Maternity · Obstetrics
Maternity · Obstetrics
The maternity ward at the Caen Normandy University Hospital is a type 3 maternity ward, which records more than 3300 births per year.
We have a neonatal intensive care unit that takes care of newborns from 24 weeks of amenorrhea.
The maternity unit is a section of the Gynecology– Obstetrics department, which includes 72 traditional hospitalization beds.
The maternity ward at the Caen Normandy University Hospital is a type 3 maternity ward, which records more than 3300 births per year.
We have a neonatal intensive care unit that takes care of newborns from 24 weeks of amenorrhea.
The maternity unit is a section of the Gynecology– Obstetrics department, which includes 72 traditional hospitalization beds.
Consultations & Team
Service composition
- 1 university professor · hospital practitioner
- 8 hospital practitioners
- 5 junior doctors
- 74 midwives
- 40 caregivers
- 14 hospital service agents
- 12 secretaries
- 4 senior midwives
- 1 senior midwife
- 2 psychologists
It should be noted that the teams of on-call professionals are mixed.
My Pregnancy Tracking
Activities
Admission:
To begin your journey at the maternity ward, we invite you to contact us via the online appointment request form, or by email (go-prise-rdv@chu-caen.fr), or by phone (02.31.27.25.25) to establish the administrative procedures necessary for your follow-up.
On the Digihosp platform (https://www.chu-caen.fr/admission/), you will need to compile your administrative file at least 10 days in advance: proof of identity, your health insurance card or proof of social security coverage, and your supplemental health insurance card.
At the consultation reception, your file will be checked using a kiosk or with the assistance of a receptionist.
The consultation unit:
The maternity consultations are located on the 2nd floor of the women and children's wing, and are accessible by elevator A.
Your first prenatal appointment will be with a midwife or doctor, who will review your medical history and plan your care. Depending on your medical history and the progress of your pregnancy, your follow-up care may take place within the hospital or in the community.
Prenatal appointments take place monthlyto check your well-being and that of your baby. Pregnancy care is not provided by just one person, but by a team working with the same care protocols and using the same communication methods.
Depending on the situation, workshops and/or specialized consultations will be arranged for you. You can also benefit from acupuncture sessions if you wish.
During your pregnancy,prenatal ultrasounds aim to ensure your baby's healthy development. We offer ultrasound services, but you can also have them performed by a doctor or midwife in private practice. Three ultrasounds are recommended during pregnancy, around 12, 22, and 32 weeks of amenorrhea (absence of menstruation). The medical team will advise you, based on your medical history, if additional ultrasounds are necessary.
Individualized and personalized monitoring of physiological pregnancies is offered by the midwives on the service team. They provide early prenatal interviews, prenatal consultations, childbirth and parenting preparation sessions, and postnatal consultations.
The service also offers breastfeeding consultations with a lactation consultant pediatrician after the hospital stay. These consultations are fully covered by the maternity hospital until the 12thday after birth.
The anesthesia consultation :
It will be performed in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, regardless of the planned delivery method or whether you want an epidural or not.
This video contains useful information about anesthesia during pregnancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_tj6h_7o8w
In case of pregnancy complications, you may be hospitalized for Intensive Pregnancy Monitoring for a few days to monitor the progress of your pregnancy.
This unit has 18 beds, including 12 single rooms. The single and double rooms are equipped with a shower, telephone access, and a television.
Origin:
Whether you are being treated in the Caen area or in the region, you may need to be hospitalized if your health or that of your baby requires it.
