The Local France

France investigates spike in babies born with arm defects

Sun, 21 Oct 2018 17:26:53 +0200

France's health minister on Sunday announced a new investigation into the births of several babies with upper limb defects in various parts of the country in recent years, saying it was "unacceptable" no cause had been found.

Tiny French village celebrates first birth in 50 years after baby was born in garden

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 17:37:21 +0200

A nearly abandoned village in central France has recorded its first birth in 50 years - and local authorities were at a loss for words, not least for the fact the baby was born in the garden?

Paris mum gives birth to baby girl in back seat of taxi

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 11:45:12 +0200

A girl will one day be able to say she was born in the back of a taxi near the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris.

14,000 pregnant women in France took 'birth defect drug'

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:27:01 +0200

According to a study released by health authorities on Wednesday, a total of 14,322 pregnant women in France took a medicine between 2007 and 2014 which has been linked to birth defects.

French docs admit to illegally helping gay couples have kids

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:02:34 +0100

Some 130 doctors in France owned up on Friday to having helped gay couples to have children, in the hope of denouncing the "incoherence" of French law, which does not allow it.

Second doc charged over death of Brit mum in France

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 16:19:54 +0100

A second doctor has been charged in France over the death of a British mum in a maternity ward in south west France. An anaesthetist who admitted downing vodka on the night, has also been charged.

French parents fight for right to umbilical cord

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 16:33:38 +0100

Two parents in France are not happy that they were not allowed to keep the umbilical cord after the birth of their baby and want a change in the law that give the mother the sole rights to the tissue.

France: The baby-making champions of Europe

Wed, 04 Nov 2015 18:07:10 +0100

The French birth rate is now the highest in Europe, according to a new study, after it knocked Ireland off the top spot thanks to a number of reasons. But will it stay that way?

Why do so many French women have epidurals?

Fri, 04 Sep 2015 18:55:35 +0200

Almost 80 percent of French women will have an epidural during childbirth, new statistics show, ranking them among the most dependent on the pain killers in the world. But why?

Having a baby in France: Ten lessons learned

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:21:00 +0100

Having a baby is daunting enough, let alone having one in a foreign country. The Local's editor Ben McPartland looks back at a few of the lessons he learned from becoming a new dad in France, from avoiding the Metro to why monkey pyjamas in Paris are a big no-no.

French surgeons operate on foetus in womb

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 13:15:00 +0100

In what’s been hailed as a first in France, surgeons have successfully operated on a foetus in the mother’s womb to correct the birth defect, spina bifida.

French maternity wards prepare for busiest day

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 14:00:00 +0200

More French babies will be brought into the world this Tuesday than on any other day this year, according to a new study, with experts attributing the phenomenon to something special that happens around the new year.

French mums have fewer babies and later in life

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 18:17:00 +0200

Last year women in their late 30s gave birth to more of France's annual crop of babies than at anytime since at least the 1940s. It's part of a change in who is having kids in France and when, that's been revealed by a new set of stats.

French island celebrates first birth in 35 years

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:36:00 +0100

The inhabitants of a French island had more reason than normal to celebrate a birth on Monday. The arrival of a new girl on Ile de Sein off the coast of Brittany was the first birth on the island in 35 years.

Woman gives birth in Paris supermarket

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:51:00 +0200

A 31-year-old woman gave birth to her fifth child in a Paris supermarket on Wednesday after her waters broke while perusing the shelves in the luggage aisle.

Pregnant bride has baby at wedding

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:01:00 +0200

In a first for the village's startled mayor, an expectant bride surpassed all expectations by giving birth on Saturday just moments after getting hitched in Jallais, western France.