Gyan was born in India because my husband Daniel, our four year old son Noah and I were living in a Tamil village, doing anthropological field research for one year. I was pregnant and we all agreed on having the baby in India if we only could find a suitable place. So I visited many local hospitals in search of a good place to give birth.

My idea was to have a very natural, self determined and safe birth in a relaxed atmosphere, but none of the clinics I saw suited my expectations. Finally, after a long desperate search, I got into contact with Berit through e-mail. She told me about their plans to open up a birthing-center in Goa and that she would be willing to meet us there and accompany me through labour. So we travelled all the way up from Tamil Nadu to Goa and met Berit and Corinna for the first time in the beginning of April.

Right away we all knew that it had been the right decision to come here. I was attended to with loving and very professional care. During the daily check-ups Berit and Corinna not only took their time to patiently answer all my questions and uncertainties but also helped our older son Noah to get ready for the big change in our family. And Goa seemed like the ideal place to prepare myself for delivery. We used the last ten days before the arrival of our new-born to discover the many beautiful Goan beaches, taking small hikes through the jungle and long sunset-walks. Daily morning swims in the Indian Ocean relieved my strained back and gave me the ideal relaxation and preparation for labour.

As Berit and Corinna had not yet established their birthing-centre and were still looking for a suitable location we had to "improvise": We rented a spacious room with a befriended family of Berit and Corinna, who kindly agreed to let me have the baby there. In the case of major unforeseen complications during labour, we had visited a local clinic and arranged a standby-cooperation with the practising gynaecologist.

On April 18th Gyan Sol was born at 11.03 p.m. With the help of Berit and Corinna it was a wonderful, fast and easy delivery. They created the atmosphere for me to feel totally safe, relaxed and undisturbed during labour. I thank them so much for making the birth of Gyan Sol one of the most beautiful experiences in my life and the lives of my family. I don't know what we would have done without them. In Germany Gyan Sol could not have found a better place to start his life!

Ursula Münster, Germany