I have no words - woman now stranded after wanting to give birth in St Lucia (on the beach...)

[Nanny0gg]

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/uk-world-news/new-mum-stranded-after-being-8669669

What on earth were they thinking??

I don’t have any sympathy for them as a couple as they’ve obviously, as previously mentioned, been massive pillocks. But if the story accurately reflect their experience of trying to register the birth and get a passport for the baby (and I do think there’s a good chance it doesn’t), it does sound like they’ve met bureaucracy when they should have met help. The baby isn’t responsible for having pillocks for parents and there will occasionally be situations where people give birth in unusual circumstances abroad due to traumatic situations rather than because they are idiots - the UK’s policies and embassies ought to support them, not knock them from pillar to post.

Apart from which, from reading some of Rover Polishing Clive’s (thanks for that image btw!) utterances he sounds a bit of a dingus. No planning, no money, prone to hysterical statements about imprisonment and abandonment, and has a very vague idea about how birth happens “just refuse the epidural dear, and listen to these amazing healing and pain relieving vibrations the sea gives for free that I have recorded on my phone”. He would not be my choice for a birthing partner. Or life partner. In fact I don’t even think I would want him on the other end of a see saw.

That poor little baby stuck out there with those two numpties.

Sort of see what you’re saying but she travelled long distance at 35 weeks with no return flight booked. Someone giving birth in international waters on a cruise say, it would probably get radioed in and there would be witnesses in some way. Trying to imagine other examples…

Seems they weren’t even resident at a hotel or anything and hired a boat. People don’t just move their boats to ‘the next island’ due to bad weather (unless a serious hurricane) which is what these two did. None of it adds up so not surprised they’ve not been hugely helped.

@NumberTheory of course they were met with bureaucracy! Damn right there should be a legal process that means you can’t just turn up with a baby at a registry office and claim it’s yours. I don’t doubt there were delays in St Lucia. Even if the registry office there knew what to do (babies arriving prematurely when mum on holiday?) I daresay it would cause anybody to look up the handbook if the parent said, “actually, she gave birth at sea so we (possibly?) don’t even know which country we were in.”

So it’s going to take a bit of time.

But somewhere during that time working with the authorities in St Lucia, they jumped back into their boat and fucked off to Grenada.

You cannot say that an embassy isn’t supporting someone, when they choose to literally sail off into the sunset!

I’d love to know why this has been picked up by the press now.

Baby was born in April!

I’m going to take a guess that Iuliia and Clive were enjoying the sunshine on their boat and were in no hurry to get back to (pesky in the way step?) older daughter. They were happy to just let the admin take forever, and weren’t particularly proactive in sorting it out.

I've been wondering where the boat fits in and how they can afford it for so long?? It doesn't add up.

Nothing adds up. I think there's a lot more to this than meets the eye.

Clive has maxxed out his credit card - it says in the link in the OP

This is such bollocks. If she's newly postnatal in that swimsuit pic (especially after a second birth) then I'm the pope. The baby looks very new though.

Reminds me of the wet wipe that is Constance Marten and her drippy partner.

Baby is about 3 months old

And mum is a yoga teacher [!!]

How stupid and selfish glad the baby is ok. But who insured her that heavily pregnant?

The bit about flights having gone up was bizarre. Surely you buy a return ticket.
A private yacht must be costing ££££ and they’ve had it from March. He must have sailing experience as they appear to be getting around safely.

"Iuliia said she is "traumatised" and having sleepless nights due to the stress of not being able to go home to her daughter, who is being looked after by her auntie, Kristina, 24. Iuliia, a yoga teacher, said: "I can't sleep at night. It is traumatising.
"I am scared of the night, it is hurricane season, we have storms now - it is traumatising for us all. I can't stop crying, we are begging for help - we have been abandoned."
The absolute melts aren't taking responsibility for their actions and keep blaming it on the situation/other agencies.
I know a person like this in real life and she is planning to have a child in the future. FML

The only person that has been abandoned is the eldest daughter.

I really wish that they had called the baby Rodney.

Yep. Moving your boat from St Lucia to Grenada because of hurricanes? What, for months of the year there are no boats in St Lucia.

I hope this story doesn’t just sink 🛥️ cos I’m really nosy about it now!

Who moves country whilst in the middle of registering a complicated birth situation?

They have the answer - Grenada HC said they need proof via DNA test, that has apparently been done. So why the need to speak to the press now?

I reckon the baby is theirs, but they’ve been happily baby-mooning in the sunshine ignoring the older child for months, in absolutely no hurry to take the simple steps asked of them by the authorities. And it’s only in the paper now because they reckon a GoFundMe sob story would make them some money.

One of the reports said St Lucia had told them they’d been to prove baby was theirs. So why not immediately arrange DNA test? Why go to Grenada before doing one there?

In another country I’d wonder if they’d bought the baby, but the Caribbean islands don’t seem the obvious place to go to buy a white baby. Or even to secure a surrogate.

I think they’ve just been sunning themselves and not bothering with appointments and paperwork.

I’d assume no travel insurance as planning on an unassisted birth. You wouldn’t get travel insurance at that gestation.
Either she concealed 35 week pregnancy and flew against airline policy or wasn’t pg and baby has been somehow acquired.

Why do you think she was insured?

Was it just the two of them on the boat then, if there were no witnesses to the birth?

How far is it from Martinique to St Lucia?

even if the woman has English as a second language, she is resident in the UK with a native English speaking husband

??

The article doesn't say that.

It says Iuliia Ghurzhi and husband Clive. It doesn't give a different surname for him anywhere, and there is no information about their status. I think its safe to assume that one/both must be British, because the British authorities are assisting them with the expectation of confirming the baby's entitlement to British nationality and therefore a travel document that will allow them to return home.

Or is there further coverage that indicates more about their respective backgrounds? (Assuming that someone isn't a native English speaker because their name sounds foreign (Ukrainian?) is a bit dodgy, so perhaps I've just missed some info somewhere)

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Rodney-Bay/Martinique

I’m far too curious about this.

The sea journey from Martinique to Rodney Bay St Lucia where she wanted to give birth isn’t far only 90 mins by ferry. Yet they say she went into labour and couldn’t make to land. That’s not plausible.
Then once baby born at sea they don’t make the short journey to land instead they wait it out for 3 days before showing up at a hospital.

How far is it from Martinique to St Lucia?

30 miles, maybe a bit less.

There is something odd about the whole thing. Even if you buy that they wanted a wanky beach birth for instagram you’d assume even the stupidest of people would check how they’d bring the baby back and not flit between different countries during the complex admin arrangements. You’d then think that they would be trying to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible to get home to the 8yo.

Even the best case scenario puts them in selfish idiot territory.

I'm sorry but I just can't conjure up the remotest bit of sympathy for people that are in a predicament because of their own stupidity.

Why on earth didn't they look into all of the possible issues with their ridiculous plan?