The characters of Max and Tiff, at the heart of season 7 of "Skam France" -

© Thibault GRABHERR / FTV

  • In the seventh season of 

    Skam France

    , Tiff's character denies her pregnancy completely and gives birth without even knowing that she was pregnant.

  • This theme helps to draw attention to the subject but is not sufficient to avoid it.

  • "The denial of pregnancy can only be lifted by someone from the outside", explains Pauline Minjollet, doctor of psychology, at

    20 Minutes

    .

Can fiction have an impact on reality?

For three years,

Skam France has

endeavored to portray the challenges of the young generation.

In the seventh season, launched in January, the series immerses its fans in the daily life of a teenager who has made a total denial of pregnancy.

Tiffany had no symptoms and therefore no possibility of knowing that she would give birth to a child after a sports competition.

This experience is that of about 1,500 to 3,000 women each year, 330 of whom give birth without ever knowing that they were pregnant.

A phenomenon that can happen to anyone, regardless of the background or age of the person concerned.

To avoid it, is it enough to highlight the denial of pregnancy through the prism of fiction?

"The more we talk about it, the better we take care of it"

“When we say that the more we talk about it, the more we avoid it, this is wrong, immediately announces Pauline Minjollet, doctor in psychology.

Denial of pregnancy can only be lifted by someone from the outside.

Someone has to make a point to her, it can't come from the girl herself.

So, even if

Skam

makes it possible to draw attention to an issue that teenagers know very little, if at all, the fact of making it the theme of this seventh season will not make it possible to reduce it. number.

“A young girl who is going to deny pregnancy is not going to avoid it if she knows what it is because it is a psychic functioning.

It's unconscious, ”says Pauline Minjollet.

On the other hand, we could rather say that the more we talk about denial of pregnancy, the better we take care of it or the better we detect it.

Thus, the only way to realize that a woman is pregnant when she does not know it herself is by consulting her doctor who will then perhaps perform an in-depth examination if there is any doubt. , or if one of his relatives makes a remark to him.

A thought like "Hey, you wouldn't have gained a kilogram or two, are you sure you're not pregnant?"

Can then trigger awareness.

The importance of democratization

By putting the subject at the heart of its last season,

Skam sets in

motion a process of democratization which can help adolescents directly or indirectly concerned by the denial of pregnancy.

“Adolescents are always afraid of being stigmatized and that can help,” notes Pauline Minjollet.

If ever, in her entourage, a girl denies of pregnancy, the friends know what it is and they can better support her.

"

Little dealt with in the context of fictions on the small or the big screen, this theme is nevertheless a good entry point for addressing the issue of pregnancy in general with a young audience.

“It's over when we went to high school to do sex education, it's a bit outdated now.

Fiction makes it possible to innovate and better target the interest of teenagers, ”indicates the doctor in psychology.

The series is also an opportunity to approach the issue in a more positive way.

The counter-example would be the TV movie 

The Child I Was Not Waiting

, broadcast on France 2 in 2019, which painted the portrait of a woman who gets rid of the baby she was not expecting and ended up being accused of 'infanticide.

An enhancement of a drama which however concerns only one percent of denials of pregnancy.

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