Enquête Nationale Confidentielle sur les Morts Maternelles

(ENCMM)

National Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths

Every year, around 100 women die in France from causes related to pregnancy, childbirth or their aftermath – that’s one woman every 4 days. Although rare, these tragic deaths are considered to be key indicators of the quality of our healthcare system. They are ‘sentinel events’, the detailed analysis of which provides information on maternal health priorities, socio-territorial inequalities in this area, and the action that needs to be taken to prevent these tragic deaths and the morbidity that precedes them, which is linked to the same mechanisms.

For 25 years, the “Enquête Nationale Confidentielle sur les Morts Maternelles” (National Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths) has been identifying, documenting and analysing all deaths of women during pregnancy and its aftermath in France. Its three-yearly reports provide the profile of maternal mortality in France, and suggest ways in which care and its organisation can be enhanced to improve women’s health during this special period of pregnancy.