“It’s a real challenge that needs to be overcome”, “It made me so depressed, I felt so worthless”, “I cried for several days”. There are countless statements on social networks from women who have been victims of spontaneous abortion. The phenomenon more commonly referred to as “miscarriage” refers to pregnancies terminated naturally before the stage of fetal viability, that is, before 22 weeks of amenorrhea in France (about five months). One in ten women experiences a spontaneous abortion during their lifetime, which is almost 200,000 pregnancies per year. They are often minimized despite the trauma they can cause.
From 1um From January 2024, the women affected will be able to stop working as usual without deducting their wages, in consultation with their doctor. During traditional sick leave, the first three days are unpaid in the private sector, but only one day in the public sector.
The measure, approved unanimously by Parliament on June 29 as part of a law to promote psychological support for female victims of miscarriages, aims to remove an obstacle that has previously prevented them from taking time to recover. “A miscarriage can be extremely difficult, both physically and mentally.explains Sandrine Josso, MoDem deputy for Loire-Atlantique and member of the presidential majority when the law was drafted. By eliminating this waiting period, women no longer face economic disadvantage in the event of illness. » The device is expected to cost eight million euros from the social security budget.
“No flirtation”
“These days of scarcity were not insignificant for women, especially in the current economic context”, confirms Isabelle Derrendinger, president of the National Council of the Order of Midwives, who hopes the measure will encourage more women to be calm in the event of a miscarriage. The head of the Nantes midwifery school emphasizes the traumatic experience that a spontaneous abortion can be: “Some women can experience it as real sadness. »
Sandra Lorenzo, author of the book A miscarriage like any other (First, 2022) and co-founder of the False Couverture collective, True Experience, welcomes the end of “one of the greatest injustices in the treatment of miscarriages in France”. “Experiencing a spontaneous abortion and at the same time not being able to terminate it under appropriate conditions was a double punishment for women. Stopping work in the event of a miscarriage is not coquetry, she storms. Sometimes it takes time to get over it. »
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