18:01 Nov 11, 2009 

I found one translation (larousse.fr) that gives "staff midwife" for the 3-word phrase

17:56 Nov 11, 2009 

I think "sage-femme major" is it - There's a disconnected "sage" handwritten elsewhere on the document. Would it be "staff midwife"?

17:43 Nov 11, 2009 

Is the full phrase "sage-femme-major" on the certificate?

17:40 Nov 11, 2009 

I've just done a similar check to Phil, and found it mostly in the armed forces context, sometimes equiv. to MO. E.g www.aufaitmaroc.com/.../genocide-rwandais-prison-a-vie-pour... -

17:39 Nov 11, 2009 

You found the same refs I did. Try searching sage femme major.

17:37 Nov 11, 2009 

Do you have any more context? Does it just say "Femme major" and a person's name, or is it part of a sentence?

17:34 Nov 11, 2009 

Funnily enough, someone asked the same question about the same hospital on Wordreference.com and didn't get an answer. I've found the phrase used on lots of French-language sites and seen it more than once translated as "major" (as in the armed forces), but this may be a mistranslation. And I don't think it means "of legal age".

17:33 Nov 11, 2009 

Was watching for you to weigh in on this one. My instincts were telling me this had to be the meaning, but I could not find any refs in my usual sources.

17:31 Nov 11, 2009 

can be certified by "sage-femme major".
I don't think it has anything to do with a typo for "majeur".

17:30 Nov 11, 2009 

i think it refers to the 'age of majority' ( normally 18 or 21 depending on country and legal right being referred to )

17:03 Nov 11, 2009 

Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital (CHU Yaoundé)
Cameroon

16:57 Nov 11, 2009 

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