Yasmina Kattou
According to an unpublished report from the French public health agency published this week, perinatal health is deteriorating in France. The report describes a “worrying” evolution of certain indicators in ten years, alerting among other things to an increase in the mortality of newborns and the state of health of pregnant women.
For the first time, a report describes the state of perinatal health in France, with a “worrying” evolution of certain indicators, in ten years. This document of some 160 pages, published this Tuesday by Public Health France, compiles a series of data on the state of health of pregnant women, the fetus and the newborn, during the period from pregnancy to post- partum (the return of diapers), from 2010 to 2019. This report warns, among other things, of an increase in newborn mortality and the deteriorating state of health of pregnant women.
Why the indicators are more worrying in Overseas France
It is in Overseas that the indicators are the most worrying. By giving birth, women there are four times more likely to die than in mainland France. Neonatal mortality is also higher: four deaths per 1,000 births during the first month of life. This is twice the national average. Pregnancy monitoring is problematic in these territories, explains Nolwenn Regnault, head of the perinatal unit of Public Health France. “In these territories, women are younger, but actually in precarious situations more frequently”, she explains at the microphone of Europe 1. “These women are often taken care of late and therefore do not benefit from the care that we find in other territories.”
Elsewhere in France, the report reveals that more pregnant women have developed gestational diabetes or hypertension, in particular because mothers are now older. Another concern is that mothers are more often overweight than before, which increases the occurrence of complications during pregnancy. This established observation will serve as a basis for researchers to propose solutions to public authorities.