NHS Links Pregnant Women to Risky Free Birth Group

The NHS has been guiding pregnant women to a website associated with the Free Birth Society (FBS), an organization linked to significant maternal and infant harm worldwide. FBS advocates for extreme unassisted births, discouraging medical professionals and prenatal scans. This promotion occurred despite warnings from medical experts about the dangerous misinformation disseminated by FBS, which has been linked to 48 cases of stillbirths or neonatal deaths.

While the NHS does not officially endorse FBS, certain NHS trusts, including those in Cambridge and Gloucestershire, have continued to include patient information leaflets directing women to resources from the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (Aims), which in turn recommended the FBS podcast. Aims has since removed these references upon learning of the concerns.

Concerns about UK maternity services are fueling a rise in unassisted births. While a legal right, the NHS strongly recommends professional medical support for all births. FBS co-founders have dismissed criticisms, framing them as attempts to silence their message, despite an FBS disclaimer stating content is for educational purposes only.