Call the Dolphin

Before they learned they were pregnant, the idea of a water-and-dolphin birth appealed to Heather and Adam and they say they have experienced signs along the way, pointing them to Hawaii and the institute. Preparations for a dolphin-assisted birth began as soon as they arrived, long before Heather’s July due date.

At the institute, the couple will spend time in the water, forming a connection with a dolphin pod they hope will bond with them and ultimately their newborn.

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

Everything I ever learned about home birth I learned from the great The Business of Being Born, which did not get into dolphin-assisted birth. (I guess it’s technically not a home birth, though.) A Discover writer calls the practice “possibly the worst idea, ever”; I will withhold judgment because Ricki Lake taught me better than that.