German immigrants Josy Peukert, 37, and Benni Cornelius, 42, had their first child, Marley Mune, now 2 years old, before emigrating to Nicaragua.
They are parents to seven kids collectively. She just shared a photo on Instagram of the trip she and her partner took to the beach in Playa Majagual, Nicaragua, where she gave birth while the waves lapping at her back.
The video of waves crashing into her back as she writhes in ᴘᴀɪɴ through ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs has been watched over 200,000 times.
“The waves had the same rhythm as the ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs, that smooth flow made me feel really good. I got this idea in my head I wanted to give birth in the ocean, and because the conditions were right on the day that’s what I did.” Josy told Jam Press
When Josy knew her labor was starting, her children went to stay with friends and Benni drove the couple to the beach with a birthing tool kit which included towels, a bowl with a sieve to catch the placenta, gauze, and paper towels.
Josy said: “After Bodhi was born and wrapped up in towels, I went back into the ocean to freshen up. Then I got dressed and we packed everything up and drove home where the three of us got straight into bed. Later that evening we weighed Bodhi with luggage scales, he was 3.5kg or 7lb 6oz.”
The mum-of-four says she wanted her baby to be born with no ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ because doctors and midwives take away from what the female body can do on its own.
She said: “I wanted to be worry-free for once. This time I had no doctor’s appointments or scans or outside influence. We didn’t have a due date or deadline for the baby to arrive we just trusted that our baby would make its way. I had no fears or worries to welcome a new little soul into our lives, just me, my partner and the waves. It was beautiful. The soft volcanic sand under me reminded me there is nothing else between heaven and earth, just life.”
She gave birth on 27 February 2022. Before she monitored the tide and so when the time was right for to give birth, she knew the beach would be safe for us.
When Bodhi was two days old, Josy shared a video and birth story on her Instagram page (@raggapunzel), where she has 6,800 followers and her video was shared all over the world. However, after sharing her experience, Josy received some comments of concern and ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄɪsᴍ about her choice to free birth in the sea.
One commenter asked: “Is this sanitary? There’s a lot of ʙᴀᴄᴛᴇʀɪᴀ in the sea.”
Responding to the trolls, she added: “He is perfectly healthy. I did all the research I needed to to make sure it was safe. Water is a barrier that is medically proven.”
