#410: Labor Preferences, Not Birth Plan! No Apology With Doula Lia Berquist

Birthing Instincts

Dr. Stuart Fischbein + Midwife Blyss Young

Parenting, Kids & Family, Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 631 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 93 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, with Blyss still on the road, Stu is joined by guest co-host Raquel Hernandez as they talk to guest Lia Berquist about the importance of birth plans. Lia, a doula and birth educator, provides insights on what it takes to create a strong birth plan. She emphasizes the foundational role of comprehensive childbirth education and the need for individualized, flexible, and positively framed birth plans. The conversation touches on key preferences to include, such as avoiding unnecessary interventions, ensuring immediate and constant skin-to-skin contact, and specifying newborn care procedures.

About Lia Berquist:

Lia Berquist, is a Childbirth Educator, Doula, and birth worker. She is committed to supporting her clients physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She has given birth to two beautiful babies (who are now grown/and almost grown) herself. Both of her births were vaginal and unmedicated by choice - one in a hospital, one at home - and feels like she couldn't have done it without her doula. Lia has a Bachelors of Science in Human Environmental Sciences – which equates to commercial interior design - but childbirth has been her passion since 1998. She has been teaching childbirth classes in The Bradley Method ® in Long Beach, California since 2011. In 2012, she became a certified Doula and has since had the honor of witnessing over 350 births. It is her goal to empower women, birthing people, and their partners, through positive, evidence-based education and doula care, to give birth in the way THEY choose.

Website: https://www.yournaturalbirth.net

Instagram: @yournaturalbirth

Resources

Dr. Stu’s Informed Consent for Twin Delivery at Home

Milli Hill Substack Article, A life less apologetic

Bradley Method: bradleybirth.com

In This Episode

The Importance of Birth Plans

The Bradley Method Explained

Benefits for Dads and Birth Coaches

Choosing the Right Childbirth Class

Introducing Your Birth Plan to Your Provider

Importance of Including a Plan for C-Sections

The Do’s and Don’ts of a Birth Plan

This show is supported by

Restorative Roots | Go to https://restorativemeals.com/ code BIRTHINGINSTINCTS for 10% off weekly meal plans.
WeNatal | Go to WeNatal.com/Birthinginstincts for a free magnesium with any subscription order.
BIRTHFIT | Go to birthfit.com and use the code INSTINCTS for 20% off any fitness program.
Pique Life| Go to https://piquelife.com/birthing to get 10% off for life on Pique's Herbal Teas!

Connect with Dr. Stu and Blyss

Join our Patreon! patreon.com/birthinginstinctspodcast
Instagram: @birthinginstincts/@birthingblyss
Website: birthinginstincts.com/birthingblyss.com
Email: [email protected]
Podcast webpage: birthinginstinctspodcast.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Burling Instincts Podcast.
0:05.0	I'm Dr. Stewart Fishbein, community-based practicing obstetrician and long-time advocate for birth choices.
0:10.0	And I'm Bliss Young, a licensed midwife.
0:13.0	Join us in our conversational style podcast where we talk about everything birth.
0:17.0	Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we're happy that you're here, so here we go. Recording in progress. Hi, everybody. It's good morning, good afternoon,
0:29.1	good evening, and good middle of the night. I got my good middle of the night t-shirt on. I am
0:33.8	in Galveston Island, Texas. That's why I got my sunglasses.
0:38.3	I because it's really bright outside, but I'm going to take them off
0:40.3	and be blinded by the beautiful situation we have here.
0:45.3	Bliss is on the road, doing Bliss stuff and having probably fun with the Bridge Midwives project.
0:50.3	And so she's not with us today.
0:52.3	And instead, I have a best little surprise which is my
0:57.1	associate and my colleague and my one-time client Raquel Hernandez who's now my assistant
1:04.0	and Bliss's assistant for the podcast you many of you know her and she's going to step in and feel some
1:09.2	big sandals so you, Raquel is a home
1:15.4	V-back after three breach, water birth famous person. And we're going to discuss the topic of
1:23.7	birth plans today, right? Is that what we're going to discuss? That's right.
1:28.0	Yeah, with our guest, Leah Berkwist, who's a doula and a longtime friend from Southern California,
1:33.4	and she'll be on in just a bit.
1:35.5	But before we do that, Raquel, I'll tell a little bit about what I'm doing,
1:38.8	but I always want to defer to you first.
1:41.3	So give listeners just a little bit of background on you and tell us why you're here.
	...

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