Frédérique Teurnier, midwife
The journey of childbirth: “a collective thought process” 
President of the French national midwives college, Frédérique Teurnier practices at the Diaconesses maternity hospital in Paris and privately.
How does the process of childbirth take place in Italy?
The journey of childbirth designates the monitoring and care of women from the start of their pregnancy up to the birth and post-partum period. In itself, this process is fairly standard in Europe but two interesting characteristics can be observed at the Mangiagalli clinic (in fact a public maternity hospital) we visited in Milan. On the one hand, the entire ‘journey’ takes place at the heart of the clinic itself, where the entire team can be found (midwives, obstetricians). In France, part of the process, such as post-partum follow-up care is very often carried out outside of the maternity hospital.
On the other hand, the accent is placed on preparation for parenthood and awareness concerning maternal breastfeeding. We attended a meeting with young mothers; the conversation focused on different subjects: breastfeeding, the actual labour… A true collective thought process. What is more, in pleasant and well equipped facilities!
And what about the work of midwives in Italy?
The organisation and skills of midwives are very similar in France and Italy, in any case as far as their hospital work is concerned. Nevertheless, Italian professionals have a much wider set of skills that the French, prescribing certain tests, for example, but have much lower salaries! On the other hand, there are fewer midwives in Italy, since the birth rate is very low (8.36 ‰ in 2008 according to the CIA World Factbook), notably in Milan. The issue lies not in the care during pregnancy and birth but rather in the childcare network; it seems complicated and socially unacceptable to work whilst bringing up your children. Milan is a business city, and a high percentage of women have chosen to carry on working.
What have you learnt concerning the treatment of atopia?
Within the framework of training on post-natal physiotherapy, I am often asked about atopia in very young children, notably its dietary aspects as well as potential prevention during pregnancy (in fact, even if it exists, we are yet to discover it). We now know that maternal breastfeeding does not protect the child from atopia. The Italians we met in Milan have, it seemed to me, a different vision from ours, in particular concerning the ideal age for food diversification. The cultivated, brilliant Professor Carlo Gelmetti seems to be a real expert on the subject. The atopia calendar used in the dermatological clinic in Milan is a good easy-to-use, educational tool. It was impressed by the fact that this maternity hospital combines a highly specialised research activity and a concern for everyone’s access to information.
