An Interview With Talk Show Host and Mother Ricki Lake

By Kelly Jad'on

Ricki Lake is a talk show host, an actress, and a mother. It is this last title which has led her, with coauthor and filmmaker Abby Epstein, to create the film The Business of Being Born. In doing so, they aim to raise awareness of the choices women have in preparing for their birth experiences.  The film is followed with their book, Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices and Take Back the Birth Experience (Grand Central Pub--Wellness Central/ May 2009). Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein hope to empower American women with their own research and through the experiences of other women. Here Ricki explains the origins of the book and tells about her own children's births.

Ricki--You’ve coauthored with Abby Epstein, a thoroughly in depth book, Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience, what was the catalyst for its inception?

Ricki Lake and Abby EpsteinAfter screenings of The Business of Being Born, Abby and I would field questions from the audience that were very basic. Like "What is the difference between a midwife and a doula?" We realized there was a need for more information to follow up the movie and that a good book didn't exist which covered all today's birth options.

Why are American women fearful of the birth experience?

Our culture promotes a lot of fear around all natural events, whether it's birth, death or hurricanes! American women are no different than women from many other cultures who pass down terrifying birth stories which focus on the pain and agony. We also have a lot of media and television shows which promote birth as a dangerous, medical event. But mostly, I think American women are fearful because birth takes place behind closed doors and so most women have never witnessed other women giving birth first hand. There is a deep fear of the unknown.

How can more knowledge about birthing options empower a woman in her birth-making decisions?

Knowledge is power. If you don't know you have any options, you can't even ask for them. If you aren't properly informed you won't be able to participate in the decision-making process. You'll be at the mercy of your doctor--and having to blindly trust everything everyone else says about your body and your birth.

Why is this information essential?

If a woman has a negative or traumatic birth experience, it will stay with her the rest of her life. We get hundreds of emails from women who just wished that they had known more the first time around. They say that they wouldn't have been too quick to agree to everything the hospital suggested and may have been able to avoid a c-section or other interventions. Also many women don't realize how their birth experience can impact the success of their breastfeeding and their early bonding with the baby.

Your Best Birth complements your film, The Business of Being Born. How has the film opened the eyes of the public, specifically for women, about how babies are birthed in the USA?

I think the film was a watershed for many women and men. Most people had absolutely no idea what goes on in American birth culture and had no idea that there was any other way to have a baby other than by what they saw on television.

Ricki—you’ve given birth to two sons—Milo, born in a birthing center and Owen, born at home. These were very different environments. What were the positive aspects of Owen’s home birth? Were there any drawbacks?

Both of my births were empowering and amazing experiences. With Owen, the best part was that everything was on my terms and I felt I could really give him a beautiful gift by bringing him into the world in such a gentle way. There were no drawbacks for me!

Name the top three points to discuss with an obstetrician after finding out that you are pregnant.

I would ask what the OB's attitude toward natural birth is, and find out what his/her rates are for c-sections and epidurals. This will tell you something about the philosophy of the doctor and how open-minded he or she is.

About Ricki Lake:
Actress, producer, filmmaker and author Ricki Lake has reinvented herself at every stage of her 20 year career. Lake has gone from starring in the 80s classic Hairspray to hosting the long-running Ricki Lake talk show for 11 years—while continuing to star in feature films and appear in television projects. Lake has again evolved her career—this time to include birth advocate, documentarian and author with the recent releases of the critically-acclaimed film The Business of Being Born and pregnancy guide, Your Best Birth. Proving that her entertainment influence will always be multi-hyphenated, she presently hosts and executive produces the Vh1 hit series, Charm School with Ricki Lake.

About Abby Epstein:
Director and Producer Abby Epstein helmed the acclaimed documentary The Business of Being Born, executive produced by Ricki Lake. The success of the film inspired Abby and Ricki’s recent book, Your Best Birth. Abby made her film directing debut at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival with the documentary feature, Until the Violence Stops. On Broadway, Abby spent four years as the resident director of the musical RENT, overseeing the London premiere and two National Tours. She directed RENT in Mexico City, Barcelona and Madrid. Off Broadway, Abby directed over 100 celebrity actresses in The Vagina Monologues along with the National tour and premieres in Toronto and Mexico City.

Book Review: Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience (Grand Central Pub-Wellness Central/ May 2009) by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein

Ricki Lake Launches Exclusive Celebrity Webisode Series: MyBestBirth.com

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