3: She Fired Her Obstetrician At 36 Weeks Pregnant And Freebirthed

3: She Fired Her Obstetrician At 36 Weeks Pregnant And Freebirthed

Author: Emilee Saldaya August 15, 2025 Duration: 1:12:07

In this episode, I’m joined by Ash Anderson, mother of three and recent graduate of The MatriBirth Mentor Institute. After a traumatic induction with her first baby, Ash was certain she was done having children. But what she came to realize was that it wasn’t birth she was finished with—it was the hospital.



We unpack what it took for Ash to walk away from the industrial model of care, how she and her husband navigated the residual fear from her first birth, and why healing her relationship with motherhood was a necessary precursor to welcoming another baby.


From being coerced into interventions to catching her third baby alone in a moment of pure presence, Ash offers a grounded and powerful testimony to the transformation that becomes possible when a woman chooses trust, sovereignty, and self-responsibility.


You’ll Learn:


  • Why “just in case” inductions increase trauma and strip women of autonomy
  • How hospital birth plans are powerless against coercive systems
  • What subtle manipulation in late pregnancy says about industrial birth priorities
  • Why even “holistic” midwives still operate within controlling paradigms
  • How freebirth dissolves fear and restores deep body-trust
  • Why preparing for postpartum is a radical act of self-respect
  • How birth witnessed by children shapes the future of womanhood
  • What it means to birth alone and discover your strength, resilience, and sovereignty


This episode is a reminder that birth doesn’t have to be micromanaged, feared, or medicalized. It can be simple. It can be sacred. It can be yours if you choose it.


Timestamps:


[00:00] Introduction

[02:11] Realizing the hospital birth system wasn't aligned with her values

[14:16] Traumatic induction and vow to never birth that way again

[19:39] Perspective shift on motherhood and discovering freebirth

[32:52] Her first transformative experiencing freebirthing at home

[50:04] Unexpected second freebirth completely alone

[58:10] Breaking birth narratives and giving her children a new story


If you want to connect more with Ash, follow her on Instagram and check out her website.

Find more from Emilee on Instagram, YouTube and the Free Birth Society website.


Disclaimer: Free Birth Society, LLC of North Carolina shares personal and educational stories and experiences related to freebirth and holistic care. This content is not medical advice, and we are not a licensed midwifery practice. Testimonials reflect individual experiences; results may vary. For services or scheduling, contact info@freebirthsociety.com. See full disclaimer at freebirthsociety.com/youtubeterms.


Emilee Saldaya hosts Free Birth Society, a podcast that delves into the profound and personal choice of freebirth. This is not a discussion about home birth with professional support, but an intimate exploration of childbirth that unfolds without midwives, doulas, or medical intervention, guided solely by the birthing person and their family. Through conversations with wild women from around the globe, each episode presents a raw and unfiltered narrative, focusing on the lived experiences, the emotional landscapes, and the deep, often unspoken trust in the body's innate wisdom. These stories are honest, sometimes gripping, and frequently transformative, challenging mainstream perceptions of safety and authority. The dialogue within this podcast serves as both education and a form of self-improvement, examining the reclaiming of autonomy and the reconnection to ancestral knowledge. Listeners will hear not just the mechanics of unassisted birth, but the philosophical and personal journeys that lead individuals to this path. Emilee, as founder and guide, facilitates these discussions with a clear, grounded presence, allowing the complexity and beauty of each story to resonate. This podcast is for those curious about the edges of conventional maternity care, seeking to understand a paradigm where birth is treated as a private, powerful, and physiological event rather than a medical procedure. The Free Birth Society podcast creates a space for these rarely heard voices, offering a tapestry of experiences that are, above all, true to themselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Free Birth Society
Podcast Episodes
Putting Down the Razor with Emilee & Danielle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:53
Today on the podcast, Emilee and Danielle talk about body hair and the physiological function as well as the social aspects of allowing hair. In a culture where women are taught to be hairless in order to be both accepte…
Freebirth in Peru after Placental Abruption [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:19
Marta from Poland tells the story of her unique births that are deeply intertwined with the plant medicine work she practices in Peru. Following her intuition, she goes to the hospital and demands to stay, knowing someth…
Becoming the Matriarch Who Freebirths [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:27
Today on the podcast, Rosie shares her massive transformation from a people pleasing daughter archetype to a fierce freebirthing wild mother. She shares how her journey was shaped by a difficult family dynamic, to the gr…
The German Legend and Her 9 Freebirths [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:48
On today’s episode, freebirth legend Sarah Schmid shares the story of 10 children, 9 of them being freebirths, several born outside and a set of twins. After a midwife-attended homebirth with interference in her birth, S…
From People Pleasing to Embodiment: Choosing to Birth Alone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:32:51
Today on the podcast, Abby shares her full 180-degree shift in mindset from being a pawn of the medical system throughout her growing years, to then becoming a wild, embodied mother, birthing her son entirely alone in he…
A Finnish Freebirth After Preterm Loss and a Vertical Incision [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:20
Today on the podcast, Radical Birth Keeper School graduate, Eveliina shares her three unique birth stories. At 30 weeks with her second child, Eveliina experienced bleeding and was coerced into an “emergency” c-section,…
The Olive Oil Queen’s Sovereign Birth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:28
Mia, The Olive Oil Queen, shares her sweet story of sovereign birth as a first-time mom, supported by one of our Radical Birth Keeper graduates. Mia’s love of birth first came after witnessing a friend’s psychedelic birt…
When Freebirth Heals Your Birth Trauma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:38
“I felt like I was in hell.” On today’s episode, Fanika shares the dehumanizing story of the birth of her first baby in a hospital in Florida. From non-consenting vaginal exams to a painful vacuum extraction birth, Fanik…
From Maiden to Mother: A Radical Birth Keeper’s Rise to Power [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:38:52
Today on the podcast, Kate from Santa Cruz shares the finding of her soul’s calling in sovereign birth-work and how that led to creating a thriving women’s circle community. After graduating from The Radical Birth Keeper…
First Time Mom Freebirths in Manchester, England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:06
Today on the podcast, Kacea shares her beautiful freebirth story. Her journey to freebirth is a wonderful representation of the sovereign birth movement making its way through the world. From her upbringing with a mother…