Infant mortality: "Let's see on the ground whether closing maternity wards is still the right decision," suggests MP Paul-André Colombani.

Why did you submit this bill?

First of all, because the urgency is significant. In our country, since 2020, the infant mortality rate has continued to rise , reaching 4.1 deaths per 1,000 births, or one death per 250 births. The investigative book 4.1. The childbirth scandal on France ¹ played a role in raising awareness and in the development of this text. A response was needed to address this terrible observation and the reasons revealed, particularly regarding the consequences of distance.

Then there is the situation in my constituency: where I live, we have had to endure the closure of a maternity ward that resulted in more than 250 births per year . This resulted in women being sent more than two hours away from a facility. Inevitably, people took to the streets, deeming this closure unfair, violent, but also paradoxical. Indeed, the authorities used the safety argument, even though this decision would make it more difficult to give birth close to home...

However, small maternity units are finding it increasingly difficult to operate...

Of course. And this isn't about denying them, quite the contrary. In the twenty-three maternity wards that handle fewer than 300 deliveries per year in France, there are cases where it's more dangerous to keep the facility open, notably because the staff aren't trained enough to perform well, but also because the teams are too unstable.

However, I want us to be pragmatic: let's move beyond the dogmas between supporters of small or large structures and go and see on the ground what the situation is to determine whether closing is, locally, the right decision. And if it is the case, fine, but let's free up resources to allow women to give birth safely where possible.

Your text also aims to establish a national birth register. Why is this essential?

With such a registry, which would bring together a set of socioeconomic, medical, and demographic data, we could precisely identify the causes of infant mortality in France and thus take action based on the identified problems. In Europe, some of our neighbors have them, such as Sweden and Finland. It's no coincidence that they are among the best European performers...

In our country, however, the data exists; all that's missing is to consolidate it into a single register so that we can finally have an overall view of the situation. Professionals in the sector have been asking for this for several years, but I'm not blaming Emmanuel Macron's nine health ministers either. When you're in office for six months before being ousted, it's difficult to take real action.