Perception and Demands of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Regarding Their Role as Participants in Environmental Research Studies

Abstract

A significant proportion of scientific studies consider pregnant and breastfeeding women as vulnerable subjects. The objective of this study was to analyse the perception of pregnant and breastfeeding women regarding their participation in environmental research studies. Our work is a descriptive and interpretative observational study that has been developed under the qualitative research paradigm following a phenomenological and ethnographic perspective. The study involved 173 women selected intentionally in two Spanish autonomous communities. To obtain the primary data, we relied upon 111 interviews, four focused ethnographies and eight focus groups. The data encoding and analysis was carried out with the help of NVivo 12 software (QSR International, Boston, MA, USA). We evidenced the need of pregnant and breastfeeding women for more detailed and accurate information on the risk of environmental pollutant exposure during their crucial life stage. In addition, these women claimed for a more participatory role in research studies. Pregnant and breastfeeding women in Spain ask for greater interaction with researchers and propose a dialogical relationship between valid partners. We conclude that our pregnant and breastfeeding women claim more research focused on their collective, as well as clearer, more accessible and structured information on the risks of exposure to environmental contaminants. In addition, they do not want to simply be informants; rather, they ask to be active and empowered members by providing their opinions and arguments throughout the research process.

Categorizations of Trust and Distrust in the Classifications and Social Representations of Food among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Spain—Applying the Cultural Domains’ Pile Sort Technique

“…This study, which was part of a broader interdisciplinary research project, was conducted to analyse discourses and practices on the dietary intake of pregnant and breastfeeding women in relation to the presence of chemical substances in foods [11,18,22,[35][36][37]. The research was conducted in two phases, the first from 2015 to 2017 (Ref.…”

The Sound of Silence: Unspoken Meaning in the Discourse of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women on Environmental Risks and Food Safety in Spain

“…The aim of the present study is to consider the functions of the psychological and normative silences [ 17 ] presented by pregnant and breastfeeding women living in two regions of Spain regarding their perceptions of environmental risks and food safety [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. There is growing evidence that continued exposure to low doses of pollutants, as occurs in most of the general population, could increase the risk of developing various chronic pathologies, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease or diabetes [ 20 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], and also that exposure to various persistent toxic compounds (Polychlorinated Biphenyls, DDT, Heptachlor, Hexachlorobenzene, Dioxins…) during pregnancy has been associated with alterations in foetal growth, new-born weight, asthma, risk of pre-term birth or alterations in neurodevelopment, among others. Persistent toxic compounds are chemicals used in agricultural and industrial production that accumulate in the body in small doses, mainly through the consumption of foods containing animal fats, and carry a silent risk due to the short-term invisibility of their consequences, as well as a diffuse and multifactorial causation of diseases and disorders resulting from this type of toxicity [ 26 , 27 ].…”