the award for best birth service for high-risk pregnancies is awarded to the Jeanne de Flandre hospital in Lille

In the medical world, there is a ranking rewarding the best services of each hospital establishment. If there is one that is often in the spotlight, it is that of the management of high-risk pregnancies. In this area, the Lille Jeanne de Flandre hospital is in the lead.

Infant mortality, premature births, the risks when your newborn is born are numerous. In France, even if births are at their lowest, around 678,000 babies, in France in 2013, vigilance is required at birth.

According to the list of hospitals published by our colleagues from the weekly The Pointreleased on December 5, 2024, the Jeanne de Flandre health center in Lille stands out as one of the best hospitals in the management of high-risk pregnancies. In health facility delivery rooms, incubators are often crowded. Arrivals and transfers follow one another. Stress during the operation then relief when the child cries from his first seconds in the outside world.

The ranking of Point has existed since 1998. Published by Science and Future for three years, he joined the editorial staff of the weekly in 2001. This is based on a certain program of medicalization of the information system, PMSI, emanating from the government. Âage, sex, birth complications et état health from the mother to the birth were taken into account when ranking the best services in French hospitals.

The second source used to develop the ranking highlighting the Jeanne de Flandre hospital concerns epidural methodology, the technique carried out during childbirth. To do this, a questionnaire was sent to nearly 68 high-risk maternity wards. In this one, night guards, state magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), anesthesia or even criteria of security to fight against perinatality are taken into account. More broadly, 400 maternity hospitals in France were scrutinized.

“The subject of risky births is always of interest”

Problems during childbirth for mothers or babies involve high-risk pregnancies. “In 2021, according to INSEE, we are talking about a 3.7% infant mortality rate. Since 2020, thiss figures increased slightly“explains François Malye, journalist at Le Point, in charge of the list of the best French hospitals. His motivation for achieving this ranking each year: “Dire the truth to people about the good and the bad hospitals in France. “We have one of the most beautiful medicines in the world, which is also free“, he adds.

The edition of the weekly concerning the best hospitals achieves the best annual sales. “The subject of high-risk births is always of interest. In the newspaper at the beginning of December, in an article, we return to the subject”explains the journalist. These kinds of disorders can appear in newborns before birth, when the fetus is developing, during childbirth and just after birth. The greatest risks concern premature children. Indeed, at birth, an infection or even a rupture of the water bag can weaken the life of a mother and her child.

So why is the Jeanne de Flandre hospital getting so much attention? “Because it is one of the largest maternity services in France. It is estimated that the larger a unit, the more capable it is of combating birth risks. Lille stands out in particular for its expertise in neonatology”highlights François Malye.

It is necessary for maternity wards to have efficient staff and use innovative equipment.

François Malye, journalist at Le Point

A highly populated region, a birth rate higher than the national average, 1.70 in fertility index compared to 1.64 in the country, there are many births in Hauts-de-France. Faced with this dynamic, “it is necessary for maternity wards to have efficient staff and use innovative equipment”analyzes the journalist of Point.

Read also: Lack of doctors: the Lille University Hospital maternity unit transfers patients and their infants to other hospitals

Much more than being rewarded for these human and technological feats, at the start of 2024, the hospital was in the news for having had to transfer patients to surrounding health establishments. Due to an unusual situation, a lack of doctors, the maternity hospital contacted the hospitals of Roubaix, Seclin, Valenciennes, Arras, Lens and Charleroi in Belgium. This situation lasted until May.

If the Jeanne de Flandre hospital sets an example in the Lille metropolis, this is also the case more generally for the entire Lille University Hospital. Thursday, December 5, we learned that the university hospital center of the capital of Flanders was placed in third position in the ranking of Point of the best hospitals in France, after Toulouse and Bordeaux. This classification analyzed data from more than 1,4000 health establishments, divided into 85 specialties. According to François Malye, one of the journalists in charge of putting together this list, “It’s not a surprise. In almost all medical areas, the Lille University Hospital is good.”

In almost all medical areas, the Lille University Hospital is good.

François Malye, journalist at Le Point

Among the ten establishments of the Lille University Hospital, surgical activities for stomach cancer, nose surgery, maxillofacial surgery, esophagus, sinus and skin cancers rise to the top position of the most efficient hospital units in France.

When the Lille University Hospital does not win the prize in certain medical fields, it places itself in second position. This is particularly the case for adult diabetes, obesity surgery and even care related to Parkinson's disease. The third position, for its part, rewards services dedicated to pancreatic or thyroid cancers, strokes and leukemia.