Giving birth without a midwife or doctor: in the barn, at sea or at home in the living room: influential influencers who support so-called independent births share videos of beautiful, uncomplicated births on social media. They use terms such as the right to self-determination and ignore the health system and science, the German public broadcaster ARD reports in its publication.
Independent birth on the ocean shore
In Germany, around 98% of all children are born in a hospital. However, there is a community of mothers who organize themselves on the Internet and promote so-called “freebirthing“ - supposedly free, natural birth.
One of them is 38-year-old Josie Peukert. A video of her giving birth on a secluded beach in Nicaragua in 2022 went viral online. Peukert is an advocate of giving birth without a doctor or midwife and promotes it on Instagram. She also sells online courses for those interested in giving birth on their own.
In an interview with a popular news program on German public broadcaster ARD, she said she had been preparing for the birth for months, had been monitoring her level and felt safe in the water - unlike in the hospital. Other women go even further in their criticism - some compare gynecological examinations to rape or call episiotomy "Western genital mutilation".
Doctors and midwives do not recommend it
Lars Hellmeier, head physician of the maternity ward at the Berlin hospital "Vivantes", categorically advises against giving birth without medical assistance: "Under no circumstances should self-birth be promoted in any way. I really think that is absolutely wrong and dangerous." Emergency caesarean sections are performed every day to save the mother and child, he told ARD.
The Association of Midwives and the German Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology also warn about the dangers of self-birth. "There are so many dangerous situations in obstetrics that at least one midwife is absolutely necessary, but ideally a whole team of specialists," says Hellmeier. Complications can always arise. For example, if the placenta is not delivered properly, it is possible to bleed and die.
In Germany, solo births are generally permitted. However, if the child is injured, the mother can be prosecuted for a criminal offense.
Some attempts end fatally
One of the most prominent advocates of solo births in Germany is Sarah Schmidt, a doctor and mother of ten. Tens of thousands of people watch her videos on social media, in which she shares her personal experiences. In the closed Telegram groups she runs, parents tell their stories, including cases that ended in death, ARD writes.
One such story is of a father who, after complications during a solo birth, asked for urgent advice from the group - 4 minutes after the baby was born, he was still not breathing. Then Sarah Schmidt told the father to call an ambulance. However, it was already too late for the child.
They don't want their children to go to school
At the end of August, Sarah Schmidt organized a seminar for parents who support this type of birth at her estate in Alsace, France. There, it became abundantly clear that these people are interested not only in "free birth", but also in "free education". In other words: such parents insist that their children study outside the state school system, which is against compulsory education in Germany.
Another topic that was very much on the agenda of the meeting participants was the immunization of children, ARD further reports. Schmidt proudly stated that all her children were not vaccinated. Another participant boasted about how she had falsified the data on her children's vaccinations. This is a crime, ARD reminds us in this regard.
Right-wing extremism expert Lea Lochau defines some of Schmidt's posts on Telegram as anti-Semitic - for example, cartoons comparing the situation of unvaccinated people to that of Jews under the Nazis.
Schmidt also shares anti-LGBTQ narratives and numerous conspiracy theories, including that the population in Europe was replaced with immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. Schmidt herself does not answer important questions, such as whether she tolerates right-wing extremists at her meetings and whether she is aware of the dangers of solo births.