Michel Odent
Michel Odent, MD, has been influencing the history of childbirth and health research for several decades. As a practitioner he developed the maternity unit at Pithiviers Hospital in France (1962–1985). With six midwives, he was in charge of about one thousand births a year and achieved excellent statistics with low rates of intervention. Odent is familiarly known as the obstetrician who introduced the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms. He later founded the Primal Health Research Center in England.
His approach has been featured in eminent medical journals such as The Lancet and in TV documentaries such as the BBC film Birth Reborn. After his hospital career he practiced homebirths.
Odent is a contributing editor to Midwifery Today magazine.
> Research
As a researcher Michel Odent founded the Primal Health Research Center in London, England, which focuses on the long-term consequences of early experiences. An overview of the Primal Health Research data bank www.primalhealthresearch.com demonstrates how health is shaped during the primal period (from conception until the first birthday). The research also suggests that the way we are born has long-term consequences for sociability, aggressiveness—in other words, for our capacity to love. Michel Odent has developed a pre-conception program (the "accordion method") that minimizes the polluting effects of synthetic fat-soluble chemicals, such as dioxins and PCBs, during pregnancy and breastfeeding. His other research interests are the nonspecific long-term effects of early multiple vaccinations.
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> Publications
In addition to approximately 50 scientific papers, Odent has published 12 books in 22 languages. His books demonstrate his artistry in turning traditional questions around: "How do we develop good health?" instead of "How do we prevent disease?" or "How do we develop the capacity to love?" instead of "How do we prevent violence?"
Michel Odent is the author of the first article in the medical literature about the use of birthing pools (The Lancet 1983), of the first article about the initiation of lactation during the hour following birth, and of the first article applying the "Gate Control Theory of Pain" to obstetrics. He is the author of 12 books published in 22 languages.
After his hospital career he practiced homebirths. Odent's 21st-century books (The Scientification of Love, The Farmer and the Obstetrician and The Caesarean) may be regarded as a trilogy. They raise urgent questions about the future of our civilizations.
Other books by Michel Odent:
> Articles
Articles in other languages
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