A Raw and Personal Third 40-Week Wrap Up with Jonny & Emilee

A Raw and Personal Third 40-Week Wrap Up with Jonny & Emilee

Author: Emilee Saldaya August 1, 2025 Duration: 2:16:56

What do you do when you're in the middle of your third pregnancy and a hate group forms to threaten your life?


In this Season 9 premier, I sit down with my husband—and third-time guest—Jonny, for a raw and real 40-week wrap-up.


We share honestly about what this year has demanded: deep growth, hard decisions, and the very real emotional weight of being publicly attacked while stewarding this freebirth movement.



We talk openly about our major fails in business and community building, our shift towards the private sector, and how we’re preparing to welcome our third baby at home while holding our family steady.


You’ll Learn:


  • What it feels like to navigate a pregnancy marked by nausea, migraines, and total slowdown
  • The story behind Jonny quitting his 6-figure job and choosing to stay home to live as an "intact" family.
  • Why their attempt to build a private school in rural North Carolina failed despite major investment
  • The surprising link between moving during COVID and outgrowing their super rural life five years later
  • What happens when you face a smear campaign and community fallout while running a business
  • How pregnancy became a catalyst for burning down what no longer fit their family and business
  • How Emilee chooses to question her inherited stories around scarcity and overwhelm in motherhood and walk a new path


Timestamps:


[00:00] Introduction

[09:38] Pregnancy as a catalyst for change, growth, and burning down what no longer serves

[29:22] Shifting from conventional jobs to a home-based family life for balance and connection

[50:14] Starting and ultimately closing a private school in rural North Carolina after major investment and challenges

[01:03:03] ​​Realizing rural life no longer fits their family and beginning to reassess their future

[01:14:29] Facing a hate group and smear campaign while pregnant and running a business

[02:00:26] Preparing for a third freebirth and Jonny’s role in supporting birth and postpartum


Resources Mentioned:


The 40 Week Wrap Up: Host Emilee & Her Husband Share Their Journey | Spotify or Apple

The 40-Week Wild Pregnancy Wrap Up with Emilee & Jonny (Round 2) | Spotify or Apple

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas | Books

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas | Books

MatriBirth Mentor Institute (MMI) | Program

The Lighthouse Membership Group | Website

The Complete Guide to Freebirth | Program

Free Birth Society YouTube Channel | YouTube


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
From People-Pleasing to Power: Jasmine Chooses Freebirth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:40
The advice to “just trust the system” falls apart fast when you’ve already been gaslit by doctors, pressured toward induction, and made to feel like your own body can’t be trusted. Jasmine shares the full arc from her fi…
Listening to the Whispers: Haleigh Knows To Freebirth Her First Baby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Motherhood reshapes everything: identity, trust, intimacy, and surrender.Haleigh Featherly shares the spiritual and emotional journey behind her freebirth, and the unexpected challenges of becoming a mother.A raw convers…
One Nurse’s Cost and Benefit of Experiencing Midwifery Betrayal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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What happens when a nurse who believed in midwives ends up learning, the hard way, why so many women leave the system behind? Kari shares the full arc from a fast-moving love story and her first hospital-adjacent birth t…
How Working in the OR Led to Freebirth: Danielle’s FBAC/VBAC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:21
In this deeply honest conversation, Danielle shares the full arc of her journey into motherhood, from a medically managed first birth that left her feeling unprepared and disoriented, to a transformative freebirth experi…
The Mother–Daughter Freebirth Duo: Jinny & Audrey’s Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:43:17
This week on the Free Birth Society Podcast, Emilee sits down with Jinny and Audrey, a remarkable mother–daughter duo with sovereign birth woven through both of their lives.Jinny, a mother of seven and birth doula, share…
Death of the Maiden: Raquel’s Journey into Motherhood at 41 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:02
This week, Emilee is joined by Raquel, who shares her extraordinary first pregnancy and sovereign birth at the age of 41.Raquel speaks candidly about the profound transitions she navigated during this time. The death of…