Key Points

• The prevalence of women who are overweight before pregnancy (37.5% in 2021) and those with pre-existing diabetes (0.7% in 2024) is on the rise in the region, as it is throughout France.
• The prevalence of pregnant women with chronic hypertension has been rising since 2022 (from 1.61% to 1.85% in 2024), with a significantly higher prevalence in Normandy than in France as a whole (1.63%).
• The proportions of women who smoked one year before pregnancy (31.5%), during the third trimester of pregnancy (15.1%), and two months postpartum (19.3%) are higher in Normandy than those observed nationwide in 2021.
• Best practices regarding flu vaccination recommendations (68.1% vs. 56.4% nationally), flu vaccination rates (33.0% vs. 29.0% nationally), and up-to-date pertussis vaccination during pregnancy (83.1% vs. 66.7% nationally) in 2021.
• The proportion of women aged 35 or older at childbirth increased, reaching 21.7% in 2024. Conversely, “teenage” pregnancies (< 20 years old) declined (1.7% in 2024).
• Mental Health:
  • An increase in the number of women reporting a negative psychological experience of pregnancy (13.1% in 2021);
  • Conversely, Normandy has the lowest rate of postpartum anxiety among women (22.5% compared to 27.5% nationally in 2021).
• Increase in the number of births at maternity facilities handling fewer than 1,000 births per year, particularly in more rural departments such as Orne.
• The practice of episiotomy has declined significantly since 2012, but Normandy still had a higher rate of episiotomy among first-time mothers in 2024 (7.3% vs. 5.5% nationally).
• In 2021, 58.5% of women had initiated mixed or exclusive breastfeeding in the maternity ward, and at 2 months of age, 43.9% of infants were being breastfed either exclusively or in combination with formula—proportions well below the national average (70.5% and 54.6%, respectively).
• In 2021, only 60.2% of women reported receiving at least one home visit after leaving the maternity ward, compared to 84.2% nationwide.