Birthing guru says labour over-managed

IN the 1970s, while his colleagues were plugging in their new electronic fetal monitors, French obstetrician Dr. Michel Odent was encouraging mothers to give birth squatting in silent, dimly lit rooms at his low-tech birthing centre outside Paris.

Later, he introduced the concept of birthing pools and stirred up controversy by suggesting that a father's presence in the delivery room is not only unnecessary, but also hinders labour.

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