Leading obstetrician says women at risk of losing ability to give birth naturally

French doctor Michel Odent has suggested that women risk being unable to give birth naturally, or even breast-feed their babies, because of modern aids. The 84-year-old, who pioneered the use of birthing pools in hospitals, has argued in his new book Do We Need Midwives? that childbirth has become “medicalised” to the extent that women are at risk of losing their ability to give birth unaided.

He cited research showing that women giving birth between 2002 and 2008 took two-and-a-half hours longer in the first stage of labour than those who gave birth between 1959 and 1966.

“To me it demonstrates the obvious – that women are losing the capacity to give birth,” he said.