Table of Contents

1 1. The history of medicine in the light of the history of plastic; 2 2. Unasked questions about the most common medical intervention in childbirth; 3 3. Unsuited birth statistics; 4 4. A tool for the future; 5 5. The oxytocin system of our great grandaughters; 6 6. What makes a substance poisonous?; 7 7. If I were the baby; 8 8. Reasons for optimism; 9 9. Promising avenues for research; 10 10. Complying with the shyness of oxytocin; 11 11. Learning from home births; 12 12. Futuristic strategies; 13 13. Interpreting labour pain; 14 14. The future of pharmacological assistance in childbirth; 15 15. The industrialisation of pregnancy in the age of cheap plastics; 16 16. Clarified objectives; 17 17. The cost of childbirth in the age of plastics

About the Author

Michel Odent is best known as the obstetrician who introduced the concepts of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms. He has published 16 books in 24 languages. His last four books are published by Pinter & Martin. His other books include Birth Reborn and Birth and Breastfeeding. See also the Primal Health Research Databank.