Jorge Suarez and Alice Traill Ford welcomed their son on North Ronaldsay on Sept. 15, the island’s first birth since 1992. The remote Orkney island has no hospital or doctor, only a resident nurse, and is nearly three hours by boat from Orkney’s mainland.
Traill Ford said the birth was not originally planned: after visiting North Ronaldsay, she felt it was the right place. Some islanders and relatives were initially nervous, she said, but she felt safe with the decision. The baby, Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford, was born at Holland House, built by her ancestors, and named after her grandfather, a former Laird of North Ronaldsay.
Traill Ford said she believes people may choose hospitals because they fear complications and feel safer with more support available. The family plans to return to Costa Rica in November and visit the island each year.
