What is the future of a world born by caesarean? This is the question we need to ask now that, thanks in particular to the work of Michael Stark, the c-section has become easier, faster, and safer than ever before. In this conference we will not only focus on technical advances though… We will also constantly make reference to recent scientific advances which suggest we should apply new criteria in order to evaluate practices within midwifery and obstetrics. For example, thanks to a large amount of data provided by developing disciplines as diverse as ethology, bacteriology, epidemiology and hormonology, it has recently been possible to confirm scientifically that … a human newborn baby needs his or her mother. After thousands of years of beliefs and rituals which have disturbed or prevented first mother-newborn interaction, modern science now has the power to reverse our deep-rooted conditioning.

We welcome all of you, participants from the five continents. We want to thank Prof Garcia Hernandez and our friends in Las Palmas for suggesting the Canary Islands Convention Centre as a venue for this conference held under the auspices of the Goddess of Love … the Goddess born from the foam of the waves.      



Dr. Michel Odent_________Heloisa Lessa