Inner West Births

24/08/2025

Since 1993, Denmark has required all children aged 6 to 16 to participate in weekly empathy classes as part of the national school curriculum. According to BrightVibes, these sessions are called Klassens tid or “The Class’s Hour.” For one hour each week, students gather in a relaxed setting to discuss personal or group problems, listen to one another, and work together to find solutions. The goal is to teach children how to understand others’ feelings, resolve conflicts respectfully, and build emotional intelligence.

Empathy is treated as a learnable skill, not just a personality trait. As noted by My Modern Met, these classes help reduce bullying, strengthen relationships, and foster a sense of community. Children learn to value each other’s perspectives and grow into more confident, emotionally aware adults.

Denmark’s approach is often credited for its consistently high rankings in the UN’s World Happiness Report. By embedding empathy into education from an early age, the country has created a culture where emotional well-being is prioritized alongside academic success.

21/08/2025

We are deeply saddened to hear news of the passing of Michel Odent, whose vision and writing reshaped the way we understand human birth.

Michel Odent reminded us that birth is not a medical procedure to be controlled, but a primal rythm to be respected. He advocated for home-like maternity units, warm water births, protecting the birthing woman's privacy and honouring her instincts, undisturbed contact between mother and newborn; he was among the first to discuss the importance of the microbiome, and question many of the practices that had (and have) become normalised in overmedicalised maternity systems globally.

"The first intervention in natural childbirth is the one the woman does herself when she walks out the front door of her own home in labor". - Michel Odent.

We thank you, Michel, for your passion, vision and committment to women and newborns.

13/05/2024