As a level 3 maternity unit, the University Hospital's maternity ward can care for pregnant patients at risk of very premature delivery. Therefore, some maternity units will transfer you to Caen to optimize neonatal care. This is done within the Lower Normandy Perinatal Network
Care provided:
The medical (doctor, midwife) and paramedical team provides 24/7 care for patients with high-risk pregnancies requiring close and continuous monitoring of the mother and/or baby. This may include:
- Threat of Premature Labor (TPL)
- Premature Membrane Rupture (PMR)
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR)
- Preeclampsia (association of hypertension and protein in the urine)
- Metrorrhagia (bleeding)
- Severe Cholestasis of Pregnancy
- Gestational diabetes or diabetes pre-existing diabetes that is very poorly controlled
- Urinary abnormalities such as pyelonephritis (kidney infection) or renal colic (stones in the urinary tract)
Your outing can take several forms:
- Home visits are sometimes arranged after a 24-48 hour assessment and handover of care to the initial pregnancy coordinator
- Transfers back to the nearest maternity ward are made as soon as care is possible. Sometimes, a transfer to a level 2 maternity ward (32 to 36 weeks gestation) will allow you to be closer to home.
- Home discharges, with close outpatient monitoring in a specialized consultation unit of the university hospital, may be offered as alternatives to full hospitalization.
This unit allows expectant mothers requiring increased monitoring of their pregnancy without full hospitalization.
By appointment only and after consultation with a doctor.
The medical (doctor, midwife) and paramedical (nursing assistant) team takes care, every working day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., of patients requiring either close and specific monitoring of their pregnancy, or a scheduled medical procedure such as an external cephalic version…
It can also be supplemented by follow-up with a self-employed midwife in town.
This is also where you will be summoned on your due date to organize your delivery, unless it is a weekend or a public holiday, in which case the consultation will take place at the maternity emergency department.
The care and therapeutic education of diabetic patients are carried out there every Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. by a multidisciplinary team (doctor and nurse specializing in diabetology, dietician, midwife, obstetrician).
My Parenting Support
Information session on the end of pregnancy – New!
From November 2025, information meetings for pregnant women in the 3rd trimester and the co-parent will be organised twice a month, in order to best prepare for the end of your pregnancy and the arrival of your child(ren).
As places are limited, registration is required.
City-Hospital Link
We invite you to contact a local, independent midwife in town, near your home , early in your pregnancy , even if you are receiving hospital care, who can carry out the prenatal interview with you from the 4th month onwards, as well as the 7 childbirth and parenthood preparation sessions covered by social security.
She can also help you define your birth plan. During one of your consultations at the university hospital, your birth plan will be discussed with the midwife or doctor.
Our goal is to work in partnership to best support you until the birth of your child, but also to ensure the link between town and hospital for the necessary follow-up after leaving the maternity ward.
Early Prenatal Interview (EPP)
Also known as the "fourth-month interview," this allows patients and couples who wish to discuss administrative, psychological, and social matters to have their questions answered. It is not a medical consultation, but rather a confidential listening and discussion session with a healthcare professional, allowing you to express your expectations, needs, and plans. This session can also help identify personal or family situations that may be at risk, with the aim of offering tailored support.
It lasts on average 60 minutes.
It is 100% covered by the Health Insurance Funds.
These interviews can be conducted with a midwife from our service, or with your local midwife.
Prenatal and Parenting Preparation Sessions (PNP)
These sessions aim to reassure you and give you confidence in your ability to become parents. These sessions are also beneficial even if you already have one or more children.
There are "traditional" childbirth preparation sessions that include theory, relaxation, and exercises, which you can arrange with your local midwife. Other approaches may also be offered (yoga, singing, meditation, hypnosis, haptonomy, swimming, sophrology, etc.).
You can contact your local midwife to arrange for this support to be put in place.
A tour of the maternity ward is offered by appointment for patients who are undergoing PNP in the private sector.
Skin-to-skin contact
Your baby needs to be held and cuddled a lot in skin-to-skin contact to be reassured, comforted, warmed, soothed, to maintain their blood sugar levels and to stimulate your lactation.
You can count on the support of the teams to ensure that your baby is with you 24 hours a day, to strengthen the mother-child bond, to build your confidence and to explain the newborn's rhythm: sleep and feeding.
We want to raise awareness among you from the start of pregnancy about the proven benefits of this practice.
