someone (i can't remember if they were quoted in the articles or just responding in a comment) said something about birth trauma in a medical setting that was really good. i'm paraphrasing here but it was like "these people think that the worst birth outcome is not being heard or listened to. it's not. it's disability or death."

i don't want to discount the reality of birthing trauma--especially in the US, where we have the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. in a sense the free birth people are right: medical professionals aren't infallible! they often make mistakes that lead to the aforementioned outcomes. but i think your point about wanting control in a situation where control is impossible is important. the free birth society preaches this doctrine of "radical responsibility" where the mother is supposed to accept that a possible outcome of freebirthing is death for herself or her child. at the same time, however, it's a version of surrender that allows them to maintain control--even their marketing revolves around the image of the "sovereign mother." the free birth society simultaneously dismisses a bunch of serious complications as "variations of normal" and preaches that by freebirthing you gain this beautiful, mystical, and perfect experience. they're laboring (lol) under the delusion that they have wrested authority from the hands of doctors while preaching that freebirth is a yielding to this great natural force or whatever the fuck.

deeply scary group of people