Prenatal prevention: a stress factor by Sylvie Viaux-Savelon
2006 Winner Prenatal prevention: a stress factor
Born in 1974 in Boulogne (Hauts-de-Seine), Sylvie Viaux started to reflect on the post-partum mother-child relationship issues during a placement in Togo: “I observed them for the first time in this African country, in the incapacity of certain mothers to breastfeed their child, thus provoking undernourishment”.
Today, within the framework of her PhD thesis, this child psychiatrist at the hospital of La Pitié-Salpêtrière has established a connection between the difficulties of interaction between a mother and her child on the one hand, and obstetrical care on the other. She goes on to explain, “Ten to 15% of pregnant women without any risk factors are confronted with a suspicion of malformation within the framework of prenatal ultrasound screening, a diagnosis not subsequently confirmed”.
The young doctor recognises that these tests are useful since they enable certain malformations to be treated early on. However, she points out that they are also very stressful. However, “nothing is done on a psychological level to accompany these women”, notes Sylvie Viaux, “and we now know that this anxiety does not disappear after childbirth, even when the child is perfectly healthy”.
The risk of malformation leads to “a mother’s deferment of the emotional and relational investment in her child. This loss of interest carries on beyond the pregnancy”, she adds. To the point that in certain serious cases, mothers need to be monitored with their children by a child psychiatrist.
“You cannot solve everything with tranquilisers”, says a concerned Sylvie Viaux, “the link between pre-natal and post-natal care teams therefore needs to be strengthened”. This is precisely the aim of her research work.
