Natural birth is culturally not acceptable but physiologically normal

The recent passing of Michel Odent has got me thinking about the legacy he has left behind; just how visionary, progressive, woman and midwifery centred he was. How passionate he was about physiological birth, for respecting and creating that safe and undisturbed space for the birthing woman and her partner.  He is known for introducing water & birthing pools for labour and birth into hospitals and encouraging breastfeeding & skin to skin in the first 24 hours and he was the first to label oxytocin the hormone of love.

Dr Michel Odent reminded us that birth is not a medical process to be controlled, but a primal rhythm to be respected.

In his own words:

“To change the world, we must first change the way babies are being bor

“One cannot actively help a woman to give birth. The goal is to avoid disturbing her unnecessarily.”

 “If we want to find safe alternatives to obstetrics, we must rediscover midwifery. To rediscover midwifery is the same as giving back childbirth to women. And imagine the future if surgical teams were at the service of the midwives and the women instead of controlling them.”

With a 46% Caesarean rate for first time mothers in Australia; a 43% induction rate and with 1 in 3 women experiencing birth trauma, now more than ever before it’s crucial that we as birth workers continue his work in promoting physiological birth for well mothers’ and babies and ending unnecessary medical intervention. – Michel Odent expresses his concern, “that women are at risk of losing the ability to give birth naturally without medical intervention.”

There are so many benefits of physiological birth for mothers and babies, and this should be the focus with more positive conversations on the evidence-based research and practices to support this. Birthing women  need to make decisions not based on fear mongering practices and information but from a place of confidence, and education imparted by those that know birth the best. They need to trust themselves, their body, their baby and  the red-thread of birth that connects them to all the women who have birthed before them.

WE need to make natural birth the norm again rather than the exception which it has quickly become.