Woman, who labored for 6 days on her own, accused of being a 'baby killer'

On October 1, a woman who uses the pseudonym Lisa went through a “free birth.” It’s a form of birthing where the baby is born without assistance.

Lisa spent 6 days in labor and she eventually lost her child. After her story became public, she faced harassment and bullying by people who felt she’d killed her own child.

Lisa, 29, lives in a remote desert area of California where she experienced a “free birth.” Her daughter Journey Moon “was born a sleeping angel.”

Journey Moon’s mother was a member of the Facebook community “The Free Birth Society.” There she shared updates with the group throughout her pregnancy and during the first few days of her labor.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. A blogger named Katie Paulson shared updates on the story.

According to Paulson, Lisa started experiencing contractions at 42 weeks on October 1. They continued throughout the night and were irregular until October 4.

On that day, Lisa’s water finally broke that night. In the next two days, she started experiencing a foul smell and then the baby stopped moving.

Lisa and her partner decided to go to a hospital on October 6 only to find out that their baby was dead. Journey Moon’s mother had to deliver her although she was stillborn.

Lisa lost her child because she was suffering from an infection in her uterus. Before giving birth, there’d been no signs that she had any symptoms to worry about.

She spent two days in the hospital with Journey Moon before returning home. On social media, she was harassed by trolls who said that she should die.

Others called her a “baby killer” using memes which they posted on her Facebook wall. She received more than 30 messages from people hateful people on the day she returned from the hospital.

One person told her, "You don't play with a child's life like that."

Lisa said:

“What should have been a time of grieving and mourning alone with my family was now a time of defending myself from evil people and their horrible words.”

She added:

“I could spend hours defending myself and family, but I feel like these are people who will never admit to being wrong. They will always fight you even dirtier than before.”

According to medical professionals, giving birth at home without any medical help or supervision is a bad idea. In an emailed statement, the Ontario Association of Midwives wrote:

“We do not condone or promote ‘free birth’ and always recommend that birthing people have a qualified medical professional.”