08/24/2025
We are saddened to hear news of the passing of Michel Odent, whose vision and writing reshaped the way we understand human birth.
Michel Odent reminded us that birth is not a medical procedure to be controlled, but a primal rythm to be respected. He advocated for home-like maternity units, warm water births, protecting the birthing woman's privacy and honouring her instincts, undisturbed contact between mother and newborn; he was among the first to discuss the importance of the microbiome, and question many of the practices that had (and have) become normalised in overmedicalised maternity systems globally.
Michel Odent's legacy lives on in every dimmed, quiet birthing room, and in every midwife his words and work inspired to join our profession.
Thank you, Michel, for your passion, vision and committment to women and newborns.
Photo: Xavier Caré / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA
