I've never been a great fan of the opinions of Dr Michel Odent, and his particular preoccupation with the role of (the hormone) oxytocin during birth, and his latest suggestion, that men should 'stay away from childbirth' in order to help women, simply confirms my belief that he is out of touch with what pregnant women actually want.
You can read the full story in The Telegraph today, in which he is quoted as saying:
The 'tensions caused by the presence of men at birth could lead to more adrenalin, slowing the production of the hormone oxytocin, which assists effective contractions, making labour longer and more painful and increasing the chance of a caesarean section.'
3 comments:
never take anything out of context, only misinterpretation and misrepresentation ensues
I agree that taking things out of context can lead to misinterpretation, which is why I provided a link in this blog post to the full Telegraph article. Interested readers can take a look at the quote in its full context there.
Having had my husband with me in the room for the birth of each of my children; I would have to agree with everything that Dr. Odent states. Although some women may feel reassured by having their partners in the delivery room, I suspect a large majority would rather not have their partner present. I found that having my husband in the delivery room made me anxious and caused repeatedly distracted. My husband and I discussed our sons birth afterward and I was surprised to learn that he felt very helpless as he watched me labouring, he also felt that witnessing the delivery affected him with regards to our sexual relationship. Couples must discuss, prior to the birth, all of the implications of having or not having the partner in the room. I think some women feel obligated to have their partner, or anyone else for that matter, in the room for the birth.
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