Birth and Breastfeeding

'Just when we thought everything had already been said about birth and breastfeeding, Odent challenges us anew with a vision that is both provocative and compelling. A book you'll want to discuss even before you finish reading it.' - Marian Thompson, President Emeritus and Co-founder, La Leche League, International 'This is not just a practical guide to childbirth and breastfeeding but a philosophically wide-ranging study... It should be compulsory reading for mothers, midwives, doctors, and, not least, hospital administrators and the architects of future birthing places.' - Esther Culpin, Ex-director La Leche League, Great Britain

MICHEL ODENT was born in 1930. Originally qualified as a surgeon, he is popularly known as the obstetrician who introduced the concepts of birthing pools and homelike birthing rooms. His ongoing influential work in childbirth and health research has featured in TV documentaries such as the BBC's 'Birth Reborn', and in authoritative medical journals. Odent founded the Primal Health Research Centre in London, which focuses on the long-term consequences of early childhood experiences. The Primal Health Research data bank (www.birthworks.org/primalhealth) features material which indicates that health is shaped during the primal period (from conception until the first birthday), and that the way we are born affects our sociability, aggression and capacity to love. He has also developed a preconceptional programme (the 'accordion method') to minimize the effects of intrauterine and milk pollution by synthetic fat soluble chemicals. Odent's other principal research interest is the non-specific, long-term effect on health of early multiple vaccinations. He is the author of dozens of scientific papers and 11 books published in 21 languages, including Primal Health and The Farmer and the Obstetrician.