Birth centres in France

What is a birth centre?

"Birth centres" are autonomous structures that offer an alternative to hospital maternity units for women who wish to have a physiological, less medicalised birth. They cater for healthy women experiencing uncomplicated pregnancies with no known risk factors.

They are run exclusively by midwives, who provide antenatal care as well as attending births, in accordance with their legally recognised scope of practice. They offer holistic, continuous care — often working in pairs — supporting couples from the very beginning of pregnancy through to the postnatal period. This also includes birth preparation and antenatal classes.

A birth centre is autonomous in physical, legal, and administrative terms. In France today, the 8 pilot structures are physically attached to a partner maternity unit.

Birth centres do not oppose the existing healthcare system. On the contrary, they aim to complement it by offering prospective parents a wider range of support options.

Moreover, a patient initially under the care of a birth centre can be referred elsewhere if necessary during pregnancy, labour, or even after the birth, should her own health or that of her baby require it.

Why choose a birth centre?

Birth centres are aimed at expectant mothers with low-risk pregnancies who want to be active participants in their labour. They meet a growing demand from families who want a physiological, safe birth and a quick return home afterwards.

The care is holistic, meaning that the same pair of midwives follows the couple from the beginning of pregnancy right through to postnatal monitoring and the baby's health check-ups. This helps build a relationship of trust and creates a reassuring environment for the parents.

Giving birth at a birth centre respects the natural rhythms of each individual birth, whilst ensuring the safety of both mother and child. The environment and the facilities are designed to encourage a natural, physiological process in full respect of the mother's wishes.

The philosophy of birth at a birth centre recognises that birth is a precious moment in the life of a family — an event that enables prospective parents to feel like active participants in the transformation of their family and in the act of bringing new life into the world.

Birth centres in France

The 8 French birth centres were established as part of a pilot scheme under the law of 6 December 2013. They comply with the specifications published by the Haute Autorité de Santé. A study by an independent research group published a few weeks ago indicated that birth centres offer "a satisfactory level of safety", whilst the public authorities are expected to announce soon whether this experimental model will be continued.

Launched on 23 November 2015 by the French government, the trial scheme was due to end in November 2020. Today, birth centres are therefore under threat: the public authorities have not yet announced whether the trial will be renewed. It is therefore becoming urgent to introduce legislation to secure the future of the 8 existing structures and allow new birth centres to open.

French birth centres

Metropolitan France

Au Calm in Paris

Doumaïa in Castres

La Maison in Grenoble

MANALA in Sélestat

PHAM in Bourgoin Jallieu (Isère)

Un Nid pour Naître in Nancy

French Overseas Territories

Le Temps de Naître in Guadeloupe

MaNaO in Réunion

Photo credits: Débohra Saba for the PHAM birth centre in Bourgoin Jallieu