Our story
Welcome! We are so happy you are here. Our journey in birth work started 10 years ago as a traditional doula business. Like most doulas, we patterned our business as we were taught in training, speaking the same kind of rhetoric, using the typical doula approach and believing that we could make a change by helping women within the obstetrical birth system. It became very clear that no matter what kind of approach we took, we could not stop the trauma and abuse.
After much reflection, we knew we had to walk away from doula work. The truth is that birth - obstetrical, managed, clinical birth should never be called by the same name as real birth - physiological, biological, raw and free birth. They are simply incomparable. At the centre of it all is this truth; birth, for all its power, is incredibly delicate. When you change just one element, you change everything.
The Freebirth Sisters was born out of a desire to be more vulnerable, transparent and honest about the realities we see emerging in the birth world and our society as a whole. We are here to create a space for women and their families as they discover and explore autonomous birth and living. We will no longer be silent about what we see in obstetrical birth. The only way we can create lasting change is if more women take a stand to critique and judge systematic birth, holding that system accountable for the trauma and abuse it causes. We want women to know there is another choice: the choice to birth free. We want women to know they are not alone in their desire to raise their families outside of societal norms. You are free to conceive, grow, birth and raise children on your own terms, in your own power. We would love to share our knowledge and passion with you, wherever you are in your journey, about all things related to birth and woman-hood.
Sarah McCloskey
I became a doula before I was a wife or a mother. The wisdom and truth I found when I opened myself to birth completely changed my life. There is so much for women to learn from each other no matter what stage of women-hood you are in. I strongly believe in sharing that wisdom amongst ourselves with honesty, integrity and love. The journey into birth work has led me to some truly beautiful mentors who have gently helped me heal my mother wounds and grow as a woman. I wish to take all that I have learned from these women and the experiences I have had within birth work and share it with others.
My husband James and I were married in 2014 and we have two beautiful children, Ezra and Lucy. I love being their mom and pouring my heart and soul into raising them in a gentle loving home. in 2016 we moved to rural Saskatchewan and we now share our life very closely with my sister, Christina and her beautiful family. I honestly can’t remember what life was like before we lived so close to each other! We enjoy the benefits of raising our children in community, growing our own food, making many of our own products and leaning on each other for support through all the different seasons of our lives. My sister was a rock for me through my turbulent teen years, lifting me up as I emerged a fledgling young adult and she continues to support me as I find my footing as a woman, mother and wife. I am so grateful to have her in my life.
The pregnancy and birth of my son was a test of how deeply I trusted what I knew about birth. I had an ecstatic, decimating and ultimately healing freebirth and postpartum time with him. His birth forever changed me and gave me a deep settled confidence in what I know about birth. The birth of my daughter 2.5 years later built on that steadfast confidence I had found with my son’s birth and I experienced a joyous birth filled with light and laughter and a deeper surrendering to the birth process. I found a deeper sense of who I was as a women and a mother within the throws of her exuberant entrance to this world. She is a beautiful light in our lives coming at a time of darkness in the world around us. I am abundantly grateful of the life experiences that led me to freebirth both my children and have a strong desire to help other women find their way to fully experience how uninhibited birth can transform you.
I strongly advocate for new moms to find their way to claiming full authority over their birth experience the first time and I believe all women deserve to know there is another choice outside of what the system offers you. There is an ancient truth and wisdom about birth within you and you can choose to follow your instincts, deepen your intuition and grow and birth a baby all on your own with absolutely no interference.
I look forward to working with you!
Christina Bakanec
I live with my husband and our 4 children on a 4th generation grain farm in rural Saskatchewan. I moved here 13 years ago after pursuing a university degree in music performance. Life on the farm is vastly different from music school and my childhood on the West Coast but I wouldn’t change it for anything! We love that our children have the freedom and space to roam, explore and discover the world, right next door to their cousins.
In 2016, my sister moved out to the farm when her husband accepted a job working for us. This has absolutely been a dream come true. Raising our families right next door to each other, sharing all of life’s little moments and most of all, working together as The Freebirth Sisters means everything to us. Gardening (which I initially wasn’t sure was more than a form of dirty torture) has become the highlight of each spring and summer season. We produce a huge amount of food, feeding 3 families (over 15 people!) and spend (almost) every waking hour in August harvesting and processing the food for winter storage. Sarah and I love gardening, connecting with the earth, feeding our families nutritious food we grew ourselves. We also share a love of running, homemade body products, delectable food creations, and finding new ways to live a more simple, connected life. I am so blessed that life has brought me to this place.
I still maintain a position with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra as a cellist and run a small music studio out of my home. In 2022, we moved into Ethan's childhood home, a 1916 farmhouse, after completing an extensive renovation. My days are filled with the schooling and raising of our 4 children but I wouldn't change it for anything.
The birth of my children and my experience of motherhood has been an awakening. It is truly a miraculous thing women do, growing, birthing and raising little souls. I have learned so much from each experience of birth and each new child; it is the inspiration, motivation and passion for what I do as a radical birth keeper. I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with Sarah as The Freebirth Sisters. After so many years of mainstream doula support (see my blog post here), it is incredibly refreshing and revitalizing to not only feel free to critique systematic obstetrical birth for what it is - institutionalized abuse - but also free to speak the truth about autonomous, mother-centered birth in all its glory - free, raw, shatteringly beautiful and infinitely powerful.
I look forward to working with you!