Less than ten years ago, a pregnant woman whose baby was affected by certain malformations had only two choices: give birth to a disabled baby or choose to terminate the pregnancy.
Lucile is the mother of Mattia (aged 6) and Clara (aged 4). During her second pregnancy, her daughter was diagnosed with a spinal anomaly that could lead to paralysis and neurological problems. Thanks to advances in surgery, Clara was operated on before birth, inside your uterus: today she walks and lives almost normally! We take a look back at this little miracle with Lucile.
Professor Jean-Marie Jouannic is an obstetrician-gynaecologist and head of the foetal medicine department at the Armand-Trousseau hospital in Paris. Since 2014, his team has successfully operated on 21 foetuses in utero following the diagnosis of spina bifida, the malformation Clara was suffering from. He answers your questions about foetal surgery.