This week MoMa mourns the death of Dr Michel Odent. He was a champion for mothers & giving birth “back to women”. His advocacy reminded us that birth is a physiological, deeply instinctive process, with a natural integrity which should be protected from unnecessary intervention.
He drew an unbroken line from birth to breastfeeding, naming what mothers and babies truly need. He had a deep understanding of the mother-baby dyad and wrote on many related topics, empowering women to make their own choices.
“To give birth to her baby, the mother needs privacy. She needs to feel unobserved. The newborn baby needs the skin of the mother, the smell of the mother, her breast. These are all needs that we hold in common with the other mammals, but which humans have learned to neglect, to ignore or even deny.” –
Dr. Michel Odent, from “Birth and Breastfeeding: Rediscovering the Needs of Women During Pregnancy and Childbirth”
He was an inspiration to the founders of MoMa Breastfeeding and we acknowledge his legacy in our work. A life well lived, by a remarkable man who will be greatly missed.
Dr. Michel Odent (1930–2025)