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

The Guardian Health Tuesday 30 June 2026, 01:00 UTC By Sirin Kale and Melissa Davey 1 min read
Key Points

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 influencerHow a Melbourne woman’s death is shining light on the dangers of non-medical births – Full Story podcastFind more from The birth keepers series hereDuring her time at the helm of a multimillion-dollar organisation linked to baby deaths around the world, Emilee Saldaya...

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

During her time at the helm of a 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.”

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US (LOCATION) Stacey Warnecke (PERSON) Guardian (ORG) Australian (ORG) Emily Lal (PERSON) Melbourne (LOCATION) Emilee Saldaya (PERSON) the Free Birth Society (ORG) Way Forward (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian Health Read original →

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