Laura Fields
Natural Childbirth Educator, and most importantly, Mom
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I had the privelege of conducting an interview with this fascinating Mom. I love Laura's take on childbirth and her crusade to teach mothers about natural childbirth
Was there a specific experience in your past or reason you decided to have a natural childbirth experience with your children?
With my first, I Googled "epidural" as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I read about the risks, and decided it wasn't worth it to have one. By the time I had my second, I knew that having a natural birth was worth the work and would not have chosen an epidural even if it were 100% safe and effective.In one sentence, describe your natural childbirth experience
Giving birth naturally was primal, animalistic, and transcendent all at the same time.What books were your greatest source of inspiration for your natural childbirth journey
I liked The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth on the factual side. I'd love to see Henci Goer update this book! On the more philosophical side, I loved Immaculate Deception II by Suzanne Arms. Active Birth by Janet Balaskas is the book we use in class, and it's a great, practical guide. There are probably thousands of really excellent natural birth books available.what negative feedback have you gotten from others about your childbirth decisions and how did you handle it?
The most negative reaction I got was from a woman I worked with during my first pregnancy. She was telling me about how a coworker's wife was going to have her baby in the water, and wasn't that crazy? I replied that I was planning a waterbirth myself. She said, "Well, I guess if you have something to prove." Other people's reactions don't bother me though.I think sometimes women who have had medicated births feel defensive, like if someone else is planning a natural birth, it's somehow a commentary on them. But I knew natural birth was the right choice for me, and I let other people's negativity roll off me.
What was it about your childbirth experience that made you want to share this information with expecting parents?
Natural birth has value all its own. I chose to avoid an epidural with my first because of safety. My research told me that the fewer the interventions, the safer birth was for my baby and for me. I had no interest in the experience at the time. If epidurals were 100% safe, I'd probably have gotten one.What I discovered was that once you go through a natural birth, you come out on the other side as a different person. You're stronger and tougher, and more confident. The feelings you get from giving birth by your own power don't ever fade, and this changes your life for the better. A lot of women miss out on this due to fear. I want to help women realize that they don't have to be afraid, that there is great joy and power in giving birth naturally.
What is the most frequent question asked by parents during your natural childbirth classes?
It's hard to isolate just one question. We put a very heavy emphasis on choosing a supportive birth attendant and birth place. Often a woman has chosen a birth attendant off an insurance list, or at the recommendation of a friend who had a very medical birth, so we get many questions about things birth attendants are saying to women and hospital policies.Was there something about your birth experience that you would change for any reason?
My first was born in the hospital and my second at home. If I could do it over, knowing then what I know now, I'd have them both at home. My hospital birth was good, but there were interventions I would not have had at home, that did not improve any part of the birth, and I also was separated from my daughter. That wouldn't have happened at home either. If I were still going to have my first in the hospital, I'd have stayed home longer before going in.Why do you think more women do not choose to have their babies naturally?
Fear and lack of good information. A lot of women listen to what their doctors tell them (as we've been taught to do). They have no idea that all the interventions their doctors are recommending often cause more harm than good. They're afraid of the pain of labor and birth, and have an obstetrician (or even a CNM sometimes) telling them they don't have to feel pain, they don't have to wait for their babies to come on their own, etc.Doctors are not informing women of the risks of all these procedures, and we have been taught all our lives to trust doctors. As more women begin to question the status quo, the percentage of women who choose natural birth will go up. Statistically, natural birth makes sense. it's safer, it's faster, it's an easier recovery.
Once you realize that there are natural comfort measures for the pain, to at least give natural birth a try becomes a no-brainer.
When should parents start a childbirth class?
Our natural birth class is 9 weeks, and it's ideal to finish up by 38 weeks. We recommend starting around 28 weeks, but some women prefer to start earlier so they can feel more prepared, and some women don't discover classes until later in their pregnancies. We can usually make it work no matter where they are in their pregnancy.There are so many methods of natural childbirth, from Bradley, to Hypnobirthing, what is your thoughts about these different methods?
Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and will appeal to different people. It's wonderful that there are so many options, so that women can do the research and figure out which class works best for them. Our class, Intuitive Birth, is not a method at all. We focus on informed decision-making, and learning to trust your body and the process so you can do what comes naturally when labor begins.What is the biggest myth about natural childbirth?
That it's all agonizing pain. For many women there is pain in labor, but it's accompanied by a hormonal high like no other. There is also a lot of middle ground between writhing on a bed in agony and being fully numbed by an epidural. There are hundreds of natural comfort techniques women and their partners can use during labor to make things easier.What do you wish you knew when you were pregnant with your first child?
I underestimated the intensity of the physical sensations of labor. I don't think there is any way to be truly prepared for that, but it would have been good if someone could have figured out how to convey it!My second birth was just as intense but it was easier for me to handle, and I think that's because I had done it before. i was prepared for the intensity, and also able to recognize when I reached the peak of labor. I knew when the intensity was at a maximum, so I was less afraid.
What is your goal for women who take your classes?
What we want is for women to make their own informed decisions. you could present 100 women with the same information about all the various options for labor and birth, and get 100 different combinations of preferences.We don't want to tell women what they should want; we want to support them in figuring that out for themselves. We want to help women have the greatest opportunity to have a natural birth, providing them with the information, tools, and confidence they need. But we also want to prepare women for how to handle it when things don't go exactly as planned, and to try to help women and their partners feel good about their births even when their plans change during labor.
