By Le Figaro Santé with AFP
Published
December 27 at 4:46 p.m.
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This document issued to all babies at birth includes advice for dealing with “scientific and societal developments”, and introduces a new compulsory examination upon entry into primary school, particularly to detect developmental disorders.
A new health record for children will come into force on January 1, introducing new advice to parents, particularly on the use of screens and a new compulsory examination at the age of six.
In this revised version of the document delivered to the maternity ward by the department, the twenty compulsory health examinations are all detailed, the General Directorate of Health (DGS) indicated in a press release on Friday. For each age, benchmarks are offered to parents to situate the child in his or her development (social, cognitive, motor), with prevention messages regarding « scientific and societal developments ». They will find advice on raising their child without violence, tables on the introduction of foods, advice on sleep or benchmarks for detecting neurodevelopmental disorders.
The new health record also includes questions concerning the practice of physical activity until adolescence as well as exposure and then use of screens, “in a process of identification by the health professional of the misuse of screens”. In adolescence, questions around the identification of endometriosis or the psychoaffective state are also on the agenda.
Sensory screening and vaccination booster
In terms of medical surveillance, a new examination is made compulsory at the age of 6 for « strengthen prevention when the majority of children enter primary school, particularly in terms of sensory screening and developmental disorders ». This control will also be an opportunity « to carry out the recall of the vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis recommended at 6 years old »according to the DGS.
DGS
During examinations in the child's first year, prevention messages are sent to parents concerning sleeping position, unexpected infant death and shaken baby syndrome, lists the DGS. The healthcare professional will also provide information on the “risks of postpartum depression for the mother and on the importance of parent/child interactions”.
The part of the notebook reserved for caregivers now includes information on risk factors for vision disorders and advice on identifying a neurodevelopmental disorder. For vaccinations, modifications follow the new obligations and recommendations. The copy of these two double pages serves as a vaccination certificate, particularly for the admission of children to a community. The dematerialization of the health record should be integrated, by the end of 2026, into the child's digital health space (My Health Space), underlines the DGS. The health record will, however, remain available in paper format.
