Pierre-Constant Budin (; 9 November 1846 – 22 January 1907) was a French obstetrician who was a native of Enencourt-le-Sec, a village in northern France. In 1876 he earned his medical degree in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and in 1882 became chief obstetrician at the Hôpital de la Charité. In 1895 he succeeded

Étienne Stéphane Tarnier Stéphane Étienne Tarnier (29 April 1828 – 23 November 1897) was a French obstetrician who was a native of Aiserey. He studied and practiced medicine in Paris, and is often considered as doyen of French obstetrics during the second half of the ...

(1828-1897) as chair of

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

at the Hôpital Maternité. Budin was a member of the

Académie de Médecine An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

, and an officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. Pierre Budin was a founder of modern

perinatal Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

medicine, and made many contributions in efforts to reduce

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

. He stressed the importance of proper

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

and prevention of infectious disease in newborns, as well as education of new mothers on these subjects. Due to the problem of

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

in infants caused by contaminated cow's milk, Budin was a major proponent of breastfeeding, and believed in a substitution of sterilized milk if natural nutrition failed. He also popularized a technique known as

gavage Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...

for feeding

premature infants Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is between 2 ...

who were too weak to receive nourishment by conventional methods. He was the author of ''Le nourrisson: alimentation et hygiène - enfants débiles, enfants nés à terme'' (1900), a book that was later translated into English as "The Nursling. The feeding and hygiene of premature and full-term infants" (1907).Amazon Books, Nourrisson-Nursling
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Associated eponyms

* ''Budin's obstetrical joint'':, Also known as the posterior intra-occipital joint, which is a band of

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

seen in newborns, situated between the squamous and the two rounded prominences of the

occipital bone The occipital bone () is a neurocranium, cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone overlies the occipital lobe ...

. * ''Budin's rule'': A rule that states that a bottle-fed infant should not consume more than 10% of its own weight of cow's milk per day.

References

Breastfeeding Medicine
Dr. Pierre Budin: Promoter of Breastfeeding in 19th Century France
Dorlands Medical Dictionary

Neonatology.org
History of Perinatal Medicine French obstetricians People from Oise 1846 births 1907 deaths {{France-med-bio-stub