Dolphin-Assisted Births the New Rage?

Dolphins have been used in entertainment, attacking enemies and even detecting sea mines. For couples looking to tap into the playful animal’s talents even more, however, there are now dolphin-assisted births.

Heather and Adam Barrington saved their money to travel more than 4,500 miles to Hawaii to work with The Sirius Institute in the delivery of their first child.

“It is about reconnecting as humans with the dolphins so we can coexist in this world together and learn from one another,” Heather told the Charlotte Observer.

Among the ways they plan on achieving this is through both prenatal and postnatal swims with the animals as well as possibly undergoing labor in their presence.

“Having that connection with the pod of dolphins anytime –– still brings peace, comfort and strength to the mother and baby even if the birth doesn’t happen in the water during labor,” Heather further explained.

Adam believes the power lies in a dolphins’ ability to reduce tension in the mother.

“It’s total relaxation for the mother,” Adam said.

Despite their enthusiasm for a dolphin-assisted birth, however, the couple has made contingency arrangements, which would include Heather’s removal to a nearby family and community farm where the labor would be overseen by a midwife.

The Sirius Institute is a self-described “research consortium with the purpose of ‘dolphinizing’ the planet – a phenomenon that includes, according to the organization, a reversion back to the days in ancient Greece in which dolphins, they believe, “were revered as the highest creation in physical form who sought friendship with humans, swam with the children, helped the people fish and guided their ships.”

The site further claims that dolphin-assisted births were practiced by some Hawaiians as late as the 1930s in addition to ancient Egyptians. And while the practice is far from mainstream, the organization reports that it has anywhere from three to four requests a week, according to Medical Daily, prompting the group to establish the Dolphin Attend Water and Natural (DAWN) Birth Center, which includes tide pools, hot ponds and access for free dolphins.

Ultimately, The Sirius Institute believes that through "dolphinization," the world will have “two major sentient species in cooperation.”