Welcome to the Free Birth Podcast, a supportive space for people who are learning, exploring and

celebrating their autonomous choices in childbirth.

Together, we'll unpack truths, share personal stories,

and claim our ability to birth freely and intuitively. Here's your host, Emily Sal day. Today we have the story of an intended free birth turned hospital delivery.

Lenea is from a very small town in upstate Michigan,

after being physically and emotionally abused at the local hospital with her

first child, she was left traumatized and knew she could never return there when she became pregnant again.

She decided she would feel safest, birthing at home on her own terms.

However, as she got

scared and called 911 and they whisked her away.

Lenea did her best to return to the place of her first birth and

still found a way to birth on her own terms.

This story speaks to the importance of having

your whole team truly on board with your plan and what can happen when they are not. All right. My name is Leneel. I'm living in the U.P. of Michigan. it's really unpopulated up here, but I'm by Northern Wisconsin.

I have two kids, my oldest is turning three this May and my youngest is three months now. I had him this past

December right before Christmas. And he was your free birth? Yeah, it was technically done at a hospital with the OB nurses, but I birthed it my way, so I suppose

you can call it unassisted. I was 19 when I got pregnant with my first and I was so

excited and I did all of my prenatal care by the books. You know I figure we have two OB doctors in the whole area that I get to have.

So I picked the one that I was familiar with from nursing school.

And I really enjoyed my journey with him.

And then when it came time for my last appointment before I had my daughter,

I had asked, you're not going out of town again, are you?

...