Janet, when you read about it in the context of the article without acutally knowing exactly what 'freebirth' is, you must admit that to the average person that it does sound pretty extreme and when you read this part,

Termed "freebirthing", the method involves a woman giving birth with the support of a partner, friend, family member or doula (an assistant who provides support to the mother but is not medically trained) or sometimes completely alone.
That the first image you get of it in your head isn't about what it truly is kwim?