Promoting perinatal health is one of Santé publique France’s missions. The “First 1,000 Days” campaign, launched in 2021 and relaunched in October 2022, encourages people to learn more about the health challenges associated with this period of life. The Agency is also carrying out other initiatives, particularly those designed to help parents and expectant parents better understand the preventive services offered by the Maternal and Child Health Services (PMI) to benefit their own health and their children’s development.

Perinatal Health: The Challenges of the First 1,000 Days and the Role of PMI

Promoting perinatal health involves guiding, supporting, and informing families through a comprehensive approach to pregnancy and the early stages of parenthood. Santé publique France’s work focuses on understanding, developing, supporting, and/or strengthening protective factors, as well as reducing risk factors.

Through several studies, we now know that a start in life in which protective factors are developed will have lifelong benefits on an individual’s ability to manage their emotions, explore the world, and maintain and build social relationships. PMI professionals seek to maximize protective factors for all the babies they encounter.

This is why Santé publique France is taking action to:

• Improve information for parents and future parents, and even the general public, regarding PMI.

• Develop and support interventions based on home visits organized by PMI, which are key to reducing social and regional health inequalities. These interventions aim to strengthen and enhance parents’ ability to build secure emotional bonds with their child and thereby promote the child’s healthy development.

Santé publique France’s involvement in a documentary on motherhood, filmed at a maternal and child health clinic

As part of its communication campaign focused on the first 1,000 days, Santé publique France supported the production of the documentary “Motherhood: The Big Leap” by providing its expertise. The film will air this Wednesday, November 23, at 10:50 p.m. on the TEVA channel (and will be available for streaming on 6play TEVA). Aiming to illustrate the profound life-changing experience of becoming a mother through the stories of four mothers followed over the course of a year, this 66-minute film highlights the support that PMI centers can provide during this period. The Sartrouville PMI center welcomes the participating mothers throughout the film, during their individual meetings with PMI professionals as well as during the “Causeries,” regular support group sessions.

“PMI centers provide a safe environment for parents and help foster protective factors that benefit the health of both the child and the mother. This documentary, ‘Motherhood: The Big Leap,’ helps raise public awareness of what PMI centers contribute to society, particularly in terms of prevention,” says Thierry Cardoso, head of the Perinatal and Early Childhood Unit at Santé publique France.

In videos: “Experts Listening to You”

During the filming of the documentary, seven 2-minute videos were produced to enrich the 1000-premiers-jours.fr website. Titled “Experts Listening to You,” these videos are intended for parents and future parents; they highlight the support available at PMI centers, while also showcasing the life-changing experience of becoming a parent.

More information is available on the "The First 1,000 Days" website, featuring accessible and informative articles designed to give expectant and new parents the tools they need to support their child’s health and development.

• Common discomforts of pregnancy

• Two appointments to help you feel your best

• Medical care for your baby

• Breastfeeding positions

• Life as a couple when you become parents

• Stages of baby’s development

• Home support for parents

The Role of PMI in Reducing Social and Regional Health Inequalities

Professionals at PMI, a universal service available to everyone, can identify various factors of social vulnerability, isolation, or potential signs of postpartum depression, and thus offer support tailored to each family’s needs. As a result, home visits are arranged by PMI services for families most in need of support.

As part of this proportionate and graduated approach, Santé publique France has developed and piloted the PANJO intervention. This is a specific type of home visit offered by PMI to expectant parents living in a psychosocial context that makes it more difficult to form secure attachments with the baby. These interventions are conducted exclusively by PMI professionals who benefit from a specific support system for their practice: training, intervention tools, and supervision. This initiative helps reduce social inequalities that emerge and deepen from the earliest stages of life.

On Thursday, November 24, Santé publique France will host the PANJO 3 National Seminar, which will bring together stakeholders from the regions and departments participating in the PANJO 3 pilot program launched in 2020 to share experiences. The goal of this third phase of the project is to establish partnership frameworks between departments, Regional Health Agencies, and Santé publique France to enable the large-scale and sustainable deployment of high-quality PANJO interventions.