In the Paradigm Shift in the Understanding of Disease Etiology, the researchers emphasized that our genome interacts with changeable determinants in our environment to maintain or cause health. An outside intervention is an independent variable, while our respective health is the dependent variable; a toxic environment would negatively affect the development of an individual, and a sustainable environment would flourish one. Therefore, the functional system of humans must receive the determinants while avoiding those that are harmful to their environment to develop and thrive.
The researchers enumerated the following harms against preconception care, which negatively contributes to pregnancy outcomes. The prominent one is the Chemical Exposure. The FIGO (the International Federation for Obstetrics and Gynecology) stated that “exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during pregnancy and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to healthy human reproduction.” The in-utero stage of preconception is a time when a baby is vulnerable to toxic chemical exposure from a variety of sources. Thus, indoor air pollution can cause mental illness, cancer, and widespread morbidity and mortality for the baby and the mother.
Another one is the maternal occupational exposures. Evidence suggests that maternal occupational exposure to harmful chemicals in a variety of jobs and professions is linked to negative outcomes in children. For example, maternal exposure to solvents, paints, and petroleum products during pregnancy has been strongly linked to childhood leukemia, which can occur in a variety of occupations. And lastly is the exposure to toxic elements and prenatal supplement contamination. One example of the researchers is the mercury exposure during pregnancy. It has gotten a lot of attention because higher maternal levels in offspring have been linked to impaired cognition, small for gestational age, and cardiovascular effects later in life. Therefore, regulatory bodies have advised women to limit their consumption of contaminated seafood, which is a common source of toxic mercury exposure.
The researchers recommended that environmental and lifestyle modification through informed patient choice is possible, but adequate training in clinical nutrition, toxicology, or environmental exposures towards most clinicians are required to counsel patients about preconception care. Meaning, they must change the lifestyle of women who undergo preconception care, provided that their respective specialists are competent enough to counsel them in this matter. After all, the lifestyle change might minimize the exposure of women in dangers brought by maternal exposures, toxic elements and prenatal supplement contamination, and chemical exposures. These would create a sustainable and healthy environment, which would lead to healthy pregnancy and positive pregnancy outcomes.
Reference:
Genuis, S. J., & Genuis, R. A. (2016). Preconception care: a new standard of care within maternal health services. BioMed Research International, 2016. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2016/6150976/