Background
For nearly 30 years, National Perinatal Surveys (ENP) have been conducted regularly at the request of public health services. They provide data on the indicators of health of mothers and newborns, medical practices during pregnancy and childbirth, and the demographic and social characteristics of women and families.
Six surveys have been conducted: in 1995, 1998, 2003, 2010, 2016 and 2021.
Objectives
- To measure the main indicators of health status, medical practices during pregnancy and delivery, and perinatal risk factors; it is possible to monitor their trends using the previous surveys and to compare these indicators to those from other countries.
- To provide information on specific issues, to help guide decision making in public health, to assess the actions to be taken, and to measure the impact of recommendations issued by agencies or associations of health professionals
- To study what women expect and how they react to the quality of care and support they receive during pregnancy and childbirth.
Method for each survey
- Population: all children born alive or stillborn, in metropolitan France and the overseas departments, born after at least 22 weeks or weighing at least 500 grams.
- Registration of all births during one week in all public and private maternity units and birth centers
- Data collection in two parts: interview with women following childbirth and data collection from medical records.
The questionnaires include questions that are identical in every survey, making it possible to monitor the main perinatal health indicators, and specific questions to respond to particular problems arising at a given time.
New aspects in 2021
– Follow-up of women two months after giving birth. After agreement, the women will be contacted by internet or telephone to answer questions about their health, including mental health, and that of their child, their reactions to the care they received during childbirth and their environmental exposure during pregnancy.
– Knowledge of women’s medical consumption. Health insurance data for the mother and child will be matched with the ENP 2021 database and used to gain a better understanding of the medical care provided during pregnancy and childbirth and the maternal pathologies treated before, during and after pregnancy.
Team
- Camille Le Ray, principal investigator
- Nathalie Lelong, principal co-investigator
- Hélène Cinelli, national coordinator
- Marie Viaud, statistician
- Béatrice Blondel, epidemiologic expert, investigator of ENP in 1995 to 2016
Services involve in the 2021 survey
- National institute for health and medical research (Institut national de la sante et de la recherche medicale, INSERM, EPOPe team)
- Sante publique France, the national public health agency
- The Ministry of Health
- The Directorate-General of Health
- The Direction of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics
- Directorate-General of Health Care Provision
- The Maternal and Child Health Services in each district.
The results of the 2021 National Perinatal Survey are online
Other national perinatal survey reports
Reports from the national perinatal survey: 2016, 2010
Perinatal health in metropolitan France from 1995 to 2010. Results of national perinatal surveys
