According to a gynecologist, the closure of small maternity hospitals would cause “1,200 fewer newborn deaths”

On March 9, an uplifting report revealed that to ensure the safety of mothers and their newborns, 111 French maternity wards should be avoided. The text therefore recommends the closure of these establishments and many gynecological professionals have reacted in favor of this reflection.

Like the professor of gynecology at the University of Lorraine, Olivier Morel. In an interview given to The shipment, argues that small motherhoods are a danger to families. He argues that closing those with fewer than 1,000 deliveries a year would save money” 1,200 fewer neonatal deaths per year in France “.

For the gynecologist it is a matter of safety. According to him and several of his colleagues, small maternity wards would be less able to guarantee in the event of complications during childbirth, because they would not have the necessary tools to act. Most practice only two deliveries a day, which is not enough to maintain the technique of him according to Olivier Morel.

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“ The problem today is not the medical desert itself, it is the exposure of the population to small, totally degraded maternity hospitals, with more teams available on site, permanent replacements… it is effectively unacceptable. So yes, care must be concentrated in the largest maternity hospitals. It is urgent to do it in France. We’ve known this for years. »

However, the obstetrician-gynecologist has a reservation about the number of establishments to close according to the report. 111 maternity hospitals represent 25% of all French clinics. “ The feasibility must be evaluated in each territory. It is quite probable – given the French geography – that we will still have to keep maternity numbers below 1000 births, but we must be able to make a difference, thus establishing which ones are essential for the population, which ones are not. »