Mom Says Her 'Freebirth' Alone In Her Kitchen Was 'Painless' & 'Euphoric'
"Our bodies were made to do this."
@the_herbalmama / TikTok If you’re on the parenting side of TikTok, you may have heard of the term “crunchy parenting.”
The controversial parenting method refers to those who bring up their children in the most natural, environmentally friendly ways that they can.
This may include parents opting to give birth at home, exclusively breastfeeding their children for an extended period of time, co-sleeping, restricting them to a vegan diet and opting them out of vaccinations.
Some of these so-called “crunchy” parents have gained quite a following on their social media accounts due to the beliefs they preach that have many Internet users scratching their heads.
One mother has stirred controversy after revealing her plans regarding the prenatal care and birth of her children.
The mother says she plans on receiving no prenatal care and giving birth alone in her kitchen.
Kaytlynn Green is a stay-at-home mom who resides in Missouri with her 31-year-old husband Jesse and her two children, three-year-old daughter Olive and one-year-old son Felix.
She is currently pregnant with her third child after suffering two miscarriages in 2022.
Green uses her social media to preach her beliefs surrounding various parenting subjects including child-rearing practices, medical care and education.
However, it is her beliefs centered around prenatal care and childbirth that has gained popularity among her viewers.
In a TikTok video the mom posted back in November, she shared that she is not receiving prenatal care — including ultrasounds and genetic testing — she consumes marijuana tincture and eats a “high raw vegan diet” during her pregnancy.
She adds in her video's caption that she will be giving birth in her kitchen when the time comes.
Green claims that she is against ultrasounds because they ‘hurt’ unborn babies.
In another TikTok video, she explains that while the equipment used during ultrasounds does not emit radiation, they do emit heat which could be harmful to fetuses in utero.
“The risks are too high vs. the benefits,” Green, who admitted to having one ultrasound during both of her pregnancies, captioned her video. “US [ultrasounds] can be wrong and either miss things or give false information so in most cases they are pointless.”
Green shares that she has ‘free birthed’ one of her children at home and describes it as ‘peaceful’ and ‘painless.’
“Free birth” is the practice of women delivering their babies without any medical assistance or the presence of trained professionals. They are generally performed at home.
While Green reveals that both her daughter and son were born peacefully in her home, it was her son’s birth that was especially soundless.
When she gave birth to her daughter, a midwife was present to assist. However, she claims that the midwife only complicated matters.
“I tried a birth with a trained medical professional and they did not allow me to have the physiological birth that I wanted and deserved,” she wrote in the caption of another TikTok video.
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She opted to give birth to her second child without the presence of any medically trained professionals. Thankfully, it was everything she had hoped for, calling the experience “euphoric.”
“Freebirth is one of the most normal things a woman can do,” she adds. “What's not normal is having someone interfere, especially someone that was supposed to support you.”
Green claims that childbirth is a normal, peaceful event rather than a traumatic, medical emergency.
She offers advice to women planning to freebirth who are wanting to overcome fear, including reading books about freebirth, refraining from listening to negative birth stories, and fully trusting that their bodies are capable.
“Your body knew how to grow your baby, your body knows how to birth your baby,” she says. “Just trust that your body is working with you and not against you and your body wants to bring your baby into the world peacefully and healthily.”
Green also believes that no medical interventions during birth increase the odds of a healthy and positive one.
“Our bodies are so amazing and when left undisturbed in a comfortable environment, it will do exactly what it was made to do, give birth,” captioned her video.
Some TikTok users called out Green for appearing to claim that childbirth should be a peaceful experience for everyone.
“To some people, birth is traumatic,” one user commented.
“I hemorrhaged bad after my second birth. I would not be alive if I had not been at the hospital,” another user shared.
“I’ve watched dead newborns arrive at the hospital with wailing mothers in preventable scenarios,” another user wrote.
Others pointed out the dangers of not receiving any prenatal care and ultrasounds.
“This is such dangerous misinformation. My second daughter would have died without my ultrasound at 37 weeks. My first could have been injured without,” one user commented.
“The anatomy scan is where I found out my daughter was terminal. I don’t know why it’s a trend now to skip it. I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong,” another user revealed.
“The heat emitted [during ultrasounds] is nowhere near what would be considered dangerous. A bath is more dangerous than an ultrasound,” another user wrote.
However, some people agreed with Green’s views surrounding pregnancy and childbirth.
“We don’t need help making the baby. We definitely don’t need help bringing the baby earthside,” one user wrote.
“Women doing exactly what we were made to do,” another user commented.
“After having three and pregnant with my fourth, I rarely see my midwives. I can check the heartbeat at home and there’s no tests that would change how we feel about the pregnancy so I’ll just wait until birth and let my baby grow,” another user shared.
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Doctors encourage pregnant patients to receive prenatal care and to give birth in the presence of a medical professional.
Medical professionals deem ultrasounds safe, posing no danger to a mother or unborn fetus.
Ultrasounds use sound waves instead of radiation, which healthcare providers deem safer than X-rays.
Additionally, most doctors advise against freebirth for numerous risks including failure to progress during labor, heavy bleeding before and after birth, uterine rupture and undiagnosed medical issues with the fetus that would be ideal to treat in a hospital setting.
Those who plan on freebirthing or giving birth at home should always have a backup plan in the event something were to go wrong for the sake of their own health and their baby.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.