Meet Lia Berquist | Certified Childbirth Educator and Birth Doula

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lia Berquist and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lia, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” This quote keeps applying to life – life ebbs and flows, and it reminds me that even though it’s hard right now, the next best part is right around the corner. I teach childbirth classes and I’m also a birth Doula. I remind my clients that just when labor gets so hard that you think it could destroy you, your baby will arrive.
“In labor as in life…” is what I remind them.
We’ve all taken on a project that we were excited about at the beginning. At some point, before the project is completed, we’ve doubted ourselves and wondered what we were thinking. There’s desire to quit and escape. But we must go through it. And when we do, the payoff is right there waiting for us.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The first birth class I ever taught had ONE couple in it for the first 2 weeks. The mother’s own mom was a midwife. The father was an EMT and his father was an Obstetrician – and his stepmother was a labor and delivery nurse. I remember feeling so overwhelmed and nervous, “What on earth can I teach them that they don’t already know?” The moment they walked into my “classroom” (which was my living room at the time), a calm washed over me and the class flowed. (Ps, Candace sent them to me). A couple weeks later, a 19 year old girl called me – she’d seen a flyer I posted in a coffee shop – and asked if she and her boyfriend could join the class even though they were not married. Absolutely. I was so excited, so energized. The passion was flowing. I couldn’t wait to help her achieve the birth of her dreams. A third couple was added to the class (which is a 12 week course) that second week as well. The mother was in a Pilates class I attended and I cringe thinking of the high-pressure sales tactic I used to convince her that she needed my birth class. All 3 of those couples went on to have their own beautiful experiences – nothing that I would have imagined for them because I was still idealistic and naive – but right there I realized, “Oh. I get it. They are teaching ME.” Once again, Candace was right.

That first 12-week series in The Bradley Method® had 3 couples and now, 12 years later, I teach 4 cohorts a week with 8 couples per cohort. For a long time, I taught classes and attended births only as a hobby, while working full time as a commercial interior designer. But in 2019, I took the leap and decided to walk away from interior design and make birth work my full time career. It hasn’t been easy – especially through a pandemic. The work is sometimes exhausting; I’m up for hours, days at a time. When my children were younger, it was very hard to find childcare in the middle of the night, at a moment’s notice, so that I could run off to witness the glorious birth of another’s child. And the classes can be a hard-sell; “Hey, come hang out for 2 hours every sunday for 12 weeks and let’s talk about how you can give birth without an epidural.” Not so many folks are into that; the market is not large. So, it’s been my project to educate the public on empowered, physiological birth to create that funnel into the class. Even if someone wants and is planning to get an epidural, nearly every pregnant human is going to have to labor for some amount of time without medication. They’ll be less stressed, nervous, traumatized if they understand the birth process. This is only one of many, many reasons why I find it imperative that all new parents take a comprehensive childbirth class. The work isn’t easy, but the passion drives me. At the end of the day, I feel fulfilled and honored to be given the chance to be part of folks’ lives in this way.

* Their births weren’t “bad” or traumatic, just not what they’d planned. ie, One who was planning a home birth transferred to the hospital and one who was planning a hospital birth decided on a home birth.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love 2nd street in Long Beach. For me, there’s no better place to go in LA County. I like the small-town feel and the variety of restaurants. When my best friends come visit, we have breakfast and coffee at Chucks, down in the shore. Then we walk along the bike path. Before you know it, it’s time for a little lunch, so we wander over to Sancho’s Tacos. A little shopping at Blue Windows and what we call our “dessert-bag” from Candified. Then it’s over to the Bay to lay around at the beach. And for dinner, it’s the Kale and Quinoa salad with salmon at Nick’s on Second. If second street had a dance floor, the day would be complete, but there isn’t one so we go to the Gaslamp on a Friday for the best live cover band ever, Knyght Ryder. That’s pretty much it. If I have to leave Long Beach, I do love The Strand House in Manhattan Beach were you can watch the sunset over the water. Amazing. And heading south, Huntington Beach is never a miss with the gorgeous waves. I always tell my kids and my friends, “What a blessing. We live in a postcard.” Of course, my kids barely know what a postcard is – is it because they’re Gen Z?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My midwife, Candace Leach, encouraged me to start teaching childbirth classes in The Bradley Method®. After I gave birth to my second daughter at home, Candace said, “You need to teach people how to do what you just did.” It was so gracious of her and, honestly, she probably says that to all the moms (insert me blushing here). But she knew my passion for physiological, empowered birth. She had seen me advocate for myself (moving away from the mistreatment I’d experienced with my former obstetrician) and navigate the birth industry. About a year later, I took the dive and did the four day training with the The Bradley Method® to become affiliated. Once I finished, Candace said, “Now you need to be a doula. How can you teach others if you’re not actively going into these birth spaces.” …Or something along those lines – it was 2012. She was correct. To this day, I reach out to Candace for support and encouragement. She is a wealth of information and love.

Website: www.yournaturalbirth.net

Instagram: @YourNaturalBirth

Yelp: Your Natural Birth in Long Beach