Where to give birth in Lyon

When you get pregnant, usually one of the first questions that comes to mind is where to give birth. You have to think carefully about the logistics (is it far from home, is it easy to access etc.), the finance (what does my insurance cover?), the level of care of the maternity ward (do I want a intensive care unit) among other things.

When you get pregnant in Lyon, you get to add "understanding the French health system" to the list.

Here are a few tips to get a better understanding of where to give birth in Lyon:

-Logistically speaking, if you chose to give birth in a maternity ward, make sure you can get there easily (by car or public transport) and that it doesn't take too long, as you will be followed there at least the last 3 months of the pregnancy.

-Financially speaking, you will have to chose between a public or private maternity ward:

Public hospital are either Hôpital (also called HCL for Hospices civiles de Lyon) or Centre Hospitalier (CH). They are public structures without excess fees if you are covered by the French public health insurance. This means you usually don't pay for anything except for additional options like a private room or better meals (but it depends on the hospital). Pregnancy monitoring and childbirth are generally carried out by midwives. You don't get to choose which one and you don't know in advance who will be there on D day.

Private hospitals and clinics such as the Val d'Ouest clinic, the Natécia private hospital and Médipôle Lyon Villeurbanne are private structures. Gynecologist are the ones following the pregnancy and are present during birth. Therefore there are excess fees and you can book a private room (or even a suite or an apartment for some!).

-You then have to chose the level of care you want or you need. French maternities are divided in 3 categories:

Type I maternity ward: it takes care of pregnancies without identified problems and it also manages cesarean sections.

-Centre hospitalier de Sainte Foy-lès-Lyon

-Centre hospitalier de Givors

-Hôpital Saint Luc Saint Joseph à Lyon 7

They are all public structures and are all in the south of Lyon

Type II maternity ward: It has a neonatal department. Type II A accommodates babies whose prematurity is greater than 33 weeks with a weight of at least 1.5 kg, while type II B also has an intensive care unit.

Type II A

-Médipôle Lyon-Villeurbanne à Villeurbanne (private, east of Lyon)

-Clinique du Val d'Ouest à Écully (private, west of Lyon)

Type II B

-Hôpital privé Natécia à Lyon 8 (private, east of Lyon)

-Hôpital Lyon Sud à Oullins-Pierre-Bénite (public, south of Lyon)

Type III maternity ward: it also has a neonatal intensive care unit. She manages high-risk pregnancies and all premature babies.

- Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse à Lyon 4 (public, north of Lyon)

-Hôpital Femme-Mère-Enfant (HFME) à Bron (public, east of Lyon)

-You can also give birth in:

• a technical delivery room in a maternity ward (called "plateau technique"). The room is dedicated to midwifes outside of the hospital. They rent the room for a period of time. The midwife stays with the woman during labour and childbirth. If anything goes wrong, the woman can benefit from the care of the hospital. At this moment she is taken care of by the medical team of the hospital. The only one in Lyon depends on the public hospital of Givors.

• a birthing center (called "maison de naissance") managed by liberal midwives. It is reserved for low-risk pregnancies and physiological deliveries. The only one is called "Premières heures au monde" and is in Bourgoin-Jallieu (a town in the east of Lyon).

• or home childbirth: it represents only 0.3% of births each year. More and more women are interesting in giving birth at home but French government is opposed to it and midwives are discouraged from practicing. There are only a hundred of midwives who practice home childbirth and 2 are in Lyon. You can find them on the website of of the French association for home childbirth named APAAD.

-Physiological childbirth: Some structures offer physiological rooms (also called "Nature room"). These rooms are equipped to facilitate labour (ball, bathtub, straps etc.). Be careful, we generally don't give birth in these rooms! There are at Sainte Foy CH, at Givors CH, the Val d'Ouest clinic, Lyon Sud, Médipôle Lyon Villeurbanne, Saint Joseph Saint Luc.

Lyon Sud recently opened a service called Phylia last fall, with 9 midwives dedicated to physiological childbirth.

-And last but not least for some people: if you want your child to be from Lyon, a "lyonnais", and not from the suburbs, you will have to choose a maternity ward located in Lyon as the place of birth determines what will be written on your birth certificate. There are only 3 ( Hôpital Saint Luc Saint Joseph , private clinic Natécia and Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse).

If you live in Lyon or nearby, you don't speak French and need assistance, do not hesitate to contact me! I am an English speaking doula and I can help you navigate through the French health system and support you during pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum.

You can find more information about me and my services here !

As I lived abroad for many years, I know how difficult it can be to understand how things work in another country, so I will be happy to help you!