Woman plans to have baby in ocean despite shark warnings
Digital Reporter
Thursday, September 3, 2015, 4:07 PM - A pregnant spiritual healer and her partner plan to have their baby in the ocean off the coast of Hawaii among dolphins, despite numerous warnings from health officials.
Dorina Rosin says she is opting to use a dolphin as her midwife.
Experts say her plan could pose a risk to marine life while putting the lives of Rosin and her baby at risk. There's also the possibility of a great white shark showing up.
According to CBS, the couple runs a healing retreat. They believe a dolphin-assisted birth will enable their baby to speak "dolphin", the news agency reports.
Immersion in water, or "water births", have been gaining popularity across the globe.
They usually occur in special pools, either in the home or in a medical facility. Health care officials say water births should only be conducted in clean, maintained water with infection control procedures in place. They should be overseen by a registered midwife or medical professional.
Still, some expectant mothers are opting to take water births to a whole other level.
RELATED: Dolphins save swimmer from a shark
According to Discover Magazine, Rosin isn't the first expectant mother who has traveled to the Hawaiian shores for a dolphin-assisted birth.
The births are overseen by The Sirius Institute, which has a dedicated "dolphin-attended birth centre".
"Since birthing in water is beneficial, and dolphins are able to heal or improve a wide range of medical conditions, it is reasonable to suppose that their presence at water births could be beneficial," the organization writes on its website.
Critics disagree, saying the practice puts mothers and infants at unnecessary risk.
“This has to be, hands down, one of the worst natural birthing ideas anyone has ever had,” Discover journalist Christie Wilcox wrote in 2013, when a North Carolina couple made headlines after announcing their plans to have a dolphin-assisted birth.
Wilcox adds that dolphins aren't as friendly as some perceive and are known to kill other mammals for enjoyment.
“Is this an animal you want to have at your side when you’re completely vulnerable?” she asks.
Rosin and her partner Maika Suneagle have been chronicling their pregnancy for a documentary called Extraordinary Births.
Sources: Discover | CBS |Sirius Institute