I flew 4,000 miles around the world to give birth on a beach, but now I’m stranded off the coast of Grenada with my four-month-old baby

A British mother-to-be who flew 4,000 miles around the world to give birth on a beach is now ‘stranded’ off the coast of Grenada with her four-month-old baby.

Iuliia Gurzhii, 38, and husband, Clive, 51, ‘feel like prisoners’ after being trapped and unable to register her newborn’s birth or apply for a passport.

The couple left Tameside, Manchester, and traveled to Rodney Bay in St. Lucia so that Iuliia could fulfill her dream of the most “natural” birth on a beach there.

But her water broke and she gave birth to baby Louisa at sea on April 23.

They’ve been battling the bureaucracy ever since to get her home.

Iuliia Gurzhii with her baby. The couple were on their way to Rodney Bay in St. Lucia so Iuliia could fulfill her dream of the most “natural” birth on a beach there, but her waters broke and she gave birth to baby Louisa at sea.

To make matters worse, they left their eight-year-old daughter Elizabeth in the UK because they were unable to renew her passport.

Initially, they were told by a hospital that they could not register a birth because she was older than 24 hours.

Then an immigration office said they needed proof the baby was theirs before a passport office said they couldn’t help because the couple had no proof of where Louisa was born.

And now they claim the UK High Commission said they needed a DNA test – for which they are still waiting for the results.

The pair feel “stranded and abandoned” and run out of money. They say they don’t know how to get back to the UK.

Clive, a sports coach, from Tameside, Manchester, said: ‘We have gone through several agencies and no one will help us.

‘We’re out of money. We will soon run out of food and no one will help us.

“We are essentially stateless – we have been more than abandoned. We are prisoners in a country we are not allowed to leave.’

The couple left the UK in March when Iuliia was 35 weeks pregnant and headed to Martinique.

They then went to St. Lucia after picking up the boat in Martinique, and Iuliia gave birth at sea off the coast of Rodney Bay.

Louisa, was born at 12.40 pm and weighed 3 kg.

A few days later, the parents went to the Owen King European Union (OKEU) Hospital in St. Lucia for a check-up and to declare the birth of their daughter.

But they claim they were told they couldn’t because it wasn’t within 24 hours of her birth.

Iuliia Gurzhii, husband, Clive and their daughter Louisa. The couple left the UK in March when Iuliia was 35 weeks pregnant

Daughter Louisa is resting on the boat. Louisa was born on April 23 at 12:40 pm and weighed 3 kg

Iuliia Gurzhii, husband, Clive and their daughter Louisa at a beach resort. The new parents then went to the St. Lucia immigration office for help, claiming they were told they needed proof that the baby was theirs.

Rough seas due to a storm on the coast of Grenada

The couple first traveled to Martinique from the UK. They then went to St. Lucia after picking up the boat in Martinique, and gave birth at sea off the coast of Rodney Bay.

As storm season approached St. Lucia, the pair had to get the boat to safety and anchor in Grenada on June 20.

Clive and daughter Louisa on the boat. After arriving in Grenada, Clive and Iuliia went to the UK High Commission in St. George for help. But they claim they were told they would have to take a DNA test to prove the baby is theirs

Clive said, ‘We went to the registry office and filled out the forms for a birth certificate.

“We waited a few weeks and the registry office came back and said there was nothing they could do because the baby wasn’t born at the hospital and no one witnessed the birth.”

The new parents then went to the immigration office in St. Lucia for help, claiming they were told they needed proof that the baby was theirs.

The family then contacted the passport office in Castries, St. Lucia, hoping to secure an emergency passport for their baby.

But they claim they didn’t get one because they had no proof of where Louisa was born.

As storm season approached St. Lucia, the pair had to get the boat to safety and anchor in Grenada on June 20.

After arriving in Grenada, Clive and Iuliia went to the UK High Commission in St. George for help.

But they claim they were told they would have to take a DNA test to prove the baby is theirs.

Last month, Clive went to the UK High Commission in Grenada and took a DNA test to prove the baby was theirs, but they are still waiting for the results, they say.

The hope is that when the DNA test results come back, the couple will be allowed to leave with passports for the baby and return to the UK.

Iuliia said she is “traumatized” and has sleepless nights due to the stress of not being able to go home to her daughter, who is being cared for by her aunt, Kristina, 24.

Iuliia, a yoga teacher, said, “I can’t sleep at night. It’s traumatizing.

“I dread the night it’s hurricane season, we have storms now – it’s traumatizing for all of us.

“I can’t stop crying, we’re begging for help – we’ve been abandoned.”

Clive said: ‘We don’t have enough money for flights. When we got here they were £600 each and now they’re a few thousand.

‘I have a £6,000 debt on the card. We’re almost out of money.

‘We keep getting calls from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they ask us if we have an update for them.

“They should be the ones to help us get out of this.”

An FCDO spokesperson said: “We have offered consular support to a British family in St. Lucia.”