pregnancy on a boat

Disclaimer, every woman is magic, unique, and just in her own bodies and bodily experiences. « En mer ou à la terre la femme sait faire » an inspirational thought shared with us by our French doula Sandra Cornaz we worked with in France and who has become a Soul Friend and Sister for us both. I do not claim to know what is best for any woman nor can I recommend to a pregnant woman to do what we have done. I am sharing only my experience and want to share a story of my positive and real experience of being pregnant on our boat. There are so many fear stories around pregnancies and complications when birth is as natural to life breathing or her Sister process of death, a birth into another dimension. I want to tell all women, especially the pregnant ones to Trust Your Body, Trust Your Baby, Trust Your Intuition, and Trust Your Inner Force. Only you know what is right for you and your child, no one else.


SO yes, I am very pregnant on our boat. I was terrified at first that I would be dehydrated, have an early birth due to the stress of the boat on my body and our Baby, and concerned that I would be a prime candidate for toxoplasmosis because I am not vaccinated against this disease. My experience. Yes some moments have been hard. The beginning of our trip was horrendous and I vomited for several days and did not gain weight for one month and a half. I was very vigilant to keep drinking though and our Baby took from my body what He needed.


I was sure after our arrival in the Canaries that something would be wrong with our Baby or me and immediately at the emergency room in grand Canaria my heart was put to rest. Our Baby is a superstar. He was the size totally normal for his fetal age, his heart rate perfect, his organs perfect, they put me to a machine for 40 minutes to make sure I was not having early contractions and he was so active the midwife man kept coming back to put the monitors on our Baby. He does not like to be confined our Wonder Boy. The midwife man ended up being totally connected spiritually, was the head of the home birth society in the Canary Islands,  goes every year to the Burning Man in California, and has met Alex Grey several times.  I saw three midwives in our hospital visit, all men ironically and with these names; Gabriel (like the angel), Nicolas (good ol’ Saint Nick), and Jésus. Our little Dude already seems to attract men with a healthy sense of their divine feminine and masculine and who are deeply compassionate. We left the emergency room feeling totally reassured and even more motivated for our project and lifestyle.


I also was no longer sick on our boat and while I still had contractions on the boat regularly especially during rocky nights, I also had them on land. My appetite also reemerged from her slumber and I was able to eat on board. 


Our arrival in Mindelo turned to be a very defining moment for Pierre and I as young parents. After Mindelo I feel completely ready to become a mother and feel like a powerful team with Pierre. 




We went this time to a private clinic and had an ultrasound to check on how our little Wonder Boy was doing and see if the distance between my cervix and vaginal opening was still at a safe level to travel. At the clinic we were greeted by a woman who spoke perfect French and led us to the ultra sound explaining in detail what we needed to the doctors. We saw again the precious moving body of our Wonder Child. As usual, all was well, he was the perfect size, his head in the right position, and he even gave us a show. He started to move his mouth as if he was talking to us. The doctor was so touched she called in her assistants and we sat there for several moments watching our Baby mouth secret words to us in his own language. 


We left again reassured and feeling more at peace with our journey. Inside, I knew from the moment my feet touched land at Mindelo that all three of us and our boat would make the voyage to Martinique. After this visit, all the pieces of our electrically fucked boat started to come together thanks to finally competent professionals and to good hearted folks we met at the port. I find the boating community to be a family of souls who often are woven from the same fabric. We’ve started to meet more and more families who raise their children on the their boats, travel from country to country where the wind leads them. The first time I saw a boat with little tiny onesies drying from the boat lines my heart swelled up with tears. Yes there are other babies on boats living with their papas and mommas, dreaming a new world into reality together as a family. 


I digress, back to being pregnant and traveling on a boat. For anyone wondering if it’s possible or dangerous; for me, as a woman in her third trimester it has been both totally possible and not dangerous. I have had very special circumstances and privileges that also make this possible. My Husband is an angel on earth. He has been my rock during this time, has listened to my fears, been present when I have been physically weak, is utterly involved in our Baby’s development and I have not lived this pregnancy alone. This is the biggest in factor in what made this pregnancy and traveling on a boat possible. I honestly do not know how some women live pregnancies alone. Pregnancy is so transformative and a time when I believe women should be supported and loved more than ever before in her life. I have been extremely privileged in this regard. I also have a low risk pregnancy, I am in good health, in good physical condition and besides low blood pressure have not had any pregnancy health problems. 


Each woman has her own birth needs and birth story; and each Baby too. This is our family’s little story. We have not yet « dar la Luz », given light as the Spanish language so eloquently sings. We will soon be on land in Martinique and we will continue this story on land. Our little message and my personal message as a pregnant woman is this; if you have a dream, follow your heart, listen to your body, trust your intuition, and do not be afraid to create your own unique story. We humans, we pregnant women are not fragile, sensitive yes, but strong. Trust your path whatever that path may be.