Dolphin Birthing Pods

After my time spent on the island of Maui recently, studying Sacred Birthing, I have been interested in learning more about the dolphins and their connection to birth. After watching many videos of dolphins giving birth online, I am struck with how quickly and strongly the dolphin mothers swim through the water as they birth their dolphin babies. The laboring dolphin fully undulates their spine while swimming in circles and spirals through the water.

This reminds me of human mothers who move restlessly during unmedicated labors, spiraling there hips and rocking their pelvises back and forth. Mothers are very rarely passive to lie down during birth unless strapped to machines and tubes, or numbed with pain medications. It is instinctual natural wisdom for the mother to move actively during labor, for in able to move the baby, the mother moves her body.

While the dolphin baby is born tail first, and human children are usually head first (vertex), both dolphin and human babies spiral out of the birth canal. This primal motion of birth, the spiral, connects both the human and dolphin mammals.  Dolphins are also one of the few other mammals in which a female companion is present as a midwife.

The dolphin midwife assists the infant dolphin in coming to the surface for its first breath soon after birth. The dolphin midwife also assists in creating the birth circle around the mother and infant with other dolphins who create a pod. This birth pod protects the mother and baby dolphin, as mother-baby bonding is pivitol to the survival of dolphin babies. The birth circle also greets the infant dolphin with sonar to stimulate it's full ignition of consciousness and neurological stimulation.  

Many people have done research into human's having dolphin-assisted waterbirths in the ocean, and one of the benefits that is known about is the dolphins use of sonar on the laboring woman and infant to create healthy, peaceful birth, with extremely aware and conscious babies. This connection between dolphins and humans is just beginning to be understood.

Unfortunately, dolphin infants have only a 50% survival rate. Dolphins are very succeptible to environmental pollution, human disruption in their environment, and domesticated dolphins have a harder time successfully breeding. I have mixed feelings about dolphins in captivity, however it is very rare to find live footage of the births of wild dolphins. The videos of dolphins in captivity do not show the extent of the birthing pods of midwives. However they show that domesticated dolphins will also seek out the nurturing and care of their trainers while in labor.

Here are a few videos of dolphins giving birth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X8-aWCU0do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USe7kG1UaoE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBIhu84bLdA

I believe we have much to learn from our dolphin relations about birth, bonding, and healing.