Abstract
Introduction
Endocrine disruptors (ED) such as phthalates or bisphenol A are ubiquitous and pregnant
women and children are particularly vulnerable. Perinatal health professionals are
well-placed to inform pregnant women about the risks. We set out to evaluate perinatal
health professionals’ knowledge of ED and the information they give during pregnancy.
Material and Methods
We invited midwives, obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYN), general practitioners (GP),
and general medicine and OB/GYN residents to respond to a short Google survey between
August and November 2018 by email using perinatal network.
Results
Out of 4100 questionnaires sent, 1650 completed questionnaires were returned and analyzed.
The participation rate was 41 % with the following distribution: midwives (n = 1215,
74 %), OB/GYN residents (n = 102, 6 %), OB/GYNs (n = 129, 8 %), GPs and residents
in general medicine (n = 204, 12 %), in private and public hospitals in France. Only
181 of the respondents thought they were well-informed about ED including 160 midwives
(11 %). Most of the responding professionals reported not to give any information
during pregnancy (n = 946, 57.3 %). Midwives (n = 452, 37.2 %), people >50 years (n
= 104, 41.6 %) and people working in private structures (n = 451, 34.9 %) were the
most likely to give information, mainly orally. Overall, 346 (74.2 %) of the respondents
considered that information about health risks of endocrine disruptors was important
and most of them wished they were better informed (n = 1532, 92.9 %).
Conclusion
Our study suggests that perinatal health professionals do not have enough medical
information, training or tools to communicate about the risks associated with ED to
pregnant women and consequently cannot educate them. Research is needed to further
explore the risks and support prevention of environmental exposure for pregnant women.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 26, 2020
Accepted:
June 15,
2020
Received in revised form:
June 8,
2020
Received:
March 20,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
