From differentiated care to racial discrimination? The example of maternal health in France
Priscille Sauvegrain
Priscille Sauvegrain is a midwife, sociologist and an University lecturer in midwifery.
On Thursday 19 September 2024, the Crash team was delighted to welcome Priscille Sauvegrain for a conference on medical practices in maternal health in France and the role played by racial categories. This meeting, prepared with Caroline Izambert, was moderated by Judith Soussan.
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.
To cite this content :
Priscille Sauvegrain, “From differentiated care to racial discrimination? The example of maternal health in France”, 19 septembre 2024, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/conferences-debates/differentiated-care-racial-discrimination-example-maternal-health-france
If you would like to comment on this article, you can find us on social media or contact us here:
ContributePast events
Conference
Clinical trials, between science and financial and academic interests
10/08/2020 - 06:00 PM 08:00 PMThe Crash team was delighted to welcome Pierre Chirac, pharmacist and editor of the magazine Prescrire, for a conference on his analysis of the pharmaceutical industry's influence strategies and the special interests of university hospital researchers, their consequences on the reliability of drug information and the means now required to rectify a harmful situation. This meetting was prepared and moderated by Rony Brauman.
Conference
Territories: the illusion of identity
12/16/2019 - 06:00 PM 08:00 PMCan we talk about the specificities of the Middle East, Iran or the Mediterranean without reducing these territories to a culture or religion? On December 16, 2019, the CRASH team organised a conference-debate with Jean-François Bayart, a French political scientist who has devoted his work to the sociology of the State and identity illusions. This meeting, prepared with Claudine Vidal, was moderated by Elba Rahmouni.
Charles Habib
Conference
Screening - debate / La Ville Monde
11/07/2019 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMMédecins Sans Frontières and Crash were pleased to invite you to a screening, followed by a debate, of the documentary film "La Ville Monde", directed by Antarès Bassis and produced by Les films du Balibari. The film, of which MSF is a partner, traces the trajectory of the La Linière camp in Grande-Synthe from its opening in March 2016 to the fire that destroyed it in April 2017. This event was prepared and moderated by Michaël Neuman.
Conference
Motivations for mass violence: different interpretations
10/03/2019 - 06:00 PM 08:00 PMWhat turns ordinary men into killers? The CRASH team invited you to a conference – debate with the sociologist and historian, Nicolas Mariot. This meeting, prepared with Claudine Vidal, was moderated by Elba Rahmouni.
Conference
Third-Worldism and Sans-Frontiérisme 1954-1988
04/11/2019 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMEleanor Davey, historian of ideas and humanitarianism, senior lecturer at the Humanitarian and Conflict Research Institute, University of Manchester, discusses her book, Idealism Beyond Borders. The French Revolutionary Left and the Rise of Humanitarianism, 1954-1988, devoted to the intellectual history of sans-frontiérisme and Third-Worldism, in France, from the Algerian war to the early years of Médecins Sans Frontières. This conference was prepared and moderated by Michaël Neuman.
Eddy Van Wessel
Conference
Extreme violence: investigate, rescue, judge. Syria, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo
03/20/2019 - 02:00 PM 03/22/2019 - 05:00 PMTheaters of war, genocide, mass crimes, Syria, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are at the heart of the international symposium organized by the platform L’humanitaire dans la globalisation of the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH) and the Centre de Réflexion sur l'Action et les Savoirs Humanitaires (CRASH) of Médecins Sans Frontières. This symposium is part of the commemoration by these two institutions of the 25 years of the genocide of Rwandan Tutsis.