Abstract
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the information pregnant women received regarding
possible exposures to five recognized reprotoxic agents during their pregnancy.
Study design
A cohort study was conducted using two postnatal units in France. Women hospitalized
in postnatal units were requested to complete a self-administered two part questionnaire.
The first part gathered information about the patient’s socio-professional level and
the type of pregnancy follow-up. The second part examined the information the patient
received regarding daily products containing the following known reprotoxic agents:
bisphenol A, toluene, n-hexane, cis-chloroallyl-triaza-azonia-adamantane-chloride and O-phenyl-phenol. The women cited the sources of information. We combined the employment
status and educational level to separate the women into two groups. The groups were
then compared using the Chi Square test or Fisher’s exact test.
Result(s)
There were 390 women in this study. Our results showed the women received information
regarding the following: 21.6% (n = 84) regarding tin cans, 21.9% (n = 85) concerning plastic meal boxes when heated in microwave ovens, 8.8% (n = 32) about water in gas-bottles, 27.4% (n = 106) about non-organic foods, 39.3% (n = 152) about hair dyes, 17% (n = 66) about nail polishes, 23.4% (n = 103) about insect repellents, 34.4% (n = 133) about “do-it-yourself” products, 2.1% (n = 8) about gardening products, 26.7% (n = 103) about electric plug-in repellents, 21.1% (n = 81) about housekeeping products, and 6.8% (n = 26) about register receipts. Women with a higher level of education and a qualified
occupation were better informed about these daily products. These women were more
likely to learn the information on their own (internet, media).
Conclusion(s)
Our study showed French women did not receive sufficient information regarding potential
exposures to reprotoxic agents during pregnancy.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 03, 2016
Accepted:
July 26,
2016
Received in revised form:
July 11,
2016
Received:
April 19,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
