The tourist gave birth in Dahab, Egypt, with the help of her husband and a doctor who specializes in water births.
Incredible images purporting to show the moment a Russian woman gave birth in the Red Sea in Egypt actually show the baby being bathed in the water several days after birth, the father has revealed.
The baby girl’s Russian mother and Serbian father had decided to bathe her in the ocean with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached because of the supposed health benefits.
Onlookers in the resort town of Dahab captured the moment the father carried his days-old daughter from the water accompanied by a Russian doctor who was helping with her care.
Images purporting to show the moment a baby was born in the Red Sea in Dahab, Egypt, actually show the moment the baby was bathed days after being born, the father has revealed.
Stunned onlookers captured the baby being carried from the waves by the father and a Russian doctor helping with her care, before being followed by the mother.
Once back on shore the new mother was reunited with her newborn child and another of the couple’s children in this touching family moment captured from a nearby balcony.
The older man is a well-known Russian doctor who specializes in water births. The mother had opted to deliver the baby in a pool, but this happened several days before these images were taken.
The mother follows close behind before the family is reunited on the beach in a touching scene.
The doctor is a well-known Russian specialist in water births. The mother had opted to have her delivery in a birthing pool, but this happened inside a house before the images were taken.
The incident happened in October 2014 but the pictures were first uploaded to social media this week, where they quickly went viral.
Prominent Egyptian sportswoman Hadia Hosny El Said posted them on her Facebook page claiming they showed the woman giving birth in the ocean. The post has since been deleted.
Before the post was deleted it had been shared more than 2,000 times and attracted thousands of comments.
Commenters on social media praised the ‘beauty’ of the moment.
The pictures were uploaded to Facebook by Egyptian sportswoman Hadia Hosny El Said who claimed to have taken them from her uncle’s balcony and said the woman gave birth in the ocean. The post has since been deleted.
Social media users praised the beauty of the moment as the images were shared thousands of times online.
The incident took place in October 2014 but the images first appeared on social media this week before going viral.
Water births: Less pain for mum and less stress for baby:
Water births are a popular alternative to giving birth in the air because many mothers find the feeling of being submerged in hot water means they experience less pain during contractions and the birth itself.
Babies born underwater are often calmer than those born in the air and tend to struggle and cry less after leaving the mother, according to guidance from public health body NCT.
Water births work because the breathing reflex is triggered by the change in temperature as the baby is born and the sensation of air on the skin.
This means that provided the baby remains fully submerged in warm water, they continue receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord until they surface meaning they do not drown.
While there is no clear statistical evidence that babies born in water receive health benefits, that means the opposite is also true – that there are no clear negative effects either.
However, water births are usually not recommended for mothers who have suffered complications during their pregnancy because the baby may need to be monitored with sensitive electronic equipment that cannot go in the pool.
Water births are also not recommended for very overweight mothers who may struggle to get out of the pool should their birthing plan need to change quickly.
If undertaking a home water birth, efforts should be taken to keep the water below 37C. A higher temperature risks overheating the baby and causing undue stress.
While lower temperatures are not recommended, this is largely because it negates many of the benefits to the mother – such as increased comfort – rather than because it could harm the child.
Credits: dailymail.co.uk