Through everyday scenes and an assertive educational approach, this tool intends to respond to an issue that has become central: reconstructing a caregiver-patient relationship weakened by sometimes painful experiences, in a context where women’s voices have been released on obstetric and gynecological violence.
When trust becomes a health issue
Gynecological consultations support women at every stage of their life: first periods, contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause… Intimate moments, sometimes expected, sometimes feared.
But in recent years, the news has highlighted stories from patients talking about experiences such as violence or misunderstandings in the context of medical follow-up. An awareness that deeply questions the care relationship.
In this context, the FONDAPRO Foundation, under the aegis of the Fondation de France and with the support of Health Insurance, wanted to act in an area that is often neglected: that of dialogue.
“Faced with the obstetric and gynecological violence brought to light in recent years, it has become essential to rebuild the bond of trust between patients and caregivers, an essential condition for the quality and safety of care. Gynecology journey is the result of 18 months of collective work bringing together health professionals and patients, with the objective of moving towards more serene gynecology and obstetrics”
declares Antoine Watrelot, gynecological surgeon, president of the FONDAPRO Foundation.
Behind these words, a conviction: without trust, care loses part of its strength, and sometimes its effectiveness.
A comic strip to name, explain, play down
Gynecology journey
chooses an unexpected format in the medical field: the comic strip. An assumed, almost political choice, to make accessible what sometimes remains difficult to say.
Through life scenes, the book goes through the major stages of gynecological health: first consultation, contraception, pregnancy monitoring, childbirth, voluntary termination of pregnancy. But it also focuses on more sensitive subjects, often surrounded by silence: endometriosis, infertility, menopause, screening for gynecological cancers.
The objective is not only to inform, but to make situations readable, human, understandable.
For Catherine Cerisey, committed patient, “Professionals, whether doctors, midwives, nurses, occupy a special place in the lives of women: they accompany the major stages of life, from puberty to menopause, in intimate moments, sometimes happy, sometimes difficult. As a committed patient, I wanted to contribute to Voyage en gynecologie to invite, without taboo, a more serene, more human and more trusting relationship between patients and caregivers.
The work, illustrated by Loane Watrelot, adopts a deliberately accessible, sometimes light tone, to open doors where words are often lacking. He explains medical procedures, names exams, puts situations into words. A way to reduce apprehension, but also to give patients an active place again in their care journey.
A widely distributed tool to reach all women
Designed as a public health support, the comic strip is distributed free of charge in 21,000 copies in paper version. It is also accessible online via the Health Insurance website, in order to guarantee broad and equitable access.
This double dissemination is part of a clear desire: not to reserve information only for medical consultations, but to allow everyone to use it at their own pace, before or after an appointment.
The project was also distinguished during the 34th edition of the Health Communication Festival (FestiComSanté) in November 2025 in Deauville, receiving the Coup de Cœur Prize for communication of a project of general interest. A recognition which underlines the innovative dimension of this approach, at the crossroads of health, pedagogy and mediation. The National Academy of Surgery also praised the initiative by awarding it a favorite prize.
Around the project, a large ecosystem of medical, scientific and associative institutions was mobilized: CNGOF, CNSF, EndoFrance, ANESF, SFMP, SCGP, among others. A rare coalition, which reflects a shared issue well beyond just medical practices.
For the FONDAPRO Foundation, whose mission is to strengthen the bond of trust in the care pathway, the issue goes beyond just information. It is also about making patients’ experiences safer, making pathways more understandable, and supporting changes in practices.