Useful document(s)
Keychain
My birth plan
Prevention of infectious diseases
Vaccination
Assistance during childbirth
Epidural anesthesia
Induction of labor
Uterine scar
Skin to Skin
Monochorionic diamniotic pregnancy
Preeclampsia flyer
Down syndrome screening
Prevention alloimmunization
First 1000 days
Shaken baby prevention
Violence against women
Seat
DPNI
Prenatal Diagnosis
Team :
- Professor Michel Dreyfus
- Dr. Charlotte Buron Fouque
- Dr. Luc Durin
- Dr. Pauline Goupille
- Dr. Anne-Sophie Lafitte
- Dr. Quentin Meurdra
- Dr. Mathilde Siodlak
For any request for advice or appointment, please make it via the Omnidoc tele-expertise platform.
Sending us a request is very simple; just go to:
If you don't already have an Omnidoc account, you can create one for free in just a few seconds.
The platform is very intuitive to use, but if needed, you will find a tutorial attached explaining the different steps. In case of technical difficulties, you can contact support@omnidoc.fr; they are very responsive.
Here is also a video tutorial introducing the Omnidoc platform: (video tutorial).
Center page
My Stay at the Maternity Ward
D-Day – Pre-Labor
After being seen by the emergency obstetrics team, and if labor has begun, you will be admitted to the delivery room, most often a pre-labor room. During this early labor period, which can last several hours, you will have the opportunity to walk, move around, use a birthing ball, or take a shower.
Feel free to bring your nursing pillow, music, personal items including a water bottle and comfortable, flexible clothing.
During your time in the delivery room, you can be accompanied by the person of your choice at any time (only one accompanying person, always the same one).
D-Day – My Birth
The delivery room:
The rest of your birthing process takes place in the delivery room and always involves the insertion of an IV line and monitoring. We encourage you to define your birth plan (My Birth Plan) during your pregnancy, and we will do everything we can to respect it as best as possible.
The support and monitoring of the work are provided by a midwife and, possibly, a student midwife.
Gynecologists-obstetricians, anesthesiologists and pediatricians are present on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can intervene if the health condition of the mother or baby requires it.
The delivery room has 11 rooms: 7 delivery rooms including two "natural" rooms, 3 pre-labor rooms and one emergency interventional surgery room.
Ideally located between the operating room (for emergency or scheduled cesarean sections) and the neonatology department (for the care of newborns who require it), the obstetrical block is equipped with computers and repeaters in each room in order to optimize the monitoring of women in labor.
A level 3 maternity unit, meaning capable of accommodating high-risk pregnancies and newborns requiring intensive care, the maternity unit at the Caen University Hospital has opened its doors to independent midwives who wish to deliver their patients in a safe physiological environment (see below "Delivery on a technical platform").
Patients desiring a "natural" birth (but who are not accompanied by a self-employed midwife) are cared for in a physiological space by a team of midwives trained in mobilization during labor, birthing positions, and also acupuncture.
The 2 natural birthing rooms are equipped with a birthing couch, a bathtub, a birthing ball, a birthing chair and a suspension and stretching system.
Our anesthesia team will be available to manage your pain. Even with an epidural,you will be able to walk around the delivery room area to facilitate the progress of labor, and you will have a pump that will allow you to manage the administration of medication yourself, depending on the intensity of the contractions and your desired experience.
You will find links to some informational documents concerning vaginal delivery, cesarean section,
The intervention of the on-call gynecologist is sometimes necessary, whether for assistance with vaginal delivery or for an emergency cesarean section: Assistance during childbirth
Childbirth in a technical platform:
Some independent midwives have signed a partnership agreement with the university hospital, allowing them to deliver their patients in the department's delivery rooms. These are patients who are motivated by a physiological birth without an epidural and who meet specific medical criteria.
To arrange this, contact a private midwife; if your request is suitable, they will explain the necessary steps and refer you to the Caen Normandy University Hospital (CHU Caen Normandie) for review by their medical team. If your case is approved, the private midwife will provide support throughout labor and delivery, and for the two hours following. Your postpartum care will then be provided by the hospital's teams as usual until you return home.
At any point during the process, in case of medical necessity, a return to the classic care pathway is possible, whether during pregnancy, during labor or just after delivery.
My stay in the Birth Suites
The postpartum unit welcomes mothers and their child(ren) after childbirth.
