Iuliia Gurzhii, aged 38, alongside her 51-year-old husband Clive, expressed a sense of captivity, as they are unable to formally register their newborn's birth or initiate passport proceedings.
To make matters worse they had to leave their older daughter, eight-year-old Elizabeth, in the UK under the care of her twenty-four-year-old aunt, Kristina, because they are unable to renew her passport.
She told to Fabulous: "I can't sleep at night. It is traumatizing.
“I am scared of the night. It is hurricane season we have storms now - it is traumatizing for us all.
"I can't stop crying, we are begging for help - we have been abandoned."
Iuliia, had a ‘normal’ birth with Elizabeth but didn’t enjoy it so began to research ‘free birth’ options.
In March 2023, when she was 35 weeks pregnant, she and Clive journeyed to Martinique, where she had identified a beach she favored.
Iluliia had a private ultrasound examination before traveling, she received assurance that her condition allowed for travel.
The couple then chose to postpone their dream birth due to less-than-ideal weather conditions. They acquired a private boat in Martinique and were en route to Grenada when Iuliia’s waters broke off the coast of St Lucia.
This led to her giving birth at sea, in the vicinity of Rodney Bay. On April 23, 2023, at 12:40 am, Baby Louisa entered the world, weighing 3kg.
Clive said: "It was perfect. It was loving in the moment. She was able to connect with the universe.
"The sea gives off a frequency which is a natural painkiller. It was so much less painful for her.
“She felt so much more comfortable. We went back to mother nature. It was a magical moment."
Although their plan to have the birth on the beach didn't materialize, the couple was happy with their choice.
Several days later, they visited the Owen King European Union (OKEU) Hospital in St Lucia to undergo a medical examination and officially register their daughter's birth.
However, they assert that they were informed they couldn't proceed with the registration because it hadn't been within 24 hours of their daughter's arrival.
Clive said: "We headed over to the registry office and filled in the forms for a birth certificate.
"We waited for a couple of weeks and the registry office came back and said they couldn't do anything as the baby wasn't born in the hospital and nobody witnessed the birth."
Furthermore, they contend that the UK High Commission informed them that they must undergo a DNA test to establish the baby's parentage—a process for which they are still awaiting the results.
With the onset of storm season in St Lucia, the couple had to relocate their boat to a secure location, ultimately anchoring it in Grenada on June 20, 2023.
After they arrived in Grenada, Clive and Iuliia sought assistance from the UK High Commission in St George.
Their aspiration is that once the DNA test outcomes are received, they will be permitted to depart with a passport for their baby and subsequently return to the UK.
Their expenses for the journey have amounted to £15,000 thus far. Clive said: "We don't have enough money for flights. When we came over here, they were £600 each and now they are a few grand.
"I am £6,000 in debt on the card. We are running out of money.
"We keep being called by the Foreign Office and they ask us if we have an update for them.
