Free Birth Society & the Impact of Stillbirth

The news landed like a thunderclap, the leader of Free Birth Society has announced a stillbirth at 41 weeks. We want to say this first with our whole heart: we grieve. We grieve for the precious life lost, for the mother’s body and spirit, and for a community now trembling between belief and bewilderment. This is not an invitation to mock or to gloat. This is an invitation to weep, reflect, and return to wisdom.

When a movement’s figurehead experiences the very outcome critics warned about, the ground shifts. The public conversation doesn’t just get louder; it gets sharper. Headlines multiply. Opinion pieces and social threads go feral. Families call their pregnant daughters and say, “See? This is why you shouldn’t…” Some in the birth world feel vindicated; others feel personally attacked. And many mothers, especially those drawn to the promises of autonomy, feel disoriented and alone.

We are writing to the ones in that tension. To the woman who longs to steward her body with reverence and walk by faith. To the woman who refuses to be bullied by systems or seduced by ideologies that sell certainty where there is none. To the woman who wants a third way: Holy-Spirit-led, evidence-informed, sovereignty-filled preparation in any birth setting.

This isn’t about tearing down a person. This is about building up mothers. It’s about the sacred difference between sovereignty and isolation, between faith and presumption, between physiology and idolatry of physiology. Because here is the truth: Physiology is beautiful, but it is not infallible. God designed an exquisite system, and we honor it best by pairing trust with preparation, humility, and wise counsel.

Across forums and media, the narrative is loud and messy:

• Some allege the movement is insatiably greedy, packaging confidence while under-preparing women for catastrophic outcomes.

• Others describe culty dynamics that shut down dissent and block honest questions.

• Major outlets warn that free-birth stories on social platforms glamorize risk while underreporting maternal and infant harm.

• Earlier tragedies within the community (including a coroner’s report labeling one case preventable) are resurfacing as cautionary tales.

Whether you agree with those takes or not, here’s the effect: public perception is hardening. Families, clinicians, and whole communities are now pointing to this 41-week stillbirth as Exhibit A. Mothers inside these circles are left to reconcile love for bodily autonomy with a bracing reminder: outcomes are not guaranteed.

We do not weaponize this grief. We also do not ignore it. Wisdom requires we hold compassion and clarity at the same time.

• Betrayal & Disempowerment: Some women feel misled, as if they were promised that trust in physiology alone was enough.

• Cognitive Dissonance: “If it happened to her, could it happen to me?” That question is echoing in bathrooms and bedrooms and prayer closets tonight.

• Public Scrutiny: Friends, parents, pastors, partners—many emboldened to say “I told you so,” stirring shame and silence.

We won’t speculate about what happened in this particular case. We refuse to speculate. We will say what we all know made public: no ultrasound, no labs, no GBS test, no genetic screening, no glucose or protein checks, unknown status of fetal heart tones leave gaps in the map. That’s not judgment; that’s geography. If you refuse a compass, you must become one. And many women were never taught how.

So we breathe. We grieve. And then we rebuild—on rock, not sand.

Sovereignty vs. Isolation: What Faithful Agency Really Means

Sovereignty is not “I don’t need anyone.” Sovereignty is “I am responsible for gathering what I need—wisdom, resources, counsel, and a plan—so that my decisions are truly mine.” Faith is not the refusal of tools; faith is rightly wielding them.

Faithful agency looks like:

• Letting the Holy Spirit guide your yes and your no—and writing those decisions down in a plan so your team can support them.

• Choosing wise monitoring (whether at home or in a clinic) because insight is not fear; insight is stewardship.

• Refusing shame about backup plans. Transfer is not failure. Transfer is a tool in the sovereignty toolbox.

• Telling the truth about risk—all birth has it—and then being intentional about risk reduction.

📖 Proverbs 3:5–6 — “Trust in the LORD with all your heart… and He will make straight your paths.”

The Prevention Playbook: Holy Work, Practical Steps

⚠️ Gentle Note: The following is educational and empowerment-focused. It’s not a diagnosis or individualized medical advice.

1) Know Your Baseline — The Map Matters

• Dating & Position: A private ultrasound to confirm dating/viability and later to verify baby’s position doesn’t negate faith. It’s a tool.

• Blood Panels: Consider CBC, ferritin/iron studies, hcg/progesterone, mineral analysis and other markers guided by your history.

• Vitals You Can Track at Home:

  • Blood pressure (learn your normal and what constitutes a red flag for you).