It has a capacity of 48 beds, including 42 single rooms. Each room is equipped with a shower, a toilet and a dedicated baby area.
We have a room equipped for people with reduced mobility (PRM).
Medical and paramedical monitoring:
It is multidisciplinary. 24/7, midwives, doctors, pediatricians, childcare assistants, and nursing assistants monitor the progress of your stay and that of your child, in order to meet your expectations.
The team is committed to pain management while ensuring your well-being. Dedicated to supporting breastfeeding, they offer advice on childcare and guide you towards independence.
Your stay:
For the well-being of our patients and babies, we advise you to limit the number and duration of visits as much as possible so you can rest and be fully present to get to know your baby.
Visits from children are not permitted, with the exception of the baby's siblings.
Limiting visits is necessary to respect the newborn's rhythm and needs. The presence of your support person is important for your well-being.
Apart from the co-parent or accompanying person (presence possible 24 hours a day) and your children (presence without time constraints but only during the day), visits are only permitted from 4pm to 8pm from September 2025.
Anyone with a fever or signs of infection is asked to postpone their visit.
The average length of hospital stay is 72 hours for a physiological birth and 96 hours for a birth by cesarean section.
To find out what to pack in your suitcase, consult our dedicated brochure: Mother and Child Pack
Most rooms are equipped with an extra bed for the co-parent, whose presence is permitted 24/7, allowing both of you to care for your child (this presence is subject to acceptance of a charter for accompanying persons). Overnight stays and meals for accompanying persons are charged (prices are listed in the welcome booklet and in the rooms).
Discharges from the maternity ward:
These appointments can be standard or early. In all cases, they must be scheduled during pregnancy. You will be discharged before noon, after seeing the midwife and/or obstetrician-gynecologist and the pediatrician, who will give you your prescriptions and your child's health record. If you need to leave late, a discharge lounge is available until your family and friends arrive.
You are offered the option of returning home within 48 hours of birth if the delivery is without associated complications. Eligibility for this discharge is subject to certain conditions, which will be explained to you by the doctor or midwife who is monitoring your pregnancy.
If you are interested in this early discharge plan, it is advisable to prepare it from the beginning of the pregnancy, with the help of our teams.
You can contact the independent healthcare professional who will take over your maternity care upon your discharge whenever you wish . You will meet them within the first 24 hours of your return home.
These home visits, like those with your general practitioner, are covered by social security and allow you to recharge with your family while benefiting from the expertise of a professional you know, who can advise you and detect any abnormalities for you and your child
These early departures promote family bonds, while providing personalized support to your new family.
For more information on leaving the maternity ward, please consult our specific brochure.
The Kangaroo Unit
The kangaroo unit is a specific obstetric-pediatric unit that accommodates mothers whose children require neonatal care.
Located within the maternity ward, it cares for premature babies after 34 weeks and/or newborns with minor medical conditions. These newborns remain in their mother's room, thus preserving the mother-child bond.
The little extras
- The birth registration : mandatory within 5 days of the birth, it can be done directly at the hospital. A dedicated counter, located in the main hall on the ground floor, welcomes the parent(s) and handles the necessary procedures, in conjunction with the Caen civil registry, thus saving you a trip to the town hall. If you are not married, remember to have the other parent complete the pre-birth declaration of paternity at the town hall during the pregnancy; this document must be included in the pregnancy file on the day of delivery.
- Midwives specializing in lactation consult in the unit, but also by appointment to support you once you return home.
- Other professionals, qualified in acupuncture, offer their skills to address any potential problems.
- If you wish, a psychologist can meet with you during your stay.
- Films produced by the neonatology of the Caen Normandy University Hospital are available for viewing.
My tips for going out
Here you will find discharge advice from the Normandy Perinatal Network for:
- The mother: https://www.perinat-normandie.fr/apres-la-naissance/conseils-sante-pour-la-mere/
- The child: https://www.perinat-normandie.fr/apres-la-naissance/conseils-sante-pour-lenfant/
You will also find below a video with many tips, produced by the Aurore Network.
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