Michel Odent talks In-Labor, Pre-Emergency Cesarean Birth

Today I had the most certain pleasure of seeing, listening, and discussing with Michel Odent. I missed the legend when he came last year and was not going to miss it twice. Over the past week I was involved with three different births, so the actual process of childbirth was hot on my heart and basically staring me in the eyeballs.

Michel Odent at Bini Birth on Wednesday, April 29th all day was on my calendar for quite sometime. If you have never been to Bini for a workshop as a birth worker or parent then you are missing out.

Michel Odent sat on a tall chair at the front of the second floor with a handheld microphone and about 35 eager eyes watching and listening. He started with the phrase, “the topics that I will discuss today are important for ALL interested in mankind and the future of humanity”. Odent then proceeded to explain the primal period which is the critical time in the fetus to infant development for the expressions of genes with many contributing factors. Odent states that this period has been the most modified period in a human’s life in the last decade.

Let me say that again. In t he last decade and probably longer, the most modified period of human beings as a species has been the time from conception to the end of the first year of life. Think about that. The way babies are born has been tinkered with, adjusted, and neutralized (as Odent says) with numbers that still remain disheartening and no empathy as to what the baby may actually want or desire.

Let me say that again. In t he last decade and probably longer, the most modified period of human beings as a species has been the time from conception to the end of the first year of life. Think about that. The way babies are born has been tinkered with, adjusted, and neutralized (as Odent says) with numbers that still remain disheartening and no empathy as to what the baby may actually want or desire.

About an hour into Michel Odent talking he says, “No more new subjects. Let’s discuss.” And, this is when audience members began to ask questions and he would discuss.

The day flew by. We covered a ton of information. One topic that kept coming up was the significant differences between emergency cesarean births versus pre-labor cesarean births versus In-Labor, Pre-Emergency Cesarean birth.

For instance, babies born pre-labor cesarean births are deprived of the positive stressors that accommodate the human birth process and its hormones. These babies show signs of respiratory distress and a diminished sense of smell along with a high possibility of being obese. There are also very low amounts of melatonin in these babies. Oxytocin and melatonin work synergistically to inhibit neocortical activity in a mother’s brain. This is so she can basically get out of her head and into her body to birth her baby.

Babies born during the second stage of labor or active labor are more than likely an emergency cesarean birth. The second child in these situations is at an increased risk of premature birth.

As you can see, there are risks and benefits to all three cesarean categories. Who knew, right? I’ve been to many doctors’ appointments with clients birthing at a hospital and actual SCIENTIFIC FACTS about the different cesarean births never was presented. In fact, women are more commonly scared into a pre-labor cesarean at the end of their pregnancy because their baby is supposedly too big or mom is too old; or women are scared into an emergency cesarean birth during the second stage of labor.

Yes, I know some of these are warranted but majority could have been different. When a mother has been educated with unbiased information, she has the ability to make an informed decision that is best for her and her baby. If a mother does not know that an in-labor, pre-emergency cesarean might offer the most health benefits for their baby, how can they make that choice? Better yet, if their doctor does not know the latest research, how can they provide the best service to their client?

-LINDSEY MATHEWS, DC

@GigEmLindsey