WATER BIRTH IS SPECIALLY ADVANTAGEOUS TO PREMATURE BABIES WHO CAN DEVELOP THEIR LIMBS THROUGH MOVEMENT IN WATER AND REDUCE THEIR NEED FOR OXYGEN WHILE TRAINING BABIES IN THE SEA, IGOR TCHARKOVSKY NOTICED THAT DOLPHINS TOOK A SPECIAL INTEREST IN THE WELFARE OF THE BABIES

MAN’S existence begins in the aquatic environment of the amniotic fluid in the womb. The little human fetus which is fully formed by three months, lives and grows in the fluid filled uterus. If the mother receives an accidental blow, like say, if a revolving gate inadvertently hits the mother’s abdomen, the baby is protected from a direct blow by the cushioning of water around it, which acts a shock absorber.

In the warm watery medium of the womb, the baby feels a kind of weightlessness. A similar lightness is felt in a tub of warm water. Weightlessness can also be felt in the swimming pool if you stand with water up to your neck and totally relax your arms. Notice how your arms feel buoyant and move gently with the water’s current. This buoyancy comes because when one is in water, gravity does not work. This actually reduces the requirement of oxygen and is specially advantageous to a premature infant.

In the 1960s Igor Tcharkovsky, a Russian swimming instructor noticed that the younger a human baby the more quickly it adopted to water. He learnt from the birth of his premature daughter, who as a newborn infant spent most of her time in water. He reduced her need for oxygen by making her enter water. Being in water also helped her to develop her limbs through movement.

Tcharkovsky has been experimenting with water births and training infants in water by many years. According to him, “Some of the babies are able to spend hours playing under water, only occasionally rising to the surface to get a gulp of air.” Some doctors feel that an infant should not be allowed to enter post birth swimming lessons until three months of age, but Tcharkovsky says that is too late for the baby to breathe in a relaxed way under water without the risk of drowning. Babies start training as early as two weeks.

Tcharkovsky also noticed that a special relationship exists between human babies and dolphins. He recalls instances when he was training babies in the sea, dolphins politely interfered by taking the infant over the surface of the water. The child was probably, needing to surface and breathe, a message that could not be communicated to adults, but the message was immediately received by the dolphin. He observed that children can establish contact with dolphins right away without any previous training.

Tcharkovsky encouraged pregnant women to swim in the Black Sea. It has been claimed that in an underwater birth, the dolphin would bring the newborn baby to the surface to breathe. He observed that in the presence of a dolphin, mother and child are immediately relieved of the fear of water, even at night. Dolphins can establish communication with the human fetus effortlessly, like they already know each other. Female dolphins are particularly interested in pregnant women. Tcharkovsky feels being born under water develops the power of telepathy, extra sensory perception and clairvoyance in the child adding a spiritual trait to its personality.

At the Dolphin Plus Centre in Key Large, Florida, USA, the power of the dolphin is in full play. At the centre outside children who have a problem with communication and relationships and are sometimes of subnormal intelligence, amputees,  terminally ill patients, people who cannot cope with the loss of a familiar person, deaf and blind teenagers are encouraged to come and play with dolphins. The dolphins are very friendly, full of fun and joyful and have a very positive effect on those visiting the Centre.

At the Condolim Beach in Goa, a visiting tourist swam to a floor off the beach. Having swum a considerable length, he got onto the floor to rest before swimming back. Much to his surprise, around the floor he had a group of dolphins jumping out of the water in vertical position, their bodies glistening as the early morning sun’s rays reflected off their wet bodies, as though they welcomed him! However, they soon disappeared probably sensing his fear.

Interestingly, the vertical position is common among sea mammals like dolphins and penguins, when they their curiosity is aroused. Domesticated dolphins adopt this position when waiting for food or instructions from their trainer.

Apart from an incredible communication with man, dolphins also share behaviour patterns with man. For instance, dolphins communicate with sound, like man.

Their sex lives are also similar to man’s. Like man they lead active sex lives. They masturbate from an early age and their sexual contact is both homosexual and heterosexual. Man mostly mates in the face to face position, so does the dolphin. The face to face position permits maximum physical contact and both partners secrete large amounts of endorphine hormones during intercourse. These hormones can lead to dependency and probably form the physiological basis of attachment between a couple and the basis of monogamy, or the practice of a long standing one-to-one relationship amongst human beings.

Numerous sexual activities unconnected with reproduction are related to the large brain and expanded neo cortex or new brain cortex the outer or superficial part of an organ or body structure, especially the outer layer of grey matter of the cerebrum and cerebellum dolphins share with man. 95.5 per cent of the human brain is covered by the neo cortex whereas it covers 97.8 per cent of the dolphin’s brain.

The dolphin has sensitive sensory perception of hearing, vision and taste. They also love sensitive skin and spend a lot of time caressing each other. Interestingly dolphins are also spiritual. They can reach the meditative state easily and simply.

Most mammals living on land, like apes or cats give birth in seclusion. After birth the mother tends to eat the placenta. As opposed to this, the mother dolphin, a sea mammal does not eat the placenta. Moreover during birth among dolphins, an experienced female ‘midwife’ dolphin is present to welcome the baby and take it to the surface to breathe. Although man is a mammal that lives on land, man’s birthing behaviour is similar to the aquatic mammal, dolphin.

Like dolphin, man’s spine is aligned with the hind limbs. With dolphins man shares the ability to bend backward. On the other hand, there is no ape that can bend backwards.

The dolphin-man relationship offers exciting vistas for research. It is a very new field and full of promising possibilities. Could man have descended from the dolphin instead of from the ape?