A US champion of ‘freebirthing’ always claimed there had been no maternal deaths linked to the movement. Is Stacey Warnecke the first?

Guardian investigation exposes full links between a US business linked to baby deaths around the world and Australian ‘birth keeper’ Emily Lal, the central witness at the inquest into the death of a Melbourne wellness influencer

• https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2026/jun/29/freebirth-inquest-melbourne-influencer-death-home-birth-full-story-podcast">How a Melbourne woman’s death is shining light on the dangers of non-medical births – Full Story podcast

• Find more from https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/the-birth-keepers">The birth keepers series here

During her time at the helm of a https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/nov/22/free-birth-society-linked-to-babies-deaths-investigation">multimillion-dollar organisation linked to baby deaths around the world, Emilee Saldaya has always avowed one thing: she’s never heard of a woman dying after a freebirth.

“I’ve never heard of a mother dying in childbirth in the sovereign birth world,” the Free Birth Society founder said in a December 2024 appearance on The Way Forward podcast, adding: “In the sovereign birth world we aren’t losing mothers.”