From differentiated care to racial discrimination? The example of maternal health in France

On Thursday 19 September 2024 at 6.30pm, the Crash team will be delighted to welcome Priscille Sauvegrain for a conference on medical practices in maternal health in France and the role played by racial categories.

This event will take place at MSF headquarters, 34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019, Paris and will be broadcasted in English on this page and in French here. The registration form will soon be available on this page.

In France, the caesarean section rate among women born in African countries is well above average. How can this be explained? How does the categorisation of certain patients as ‘African’ affect the quality of care they receive? Is it medically justifiable to provide care that is differentiated according to origin?

Priscille Sauvegrain, a midwife and sociologist, University lecturer in midwifery, has been exploring these questions for the past twenty years in maternity units in the Paris region, using a wide range of survey methods: participant observations, interviews with patients and professionals, and statistical analyses. It gives an account of the obstacles and difficulties involved in studying these issues within a healthcare community that is very attached to equality of care, and also affected by the difficulties of the French public hospital system.

For MSF, an organisation that has been involved in debates about racism for several years now, Priscille Sauvegrain's work provides concrete food for thought on the subject, from the angle of medical practices and quality of care. 

We will be delighted to welcome Priscille Sauvegrain for a conference in which she will review her research career and the main results of her investigations, followed by a time for discussion.