In this episode, Keshia sits down with Laura Shanley — author of the foundational book Unassisted Childbirth, first published decades before "free birth" became a widely used term. Laura free birthed all of her children between 1978 and 1987 and has spent over 30 years researching and writing about the connection between fear, thought, and the physiology of labor.
The conversation comes at a pivotal moment for the free birth community, following a wave of media scrutiny — including a major investigative podcast series examining poor outcomes linked to Free Birth Society — and growing calls in Australia to legislate who is permitted to attend a birth. Keshia and Laura unpack what's actually being reported, what's being lost in translation, and where personal responsibility, intuition, and informed choice fit into the picture.
What We Cover
- The current media climate around free birth and unassisted birth, and how it compares to decades past
- Reflections on the Guardian's investigative series into Free Birth Society — what resonated, what felt sensationalized, and where the reporting blurred normal physiological variation with genuine red flags
- The difference between true unassisted birth and hiring a "birthkeeper" — and why that distinction matters
- Laura's three primary causes of poor birth outcomes: extreme poverty, unnecessary medical intervention, and a woman's own fear and beliefs
- The physiology of fear: how the fight-or-flight response redirects blood and oxygen away from the uterus, and why this matters for labor
- Laura's own birth stories, including catching her breech baby after a guiding dream, and unwinding a nuchal cord solo in her bathroom
- Why "free birth vs. hospital birth vs. midwife-assisted birth" isn't the real debate — it's about tuning into what actually makes each woman feel safe
- The bind midwives are placed in between their own clinical judgement and fear of legal consequences
- Rising cesarean rates in the US and Australia, and what they signal about the "normal" range of birth being narrowed
- How to tell the difference between intuition and fear, and practical ways to reconnect with your body's own signals
- Laura's advice for anyone whose intuition has been dismissed or overridden in the past
About Laura Shanley
Laura Shanley is the author of Unassisted Childbirth, with a foreword by French obstetrician Michel Odent. She has written and spoken on natural birth and the mind-body connection since the early 1990s, running one of the internet's earliest hubs for the unassisted birth community. She is the mother of five and grandmother of seven.
Website: unassistedchildbirth.com (also accessible via freebirth.com)
Resources Mentioned
- Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Shanley
- Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
- Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
- Childbirth Wisdom from the World's Oldest Societies by Judith Goldsmith
- Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky
- The Seth Material; Abraham Hicks material
- "Laughter in Labor" — article on unassistedchildbirth.com
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