Facing difficulties, maternal and child protection services are mobilizing

It is a public service not usually known for raising its voice that intends to challenge the government on the occasion of its 80th anniversary. On Wednesday, November 5, professionals in maternal and child health (PMI) – doctors, psychologists, pediatric nurses, midwives, etc. – were to gather in front of the Ministry of Health in Paris, under the slogan "Save the PMI." This mobilization comes as the National Assembly is currently examining the draft social security financing bill , which affects the organization of the healthcare system.

Created, like Social Security, in the aftermath of the Second World War, in particular in response to the sharp increase in infant mortality, this free health protection service for mothers and children under 6 is today "severely weakened", argues Pierre Suesser, co-president of the National Union of PMI doctors.

And this comes at a time when alerts are multiplying regarding newborn deaths, which have been on the rise for at least a decade. "Without making an absolute causal link between the two phenomena, it is legitimate to raise public awareness of the collapse of a system that is supposed to support mothers and their children," he further emphasizes.

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