According to Michel Odent, who has been attending births since 1953 and is now in his 90s, society is at a precipice. It’s time to change our way of thinking and enter a new paradigm. We need to be asking “why some births go so well”, rather than “why birth is difficult”. He talks about how important the transition into birth is, and the need for protecting this time. Waiting for the initiation of labour, including for caesarean births wherever possible, so that the baby is ready to be born. This is a cultural conversation for everyone: not just doctors, midwives, doulas and pregnant women.