Port Royal Maternity Hospital, Paris: Exterior, raking view of the chapel corner facing Boulevard du Port Royal

The Maternit\u00E9 de Paris, Port-Royal was the 'lying-in' hospital for the poor women of Paris. The obstetrician St\u00E9phane Tarnier pioneered use of incubators for premature infants at the Maternit\u00E9 at the end of the 19th century. The Port Royal abbey (Cistercian order, 1625) close to the Luxembourg Gardens, was transformed into a prison during the French Revolution (also called Prison de La Bourbe and Port-Libre). In 1814, the prison was converted into a maternity hospital, and was fully completed in 1818. The Paris School of Midwives moved in 1794 from the Hotel Dieu (where it had been since 1610) to Port Royal. The cloister, chapel and the oratory where the Jesuits and Jansenists debated survive from the old abbey. Le Pautre built the chapel in 1646-1653.