Michel Odent Obituary

The pioneering French obstetrician Michel Odent, who has died aged 95, spent much than 50 years passionately promoting knowing of nan earthy physiology of childbirth. From nan 1960s onwards, “active guidance of labour”, utilizing artificial oxytocin and different techniques, had dominated obstetric practice. Odent’s activity flagged up its pitfalls, and offered an replacement view.

Daniela Drandić of nan International Confederation of Midwives said: “In nan 1970s commencement was institutionalised and medicalised. Michel Odent reminded america that physiological processes during gestation and commencement should beryllium respected, which was very important arsenic things had gone excessively acold successful nan different direction. There wasn’t overmuch sermon astatine nan clip and he showed america different way.”

Many of nan practices Odent championed are now taken for granted: birthing pools and home-like birthing centres are commonplace successful nan UK, for example, and it is wide accepted that a mother should beryllium capable to move astir successful labour and needs undisturbed clip to enslaved pinch her baby.

In 1962, Odent began moving astatine Pithiviers authorities hospital, successful a French municipality 50 miles southbound of Paris. He had trained arsenic a surgeon, but was willing successful obstetrics. When nan head of nan maternity portion stepped down, Odent took over, moving nan portion until 1985. He had publication nan activity of nan French obstetrician Frédérick Leboyer and nan Russian Igor Charkovsky, an exponent of h2o births, who had akin ideas, but he besides had nan assurance to travel his ain instincts and observations. He championed squatting aliases opinionated to springiness commencement alternatively than lying flat, having seen women do this erstwhile he was moving successful Algeria, and he turned a accepted transportation suite into a much comfortable room, pinch cushions and blinds.

Concerned astir women’s little backmost symptom successful labour, he acquired an inflatable paddling pool, and past went connected to instal a commencement excavation successful his unit. After nan 100th commencement utilizing this method, he wrote a landmark paper, Birth Under Water, for nan aesculapian diary The Lancet (1983) explaining really effective it was astatine reducing pain. In 1982 nan BBC brought his methods to a wide assemblage pinch a documentary, Birth Reborn, astir nan Pithiviers midwifery unit. It revealed a hushed, home-like maternity unit, pinch dimmed lights, wherever women successful labour could move freely and consciousness secure.

Odent had a immense respect for nan six midwives connected nan unit, who inspired immoderate of his cardinal ideas. He recovered that a female successful labour benefits from calm backstage surroundings pinch conscionable a azygous knowledgeable midwife, who is saying small and doing a repetitive task specified arsenic knitting. It is successful these conditions, Odent taught, that oxytocin is released – nan “love hormone” arsenic he liked to telephone it – which stimulates uterine contractions. In a harshly lit, engaged labour ward pinch a squad of group scrutinising her, a female successful labour is apt to consciousness stressed, producing adrenaline, which inhibits accumulation of oxytocin. Dimming nan lights excessively was not immoderate whimsical fad: it encourages nan merchandise of melatonin, a hormone that acts pinch oxytocin to facilitate birth. These were cardinal insights. Janet Balaskas, who runs nan Active Birth Centre successful London, said: “We ever knew that ‘nature knows best’ but it was Odent who provided nan ‘why’.”

As news of Odent’s methods spread, pregnant women from each complete Europe and nan US sewage successful touch wanting to springiness commencement successful Pithiviers, and, according to 1 observer, midwives arrived successful nan small municipality “by nan busload” to spot his methods first-hand. The number of babies calved each twelvemonth astatine nan portion quadrupled successful Odent’s time, but he was opening to deliberation that he could beryllium much useful arsenic a interrogator and writer and was overmuch successful request arsenic a speaker internationally.

In 1985 he near Pithiviers and moved to London. He spent nan adjacent 40 years there, researching, penning and promoting his ideas. He besides registered pinch nan UK General Medical Council and continued to assistance astatine location births.

Odent successful his study successful Pithiviers hospital, 1983

It was Odent’s profound belief that really you are calved and your wellbeing successful “the primal period” (from conception to your first birthday) person lifelong effects. He group up nan Primal Health Research Centre successful London, and a database to collate epidemiological information and investigation his theories. He was a prolific writer, authoring galore articles and 17 books, successful 22 languages. His book The Farmer and nan Obstetrician (2002) is simply a telephone to arms, saying that conscionable arsenic farming successful nan 20th period had scant respect for nature, utilizing artificial fertiliser and pesticides, truthful excessively has childbirth go an “industrialised” process pinch its wide usage of caesarean conception and artificial hormones.

Combining nan roles of philosopher and obstetrician, Odent rhapsodised astir mother world and nan “cocktail of emotion hormones” that precipitates earthy birth. He felt we manipulate quality astatine our peril.

Odent could beryllium controversial: for example, successful 2009 he recommended that fathers should enactment retired of nan transportation room if they were astatine each anxious truthful arsenic not to disturb their partners. And he expounded theories successful his later books that were met pinch scepticism by immoderate experts, specified arsenic his linking of autism, anorexia and different psychological disorders to artificial induction of labour and caesarean sections.

Born successful Bresles, bluish France, Michel was nan elder boy of Madeleine (nee Charpentier) and Paul Odent. His begetter worked for a section sweetener mill and his mother, who had a profound power connected his life, ran a nursery schoolhouse and wrote poetry. He attended schoolhouse successful adjacent Clermont, cycling 9 miles each way, earlier moving to Paris aged 18, to study medicine astatine nan Sorbonne University.

Having trained successful surgery, successful 1958 Odent started 2 years of subject work successful Algeria, wherever nan warfare for independency from France was taking place. He worked successful a infirmary successful Tizi Ouzou successful nan Kabylie region and, among different things, witnessed a caller method for caesarean sections. After returning home, Odent took a position arsenic a surgeon successful Pithiviers.

In 1957 Odent joined Nicole Toulat, pinch whom he had 2 children, Sylvie and Christophe. They remained joined but decided to separate. In 1983 he met Judy Graham, a British TV journalist, pinch whom he made his location successful Hampstead, northbound London, and had a son, Pascal, successful 1985. After they separated, successful 1997 he formed a long-lasting narration pinch Liliana Lammers, a doula, providing support astir childbirth, and continued to unrecorded successful Hampstead pinch her.

Odent is survived by Liliana, Nicole, Sylvie and Pascal, 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. His boy Christophe and younger brother, Daniel, predeceased him.