Birth Reborn

by Michel Odent

Book Overview

The internationally known French physician and head of the Pithiviers Maternity Clinic in northern France explains his revolutionary natural childbirth methods, which result in some of the lowest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394712986
• ISBN13: 9780394712987
• Release Date: February 1986
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 123 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Good for Parents, Necessary for Professionals

On the surface, Birth Reborn is a detailed description of the transformation in birthing practices that occurred at Pithiviers, a state run French hospital. Questioning conventional obstetrical wisdom, Dr. Michel Odent led this change at Pithiviers. On a deeper level, Dr. Odent's experience is a profound message to birthing women and the professionals who work with them. For prospective parents, Dr. Odent's work at Pithiviers empowers women to believe in their ability to birth naturally with minimal intervention. Following their instincts, women naturally know what to do. They are the experts!More importantly, for professionals who work with birthing women, Dr. Odent's book encourages one to question conventional obstetrical practice. Is birth really a disaster waiting to happen? Does interference in the process produce better results? Or, does it inevitably introduce new complications? Dr. Odent's work exemplifies that birth is indeed a natural process whose outcome is best when left untouched by modern medicine. Scientific evidence supports this premise. Intervention should be the exception, not the rule!In sum, Birth Reborn is a good choice for prospective parents. Through it, a woman will develop a confidence in her instinctive, natural ability to give birth. Meanwhile, her partner gains insight into her experience and how he can assist her in the best manner possible. Though an excellent choice for parents, Birth Reborn should be required reading for those who work with prospective parents, particularly birth attendants. One should never be afraid to question commonly held beliefs. After all, that is how progress is made!

This is how birth is meant to be.

If you have never seen a woman give birth in a completely natural way, without interventions (and I hadn't when I first read it), this book will be very informative and, perhaps, surprising. When I chose to pursue childbirth in an out-of-hospital birth center, I wanted to buy this book again to remind myself of how birth should be. The book is moving, inspiring, and simply a wonderful documentation of the beauty of the birthing experience. I believe that any person interested in the miracle of birth should read this book. Especially, any woman who is planning a home birth or a birth center birth, or wants a non-medicated birth in a hospital should consider this book mandatory reading. The book is about natural, unmedicated childbirth - the attitudes and the emotions as well as some of the how-tos and some medical information. It contains many photographs of the birth process and of the center in France where the births take place. There's no other book like it, and I've read a lot of childbirth books.

Childbirth with Confidence

This was the most important book I read on childbirth. Odent displays sensitivity and respect for women in this book. He sees himself and all physicians as facilitating a natural process, which ultimately empowers a woman to tap into her safest and most trusted self to experience the most intimate of all life's experiences. In addition to Odent's insights from years of groundbreaking experience, the book includes journal entries from women at his clinic. These writings provided me with a community of women who shared their experiences, giving me the peace of mind and confidence to gently bring my baby into this world. For us, this meant a home birth with a midwife. Anyone in the least bit nervous about childbirth would find support in these pages.

The single most empowering birth book I have encountered.

Mind you, it has been over 13 years since I last read this book. I lent my copy out and lost track of it. I intend to replace it, however, because it is the single most empowering birth book I have encountered--and I've read many. Odent, through his own experience as a physician in Africa and France, developed a highly humble and respectful attitude toward a woman's inate ability to give birth--when supported and given an envirornment in which she is granted the space, saftey and integrity to deliver her child. It was his confidence in and reverence for women and the birth experience that mightily empowered me in my second delivery, which was a home birth. I recommend this book for every mother-to-be regardless of the place and format she has selected for her delivery. In fact, it should be required reading as a part of prenatal care worldwide.