A Vaccine Injured First Time Mom’s Breech Freebirth

November 8, 2024·1 hr 24 min·5 clips

A vaccine injury at age four led to seizures that shaped her fear of medical interventions during birth.

This episode features host Emily Saldea and a guest who shares her journey from a medically managed pregnancy to an unassisted breech birth at home. The guest is a Canadian mother who identifies as vaccine-injured and describes a history of seizures triggered by medical interventions. She initially sought care from an OBGYN for hyperemesis and took the anti-nausea drug Ondansetron throughout her pregnancy. Her original hospital birth plan, designed to avoid seizures, involved immediate admission and full medical monitoring. After discovering hypnobirthing and home birth videos, she radically changed her plan to pursue an unassisted birth. Her OBGYN crossed out items on her new birth plan, specifically rejecting her request to avoid Pitocin for placental delivery. Unable to find a registered midwife in her area, she turned to her doula, who stated she could not attend an unassisted birth without risking her certification. The guest then found the Free Birth Society and decided to birth alone. A friend who was a firefighter falsely claimed midwifery training and insisted she would need to perform a painful fundal massage after the birth, which the guest saw as a potential sabotage. Her baby remained in a breech position past 42 weeks gestation according to her own tracking. During labor, she pushed for approximately four hours in a birth pool, following her body's urges. The baby's body emerged, but his head remained inside for four more minutes until the next strong contraction. Her husband caught the baby, who was born quietly and was described as perfect. The guest mentions taking an online course from Dr. Stu Fishbein on vaginal breech delivery but says she used none of the hands-on techniques taught. She now attends births as a "birth witness," offering non-interventive support. The conversation explores the idea that free birth is fundamentally about "allowing life" and not intervening in a physiological process. The guest reflects on the radical personal responsibility required, acknowledging that outcomes cannot be guaranteed in any setting. The tone is personal, conversational, and advocacy-oriented, centered on sharing a transformative narrative. Listeners interested in unmedicated birth, challenging medical authority, and personal sovereignty in childbirth would find this compelling. Those who are uncomfortable with critiques of standard maternity care or discussions of vaccine injury may choose to skip it.

As heard by us

A forceful free birth story about trust, pressure, and the practical choices around it.

This episode follows a free birth story shaped by a breech concern, and it treats the birth as a test of bodily trust, family pressure, and plain logistics.

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Why you'd press play

For a breech freebirth story that pairs labor-room detail with autonomy politics and family stakes.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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