An Animal Is An Animal...And A Midwife?

Of all the animals in the world, my two favorites are birds (except maybe vultures) and dolphins.  I could go on for days talking about these wonderful creatures.  A few years ago, when I was going through a particularly rough period, every day, several times a day, birds would come to the window of either my kitchen or family room and uplift my spirits.  These weren't the little grey or brown birds, no these birds were larger and always a beautiful bright color--red, yellow or blue, to brighten my day. I didn't even have a bird feeder, but it didn't matter.  Those little birdies came by just to see me. Sometimes I'd talk to them and they'd just sit and listen, turning their heads as if they understood. I would almost cry when they'd sing, such sweet music it was.  As far as I'm concerned, those birds were there to minister to me. To remind me of God's love for His creations.

I've never seen a live dolphin except for at the Shedd Aquarium.  I almost made it to Sea World a few years back, but the kids were much more interested in staying at Disney World than seeing dolphins. My love of dolphins began when I was a kid watching the tv show Flipper.  How could anyone not love Flipper?  He (actually it was a she, five different shes to be exact) was so smart and brave, and such a good friend.  And that smile--just a sweetheart.
Flipper was everything you could want in a friend or a pet.  Sure, Flipper had been trained as a tv performer, but certainly, he was a good representation of the average dolphin.

Well, and this is kind of embarrassing, but early in my marriage, my husband dropped a bombshell--dolphins aren't the nice, sweet creatures that I always thought they were...and they aren't smiling! They're actually known to toss, beat and kill other mammals simply for fun.  I couldn't believe. I absolutely refused to believe it.  But after watching hundreds of hours of animal shows over the years with him, I learned that he was right. I also discovered that polar bears aren't big, fluffy, playful teddy bears. In fact, the animal kingdom is a fierce place, full of treachery--nothing like what Hollywood and Madison Avenue had me believing all those years. But I still love dolphins. They are incredible animals and they are incredibly cute.

As much as I love dophins, I can't help but think that Dorina Rosin and her partner Maika Suneagle, subjects in the documentary Extraordinary Births, have gone over the edge--flipped out, if you will. Rosin is pregnant and the couple, who live in Hawaii, have decided to give birth in the sea, with a dolphin as midwife.  Water births are fairly common, but having a dolphin help with the delivery is not only extremely risky, but indicates either a detatchment from reality or ignorance of the species. However, Rosin, a spiritual healer on the big island, says that she took part in a 38-week spiritual blessing, swimming alongside dolphins, and believes that "dolphins are kind and healing creatures."

The pair own and operate a healing retreat and believe that nature is a healing power.  They also believe that their baby will be able to speak dolphin. Boy, have these two been in the water too long. For decades now, scientists have tried to bridge the language barrier between humans and dolphins, to no avail.  Yet these two actually believe that a dolphin will be able to understand the well-being of the child during birth, assess potential complications, provide emergency treatment if necessary or get assistance if needed.  That's what a midwife does, and more.

Somebody had better learn to speak dolphin before she gives birth, because there's a real chance there could be screams of  "No, stop!" "Get away" "Please, please, stop it!" And the only response they'll get is that cute little smile.