after hearing other’s experiences, the challenge she was faced with when her pregnancy lasted 44 weeks and how she managed her relationship with the NHS throughout.As well of details of her 3 day labour and the triumphs and challenges it brought. It’s an excellent demonstration of what a woman chooses and how she behaves when the people around her are supportive but aren’t at all influencing or steering.If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Anuschka speaks with beautiful wisdom about the intricacies of information gathering and decision making, the effort and research required to challenge medical midwifery guidance, and the importance of finding the path that feels fully right to you. She also reflects on the life long impact she has experienced since learning to confidently trust herself since the unintentional, but entirely welcome freebirth of her son.  If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Rhiannon briefly runs through her first birth experience, a post dates induction turned caesarean, and explains how she came to realise freebirth was the clear choice for her second pregnancy after all other options just didn’t feel right. She grapples with personally leaning ever further away from the NHS whilst still working as a midwife, being labelled low PAPP-A, and the ongoing difficulty of turning down recommendations from medical staff who are also colleagues. After her 6 hour pushing stage we also touch on the crucial ability for any support people to be able to allow the birthing woman to express frustration, concern, distress, pain, exasperation without jumping to take action, and instead being able to wait and determine whether or not they actually  want anything to be different.If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Claudia shares the story of deciding to freebirth her second son, after midwives and paramedics had interrupted her 3rd stage with her first baby and caused her to transfer to hospital. This time she knew exactly what she wanted to avoid, and how she wanted the birth to go. However, she also learns the risk of not entirely communicating the plan to her partner, when unwanted midwives and paramedics are called in. She also navigates having to make decisions around her persistent high blood pressure and possible signs of pre eclampsia.Join us for the Mother Blessing, 25th Maywww.folkeybirthclub.co.uk/mother-blessingIf you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Agnieszka shares the story of getting total clarity on her freebirth plans for her fourth baby, and then digging deep for patience and trust during her 4 hour wait to birth her placenta naturally for the first time, We talk about the need to build your own supportive community when you don’t have family and friends on side, the wisdom to know your don’t want to birth with your partner or older children present, and she describes her beautifully simple birth while busy family life went on uninterrupted downstairs. She also tells of preparing her lotus birth and the difference her strictly restful postpartum period made to healing.Join us for the Mother Blessing, 25th Maywww.folkeybirthclub.co.uk/mother-blessingIf you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Laura tells us of her third birth, after a traumatic induction, and an eye opening birth centre experience, she finally realises that free birth is the way for her. We talk about the impact of a trusting partner, and how it feels when your community have faith in you. She also passionately describes the urge to protect herself from any further contact from maternity services, and avoid what she saw as any potential sabotage of her vision and how this, rather than the birth, was the hardest part. Join us for the Mother Blessing, 25th Maywww.folkeybirthclub.co.uk/mother-blessingIf you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

Today Magda takes us on her journey from fear of birth, after having been raised with the narrative that childbirth almost killed her and her mother, through discovering doulas and the birth circle, to planning for a home birth that ultimately she chose not to call midwives to. If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠⁠any donations.

Chloe talks about the journey her second pregnancy took her on that ultimately resulted in her choosing a freebirth for her breech baby following a previous caesarean. She also generously shares her experience following a call to paramedics during her baby’s slow transition to life outside, of suffering at the hands of the local hospital, the harm caused by paramedics, the involvement of police and the punitive treatment of staff on the NICU.If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠@birthkeepingwithbetty⁠or join the ⁠⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook Group⁠If you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.

In this episode we hear part two of Lara’s birth stories, when she freebirths her son. With plenty of chat about what we expect from partners, the difference it makes to be supported by people who trust you, responding to a newborn that doesn’t immediately breathe or cry, and making medical decisions about your newborn. @LaraDiprose.DoulaIf you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ @birthkeepingwithbettyor join the ⁠⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook GroupIf you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for any donations.

Lara, a pillar of the community and the initial trailblazer in town, generously shares her two birth stories with us, which have been split into two parts. In this episode she describes how she feels she “got away with” having her first baby vaginally in hospital with minimal intervention, and yet still how unnatural it felt, leading her to make dramatically different plans for her second.  @LaraDiprose.DoulaIf you would like to take the conversation further,find me on⁠ Instagram⁠ @birthkeepingwithbettyor join the ⁠Freebirth Folke Facebook GroupIf you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.⁠

Welcome to Freebirth Folke.In this episode I introduce myself, and the inspiration behind telling these stories. I hope you enjoy!If you would like to take the conversation further,find me on Instagram @birthkeepingwithbettyor join the Freebirth Folke Facebook GroupIf you would like to say thank you for the podcast and help to keep our work going we'd be so grateful for ⁠any donations.⁠