The Guardian today (Thursday 11 December) announces the launch of The Birth Keepers, a new podcast exposing the world of the Free Birth Society (FBS). Led by two influencers, this lucrative online community encourages women to give birth without medical support - no midwives, no doctors, no ultrasounds - just faith and ‘instinct’.
The result of a year-long investigation, the series reveals how mothers were enticed with uplifting stories of ‘wild’ births and, in some cases, suffered devastating loss after being heavily-influenced by the group’s advice.
The FBS has since been linked to at least 18 cases where evidence suggests the group played a significant role in the mother or birth attendant’s decision-making, leading to potentially avoidable tragedies.
The Birth Keepers is the newest narrative podcast series from The Guardian Investigates. This new series is hosted by award-winning investigative reporters Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne. The Guardian Investigates also features critically acclaimed podcasts including, Missing in the Amazon, Black Box and Can I tell you a secret?, which is also hosted by Kale.
Listen to The Birth Keepers to find out more. All six episodes of the podcast series are available now, listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Sirin Kale, Guardian journalist and The Birth Keepers host, says:
“When we began monitoring the Free Birth Society a year ago, we couldn’t have realised the extent of its reach - or its real world impact. I’m so moved by the courage of the women who spoke to Lucy and I for our reporting, many of whom had been through the unimaginable - the death of a child - and now wanted to speak out, to warn others of the dangers of the extreme FBS message, and the radical version of freebirth it promotes.”
Lucy Osborne, Guardian journalist and The Birth Keepers host, says:
“This is a story of how misinformation on social media can affect anyone and the devastating repercussions it can have across the world. We are so grateful to the brave families who shared their stories with us to shine a light on this.”
Nicole Jackson, global head of audio, Guardian News & Media, says:
“This powerful series is another compelling collaboration between the Guardian’s award-winning narrative podcast team and the Guardian’s investigations desk who have worked tirelessly to bring this reporting to life - in text and in audio. We are so grateful to the contributors who spoke to us - without them this journalism would not have been possible.”
The Birth Keepers is written, reported and hosted by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne. The series producers are Elizabeth Cassin and Joshua Kelly. Music and sound design is by Rudi Zygadlo. The artwork is by Laurie Avon. The commissioning editors are Nicole Jackson, the Guardian’s global head of audio and Paul Lewis, head of investigations.
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For more information or to request interviews please contact media.enquiries@theguardian.com.
About Guardian Media Group
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