Calm Birth Breakthrough: OdonAssist Debuts at Southmead Hospital

Southmead Hospital in Bristol launched OdonAssist, an inflatable cuff device designed to guide a baby through the birth canal as a gentler alternative to forceps and ventouse. Tested since 2018, the device has helped deliver around 300 babies in Europe and has been praised by mothers and midwives for a calmer birth with fewer marks on the baby. Invented by car mechanic Jorge Odon and developed by Maternal Newborn Health Innovations, OdonAssist received CE Kitemark approval in 2025 and, after regulatory clearances, is being rolled out across the UK and Europe.