“Come to the Bagnols-sur-Cèze maternity ward!” : the call from Dr Makosso, head of the obstetrics and gynecology department

Être passés sous la barre de 700 naissances est bien la seule chose à pouvoir assombrir le radieux sourire du Dr Makosso. Midi Libre – Geoffrey Gavalda

As is the case at the national level, births have decreased at the Bagnols-sur-Cèze maternity ward. Update with the head of the obstetrics and gynecology department of the Bagnolais hospital, Doctor Mathieu Makosso,

He is always adorned with his unfailing charming smile. In his office, Doctor Makosso visibly takes pleasure in showing off his trophy. This modest piece of wood and plastic attests to his mastery, acquired in Lille, of a non-invasive operation technique of oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) called V -Note. But what is really striking is the humility that this pride actually reveals.

Doctor Makosso takes great pride in the progress of his department. Midi Libre – Geoffrey Gavalda

An incredible accumulation of university diplomas for this head of department with an unquenchable thirst for learning. But digging deeper, one necessity emerges above all: learning, remaining humble, it is above all essential to remain sane in a difficult, demanding profession. For fear of making a bad move, of committing the irreparable. And in the middle of a 24-hour guard whose implacable rigor he minimizes for any human being, it is for others that he think above all about sending a message: "come to the Bagnols-sur-Cèze maternity ward!"

"Here we do everything"

Yet he doesn't even like this reductive term of maternity which reduces his service to pregnant women only. While above his desk is displayed just as proudly as his trophy a certificate of adherence to the values ​​of a scholarly college which makes him a colposcopist, a cervical specialist, one of four in the department: "Here, we do everything."(Moreover, in 2024, gynecological screenings, which were suspended for a while, should resume and diversify, see box.)

Yet maternity does not have to be ashamed of its demographic feats, since we must now speak of emerging families: 3.5% of births #39;episiotomy in 2023. In 2021, the national average was 8.3%. Caesarean section rate ? 12.6%. This is the 2022 rate, with that of 2023 showing an increase apparently a source of some internal tension. Forceps, suction cups and other spatulas: only 7%.

A little less than 700 births in 2023

Then there are the two nature rooms. All this turns out to be the reflection of a policy of de-intensification of overmedicalization initiated many years ago in Bagnols, well before Nîmes and Alès. Certainly no Baby Friendly label yet, but that won't be long. The lesser known one from the scholarly obstetrics college, Maternis, guarantees at least as much. The doctor cites as proof the 67% of breastfeeding at birth.

So yes, the maternity ward only gave birth to just under 700 families in 2023. The reflection, it is true, of a proportional decline throughout the country that year. The cause despite this is a slight wrinkle in the eternal smile of Doctor Makosso. But he repeats it: "We have all the skills, monitoring from conception until after delivery and the technologies too. People go to Marseille or Nîmes thinking that because they are big cities, they will be better cared for there. Are you sure ?"

Return screenings after more than three years ?

The Covid had put a stop to that. The national cervical cancer screening campaign, caused by by the sadly famous papillomavirus has failed; give way to a greater urgency. At the cost of a reduction in the required annual smears which would have been necessary. be carried out every year at CHB. Doctor Makosso intends to relaunch the various gynecological screenings: precancerous lesions, endometrial cancer , aging of the device, who knows, even the new salivary detection techniques for endometriosis are not excluded.

To make an appointment: 04 66 79 10 13 or by email à secret-mater@ch-bagnolssurceze.fr

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