4^th August and 4^th September 2020

I met mummy number 5 (half Swiss and half Sri Lankan with a Brazilian husband) in the maternity hospital on 15^th May, when she was 30 weeks pregnant with their first child, visiting the maternity room with the pool facilities as she was planning to birth in the pool. She and her husband traveled from south, where they have a boutique hotel by the beach, to see a doctor in Colombo. At 35 weeks they approached me and asked me if I assist them with free birth (without a doctor, alone, at home). I resolutely refused, felt loyalty to the maternity hospital and giving birth alone at home, without qualified health professionals in a country where there is no established ambulance service is very dangerous. They understood.

When I met her, she told me, that she would give birth on August 4, after full moon, and that’s what exactly happened. However, she was laboring a long time, the baby was turned towards her back (back to back baby) and instead of chin nicely tucked on a chest, baby’s head was tilted and staring at the sky, which was difficult to birth. The doctor eventually had to perform a cesarean section. The baby is a healthy bony little girl and both mummy and daddy are smitten by her. Three days after giving birth, they set out on a 5-hour journey home, where they found the peace and security of their home reassuring and calming. Little Ru grows in front of their eyes and when I saw her on her first month birthday (I baked them some carrot muffins and brought a fireworks candle), she was sweetheart. They went back to their paradise on beach among the palm trees to enjoy parenting in the sun. They are hoping to practice “elimination communication” to use as less nappies as possible, because waste where they live is difficult to process and they are responsible to do it themselves. Interesting concept apparently used in less fortunate countries.   

Did she birth in the water? Unfortunately not, as there was no hot water!