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A new childbirth aid device, named Odon after its inventor, is currently being tested in Besançon. It could be offered in French maternity wards as early as next year.
Do you know the Odon device? It is a plastic sleeve topped with an inflatable ring, which are surrounded by plastic, with two levers. What is it used for ? It is a childbirth aid device, which is named after a doctor Jorge Odon, who is its inventor.
A beneficial device for mothers and babies
“The objective is to place an inflatable ring around the baby’s head, resting on the bones of the skull and the maternal walls. Once inflated, the ring remains in place and the doctor can advance the baby’s head into the maternal pelvis using two handles located at the ends of the plastic sleeve. details the Besançon University Hospital website.
Supported by the WHO, the Odon Assist was successfully tested in the hospital’s maternity ward and represents an alternative to forceps and suction cups, the tools usually used to deliver newborns.
A device tested on a large scale
As part of a study carried out at Besançon University Hospital between December 2019 and May 2021, 2,191 pregnant women were offered the possibility of using the Odon Assist during childbirth. Among all eligible patients, 83% of women agreed to be given birth with this device if help was necessary. “In total, 104 women were given birth with the Odon Assist device, with a success rate close to 90% and no cesarean section has not been carried out” notes the CHU. “For 12 deliveries, another instrument was finally used to allow natural delivery“.
Nearly one in two patients has an “intact perineum”
According to Professor Nicolas Mottet, head of the maternity hospital of Besançon who responded to our colleagues from France info on the subject, “using this device, we still have 45% of patients who left our maternity ward with an intact perineum, without episiotomy and without tearing. The other interesting thing for the newborn is that he is born without a mark on the head, unlike the suction cup or forceps.”.
A way to welcome the child in the gentlest way possible. The Odon device will now be tested in Ethiopia by Professor Mottet’s team. It may soon be offered in maternity hospitals in France, when its CE marking, i.e. compliant with current European standards, is obtained.