Key Points

• The proportion of women aged 35 or older at childbirth has increased, reaching 26.0% in 2024. Conversely, “teenage” pregnancies (< 20 years old) have declined (1.9% in 2024).
• Recipients of State Medical Aid (AME) or the Complementary Solidarity Health Insurance (C2S) were on the rise and accounted for 1.3% and 17.4%, respectively, of women who gave birth in Occitanie in 2024, suggesting an increase in economic vulnerability.
• The prevalence of women who were overweight before pregnancy (36.1% in 2021) and of pre-existing diabetes (0.9% in 2024) is on the rise in the region, as it is throughout France.
• The proportions of women who smoked one year before pregnancy (33.6%), during the third trimester of pregnancy (15.9%), and two months postpartum (19.0%) were higher in Occitanie than those observed across France as a whole in 2021.
• In 2021, 76.4% of women attempted to breastfeed their babies, 67.8% were able to establish mixed or exclusive breastfeeding in the maternity ward, and at 2 months of age, 52.7% of infants were being fed through mixed or exclusive breastfeeding.
• In 2021, 10.3% of newborns were hospitalized or transferred at birth, a rate similar to that of France as a whole (11.5%).
• Only 73.5% of infants were consistently placed on their backs two months after birth, and 15.9% were primarily placed in their parents’ bed (a risky practice).
• The maternal mortality rate reached 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024, the lowest regional rate observed in France (11.1 deaths per 100,000).