French National Perinatal Surveys
We are recruiting 5 regional coordinators for the 2027 National Perinatal Survey (10-month contract, full-time, starting on 15 September 2026).
You will coordinate the regional implementation and monitoring of the survey in maternity wards, in collaboration with healthcare professionals and regional stakeholders.
Profile: midwife, nurse, doctor or Master’s degree in epidemiology/public health, with experience in perinatal care. Job offer (here), applications to enp.2027@inserm.fr until 15 May 2026.
For nearly 30 years, National Perinatal Surveys (Enquête Nationale Périnatale or ENP) have been conducted regularly in France, at the behest of the public services. These surveys yield data on the health of mothers and their newborns, medical practices during pregnancy and delivery, and the demographic and social characteristics of pregnant women and their families. They provide a picture of how perinatal care is evolving in France. The surveys also provide public health officials, clinicians, and women with information on what is needed and on the impact of decisions taken and recommendations made.
We are organising a scientific day to present and discuss the results of the National Perinatal Surveys, which will be held on:
Friday 20 March 2026, from 8.30am to 5.30pm.
In hybrid format :
- In person at the Department of Health Salle Laroque, 14 avenue Duquesne, 75007 Paris
- Remotely via a videoconference link
Objectives of the day:
- Presentation of the methodology of the National Perinatal Surveys (ENP)
- Main results and publications based on data from the 2021 ENP
- Presentation of the upcoming 2027 ENP
Free participation, registration required.
To register, click here: https://sondage.inserm.fr/index.php/485824/lang-fr
Day Programme 20 March 2026 (here in french)
History of the National Perinatal Surveys
The need for regular surveys arose in the early 1990s because of a lack of a regular source of data. In 1988-89, an Inserm team tested the feasibility of collecting minimal information from medical files on all births occurring over one or two weeks. This proved feasible provided women who had just given birth were interviewed, so that pregnancy follow-up and the women’s living conditions could be recorded. In addition, a sample of births over a single week in the year, in the spring and autumn, was enough to analyze the annual situation. Three surveys following this scheme were conducted in 1995, 1998 and 2003.
Data collection was extended in the following surveys in 2010 and 2016 to meet the information requirements of the public services, clinicians, and women and their families.
The following major changes have been observed since 1995:
- Stabilisation of the rank of prematurity (birth before 37 weeks) (twins not included) (5.5% in 2021),
- Stabilization of the rate of cesarean section at 20%, after a regular increase,
- Observance of good clinical practice guidelines; for example, a drop in the rate of episiotomy (8.3% of vaginal deliveries in 2021),
- Concentration of deliveries in large maternity wards,
- Development of prenatal follow-up by midwives in maternity wards or in private practice,
- Decrease in the proportion of women who smoke during pregnancy (12% in 2021 versus 16% in 2016)
- Contrasting changes in maternal characteristics: increase in educational level and in the percentage of women with a professional activity, but also increases in age (24% of the women were over 35 in 2021) and in the percentage of overweight or obese women (37% in 2021).
For more information, see Documents page.
Aims
- Produce indicators of health, medical practices, and risk factors that are not known from other sources, to monitor the evolution of perinatal health in France, and to compare the French situation with that in other countries, notably European;
- Provide information on specific questions to guide actions, assess the results of certain public measures, and determine the impact of guidelines issued by agencies or associations of healthcare professionals;
- Know women’s expectations and their reactions to the quality of care and support during pregnancy and delivery.
2027 National Perinatal Survey in practice
The 2027 National Perinatal Survey will proceed as follows:
Survey sites: all public and private maternity wards, and birthing centers.
An interview (face to face or by telephone) will be conducted with a reference person at the maternity ward, to characterize the birth environment.
Sample: all births during one week in March 2027
Two-part data collection in the maternity ward: a midwife will conduct an interview of about 20 minutes with the women during their stay in the maternity ward and collect data from the medical files. The interview will include questions on living conditions, prenatal follow-up, and preventive behavior; the data collected from the medical files will relate to pregnancy complications, childbirth, and the health of the mother and newborn.
A follow-up at two months: the women will be recontacted online or by telephone so as to answer a new approximately 15-minute questionnaire. This questionnaire will cover notably the health of mother and child since their return home, the feeding of the child, the mother’s reactions to the care she received during childbirth, her mental health and her exposure to screens, etc.
Medication intake from the national health data system (SNDS): data on health insurance for the mother and child will be used to provide more information on medical care during pregnancy and delivery and on maternal illnesses treated before pregnancy.
This will provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of perinatal health.
The 2027 National Perinatal Survey team
Camille Le Ray – Scientific manager
Caroline Allier – National coordinator
Mélanie Durox – Projet manager
Marie Viaud – Statistician
Nathalie Lelong – Project manager
The team will be reinforced from September 2026 to July 2027 by five regional coordinators. (job offer here)
All team members work in the OPPaLE team (Perinatal, Obstetric and Paediatric Epidemiology Research Team) at CRESS (Center of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics). The team works under the aegis of Inserm (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research) and the University of Paris.
Our partners
Four main partners assist the Inserm team in setting up and conducting the National Perinatal Survey. They have been involved from the start of the project and secure its funding:
- DREES (directorate of research, studies, evaluation, and statistics) at the Ministry of Health, health observatory and health insurance department
- DGS (health directorate), sub-directorate of health and prevention of chronic diseases
- DGOS (general directorate of healthcare services), sub-directorate of the regulation of care provision
- Public Health France, department of noncommunicable diseases and trauma
- The MILDECA (Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviours)
Project management
The Steering Committee comprises the Inserm-University of Paris team responsible for the National Perinatal Survey and representatives of four partner institutions. It meets approximately every month to oversee the different stages of the project and its fine tuning up to the publication of results.
The Policy Committee comprises the members of the Steering Committee and representatives of regional health agencies, hospital federations, perinatal health networks, regional health observatories, family and child benefit agencies, maternal and infant protection services, associations of healthcare professionals (anesthetists, gynecologist-obstetricians, pediatricians, midwives), and user representatives (CIANE). It meets at regular intervals to help define data collection needs and to discuss the interpretation of the results obtained.
