3: She Fired Her Obstetrician At 36 Weeks Pregnant And Freebirthed
Free Birth Society
Emilee Saldaya
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2025
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 [email protected]. See full disclaimer at freebirthsociety.com/youtubeterms.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Free Birth Society. I'm Emily Saldea, and this is where we break the spell of medicalized birth, remember what's been forgotten, and rise together into our birthright to live birth and mother as sovereign women. |
| 0:20.0 | Welcome, Ash. |
| 0:21.5 | Thank you. |
| 0:22.6 | Yeah, I'm excited to have you here and hear your full story. |
| 0:25.5 | I just know little bits and pieces. |
| 0:28.1 | And I guess the most exciting thing I know is that you just recently had a baby while in MMI quite on the earlier unexpected side. |
| 0:41.0 | Yes, it's a really fun story. He was, you were what, 36 or something? Yeah, about 36 and a half, you know, as much as anybody can count |
| 0:45.8 | halves. And what gestation if you know, did your first two come at? So my first child, my daughter, |
| 0:54.0 | was right at 40, but she was also an |
| 0:57.0 | augmented labor, so a little hard to tell. Yeah. And my second was just shy of 40, like a couple |
| 1:04.2 | days shy of 40 weeks. Okay. So like a month earlier than you were probably expecting? Very much so. |
| 1:10.1 | Holy moly. |
| 1:11.5 | I mean, it just goes to show anyone listening if you're pregnant. |
| 1:15.1 | Like, I mean, I always say this to moms when I'm coaching them, but you basically just like need to be ready by 35 weeks. |
| 1:22.2 | And then you need to be ready to stay pregnant for two more months. |
| 1:25.8 | I mean, it's a pretty big, is that right? Five, |
| 1:28.5 | six, seven, eight, nine, like even up to two and a half months. It's a tall order. It is. I know |
| 1:35.0 | someone who is also expecting, you know, we're hitting 40 weeks at about the same time and our babies, |
| 1:40.4 | I think, are five weeks apart. Mine came a little on the early side and she stayed pregnant |
| 1:46.1 | past 40 weeks. And so our babies are more than a month the difference and we were expecting |
| 1:50.6 | them the, you know, the same week. Yeah, it's a lot to hold because it is the most sane to hold both. |
| 1:58.1 | But that also can kind of make people a little insane. |
... |
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