[The "laetitia syndrome" or "surprise delivery" (author's transl)]

This syndrome is seen essentially in a second or later pregnancy in a woman of modest social background, sometimes delivering prematurely and who is forced to perform certain domestic tasks or to wait for her husband before leaving for the place in which delivery has been planned. This type of untimely delivery may cause perineal lesions, vulval haematomas, post-partum haemorrhage, rupture of the umbilical cord or damage to the foetus.