A woman has decided to take the concept of water births even further - by choosing to have her baby surrounded by dolphins.
Roughly 7,000 women in England and Wales have used birthing pools at some point during labour.
But Dorina Rosin, featuring in new Channel 4 programme Katie Piper's Extraordinary Births, expressed her desire to have a “dolphin-assisted” birth underwater, she reportedly also revealed she believes her baby will be able to speak “dolphin”.
Dorina wants to give birth underwater, in the ocean
Ms Piper told the Times that she when she met Dorina and her partner, Maika Suneagle, she found them “a bit out there” but “they seemed so happy and the woman was so relaxed”.
The below video reportedly shows Dorina at 38-weeks pregnant, swimming with dolphins to receive their blessing.
Dorina plans to give birth at the Dolphin Attended Water and Natural Birth Centre at the Sirius Institute in Hawaii.
Their website advocates the practice, stating: “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.”
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Alternatively, science journalist, Christie Wilcox previously disputed the idea of giving birth with dolphins in 2013, when another couple declared their interest in the idea.
Ms Wilcox wrote: “My professional opinion: this has to be, hands down, one of the worst natural birthing ideas anyone has ever had (and that is saying a lot).”
She argued that the playful, harmless reputation of dolphins can be inaccurate, as male dolphins can be aggressive and unpredictable and therefore could potentially place the mother and newborn baby in danger.
Ms Wilcox added that the Whale and Dolphin Conservation had told her: “Both people and animals can be exposed to infection and injury when participating in these programmes.”
Katie Piper's Extraordinary Births is on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm.
