women victims of miscarriage will they soon be better accompanied? While they are not affected by any legalization today, the situation could well change. On the night of March 8 to 9, the deputies unanimously voted for the law proposal of the MoDem deputy Sandrine Josso aimed at better take into account the mental health of women who have just experienced a miscarriage. In particular, it provides for psychological support as well as paid sick leave without a waiting day. This “lifting of the deficiency will take place as soon as possible and at the latest“On January 1, 2024, Health Minister François Braun told the National Assembly, the text must now be examined and receive the green light from the Senate.”Ignoring, minimizing, even sometimes trivializing, the spontaneous termination of pregnancy is nevertheless an event that affects us and concerns us all.“, he added.
❤️ Tonight, my bill, in favor of psychological support for couples facing a #miscarriagevoted unanimously on March 8: quite a symbol for the #women@AssembleeNat@Modem@Sante_Gouv@FrcsBraunpic.twitter.com/HrhzSzE1tm
— Sandrine JOSSO (@sandrinejossoan) March 9, 2023
A traumatic experience and “unfairly trivialized“, according to Sandrine Josso. In France in 2022, one in four pregnancies ended in miscarriage in the first 22 weeks of amenorrhea, or about 5 months of pregnancy, and each year 200,000 French women go through this ordeal. One in ten women risk of miscarriage in her lifetime. And yet, even though miscarriage does not affect just a minority of women in our country, no psychological support protocol does not yet exist in France. “Even if the miscarriage is a natural phenomenon whose medical support is well controlled, the psychological consequences are identified but not taken care of.recognized the deputy in the columns of West France.
Indeed, many studies have shown thesometimes serious psychological impact that can have a natural termination of pregnancy. According to one of them, a study published in theAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology“nearly one in three women suffer from post-traumatic stress, with symptoms of reliving, avoidance and neurovegetative hypervigilance that can last, for one in six, for up to nine months.. 25% of the women surveyed would also present symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety and 10% would suffer from depression.
An “intimate drama”
The text also wants to set up “miscarriage journey” in each Regional Health Agency (ARS) by September 2024, to better guide women. “Our health system does not leave enough room for women’s health, this must change”, regretted the Minister of Health. “A spontaneous termination of pregnancy is an intimate drama.”
Each miscarriage is a tragedy, with psychological consequences too long minimized. Thanks to the unanimous adoption of the text of @sandrinejossoan at the Assembly, we are taking another step towards stronger support for women and couples facing this trauma. pic.twitter.com/ofGDgZEtQm
— Francois Braun (@FrcsBraun) March 9, 2023
With this bill, the MP hopes to create a “real support program for couples faced with a miscarriage with adapted and personalized psychological follow-up, covered by health insurance”. Midwives can refer couples directly to a psychologist approved by the “MonParcoursPsy” devicewho must be informed of this aid.
This text could be “a major step forward for the benefit of women’s mental health, too often and for too long underestimated after a miscarriage event”, indicates the member of the majority. However, it does not only make people happy. The ecologist Marie-Charlotte Garin and several left-wing elected officials failed to have an “additional tool” adopted, a specific three-day leave in the event of miscarriage, despite the rallying of the voices of the majority. For the Minister of Health, sick leave allows “guarantee confidentiality” to the employer.
In January, a collective agreement – the Syntec agreement – signed an agreement establishing leave for natural termination of pregnancy in its regulations: a woman who has experienced this traumatic event can benefit from two non-deductible days of paid vacation, upon simple presentation of a medical certificate to his employer within 15 days. A start in recognizing the (real) distress that a miscarriage can cause in a woman.
Source :
- Bill to promote support for women victims of miscarriagee, National Assembly
