'Fetus ejection reflex', 'milk ejection reflex', 'sperm ejection reflex', 'orgasmogenic cocktail'...These are examples of terms used by Michel Odent in his study of the ecstatic/orgasmic states associated with different episodes of human sexual life. This book about male and female orgasms is an opportunity to convince anyone that humanity is at a turning point. Due to the improved technique of medically assisted conceptions and cesareans, the advances in anesthesiology and pharmacology, and the development of the food industry, women can now conceive a baby, give birth and feed their infant without relying on the release of 'cocktails of love hormones'. Human intelligence and ingenuity have made love hormones redundant. Let us think long-term and let us raise questions in terms of civilization. The future of humanity is at stake.
Michel Odent MD was in charge of the surgical unit and the maternity unit at the Pithiviers (France) state hospital from 1962–85.
For many years he was the only doctor overseeing around 1,000 births a year. He is the author of the first article in the medical literature about the initiation of lactation during the hour following birth (1977), the first article about the use of birthing pools (1983), and the first article applying the ‘gate control theory of pain’ to obstetrics (1975).
He created the Primal Health Research database (www.primalhealthresearch.com) and he has been a member of the Professional Advisory Board of La Leche League International for 40 years. He is a Visiting Professor at the Odessa National Medical University and Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Brasilia.