  • Urinalysis (protein, glucose, ketones) with simple dipsticks.

  • Blood glucose monitor

• Blood Type & Rh: Know your status. Understand implications of being Rh-negative and your options.

• GBS Status (if desired): Know your approach ahead of time.

Why? Because data points are not cages; they’re lanterns. They light your path without telling you where you must go.

2) Third-Trimester Vigilance — Listening with Your Whole Body

• Fetal Movement: Know your baby’s patterns. If movement decreases significantly, respond quickly—hydrate, eat, lie on your side, and seek assessment.

• Preeclampsia Watch: Sudden swelling, persistent headaches, visual disturbances, right upper quadrant pain, or rising blood pressure, urine dip inconsistencies—do not minimize.

• Cholestasis Clues: Itching of palms/soles, especially at night—call for testing (bile acids).

• Signs of Infection: Fever, chills, burning with urination, foul-smelling discharge—get checked.

• Amniotic Fluid Concerns: Confirm suspected fluid leaks with ph test.

You are not “overreacting.” You are mothering.

3) Daily Rhythms that Support Physiology

• Nourish Generously: Aim for adequate protein, complex carbohydrates, mineral-rich foods; consider choline and DHA sources; hydrate with electrolytes.

• Mineral Support: Many find magnesium supportive; consider a hair mineral analysis if your history suggests imbalances.

• Sunlight, Sleep, and Nervous System Care: Get morning light, prioritize rest, and practice breath-led regulation (long exhales, humming, prayer). Your hormones are listening.

• Movement for Pelvic Space: Walk, sway, gentle squats as appropriate, and commit to pelvic balancing.

4) Maternal Alignment: Make Space for Baby to Navigate

Birth isn’t just about dilation; it’s about fetal navigation through a dynamic pelvis. Structural balance can influence ease and progress.

Consider a Maternal Alignment Assessment that looks at:

• Breath Mechanics (diaphragm/pelvic floor coordination)

• Posture & Gait (how you stand and walk shapes the pelvic inlet/outlet)

• TMJ & Pelvic Floor Link (jaw tension mirrors pelvic tension—soften both)

• Psoas & Hip Rotators (lengthen and balance)

• Sacrum & SI Joint Mobility (create a responsive outlet)

• Round Ligament Comfort (melt bracing patterns)

Prepared is not paranoid. Prepared is peaceful.

5) Build a Safety Net — Because Sovereignty Loves Backup

• Circle of Care: Even if you plan an undisturbed home birth, identify a licensed midwife or physician who can be a consult/backup.

• Hospital Familiarity: Know the closest hospital, drive time, and which entrance you would use at night. Prepack a small transfer bag.

• Clear Transfer Criteria: Write your thresholds (e.g., sustained elevated BP, concerning fetal movement changes, prolonged rupture + fever, bleeding, meconium with decels if monitored).

• Communication Plan: Who drives? Who stays with older kids? Who calls ahead? Where are your records?

• Emergency Readiness: Keep your phone charged, address visible, and a way to call 911 if necessary. This is not inviting fear; this is honoring life.

6) Tools You May Choose to Use (Wisely)

• Blood Pressure Cuff 

• Urine Dipsticks

• Thermometer

• Glucose Monitoring

• Fetal Doppler/Fetoscope

7) Documentation: Make Your Wisdom Visible

• Keep a simple prenatal journal: vitals, movement notes, questions, prayers.

• Create a birth plan that names your values and practical preferences for home and hospital.

The news from the Free Birth Society is a sobering reminder: even the most confident philosophies and the strongest convictions cannot guarantee outcomes. This stillbirth at 41 weeks shakes a community, stirs grief, and challenges assumptions—but it also calls mothers to return to wisdom, preparation, and God-centered sovereignty.

Let’s be clear, this could happen anywhere, in a home birth, a birthing center, or a hospital. No setting eliminates risk completely. Faithful agency is the balance between trust in God and responsible stewardship of the body He gave you. It is not rebellion against science, caution, or support—it is intentional preparation, knowing your own baseline, listening deeply to your body, and creating a safety net for every possibility. It is holding the tension between surrender and action, between autonomy and wise counsel.

As we reflect on this loss, we grieve with compassion, but we also recommit to educating, equipping, and empowering mothers.

Let this be a call to every mother: walk boldly in your faith, steward your body with care, gather your wisdom and your support team, and move through pregnancy and birth with eyes wide open—trusting God, honoring His design, and embracing your God-given agency, regardless of where you give birth.