Suicide becomes the leading cause of death linked to pregnancy or childbirth in France, according to a study. Between 2016 and 2018, 272 maternal deaths were recorded, over the period between conception and one year after the end of the pregnancy.
For migrant women, mortality is on average twice that of native French women and socially vulnerable women are 1.5 times more represented among maternal deaths. Age also increases the risk, “markedly” after 35 years. Obesity too, with twice as many maternal deaths among obese women.