Michel Odent

[1] Born in a French village in 1930, Odent studied medicine in Paris and was educated as a surgeon in the 1950s.

[2] In charge of the surgical and maternity units of the Pithiviers hospital (France) from 1962 to 1985, Odent has developed a special interest in environmental factors influencing the birth process.

After his hospital career he was involved in home birth, founded in London the Primal Health Research Centre, and designed a database (primalhealthhresearch.com) to compile epidemiological studies exploring correlations between conditions during the natal “primal period” and subsequent child and mother health.

[5][6][7][8] In a book published in 1986 (“Primal Health”) he provided evidence that homeostasis is established during the “primal period” (fetal life, birth and the months following birth): this is the phase of life when human basic adaptive systems are adjusting their “set point levels”.

In his books he is constantly referring to the concept of reduced neocortical activity as a key to rediscover the basic needs of labouring women and to make possible a real “fetus ejection reflex”.