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Dr Odile Bagot (Gynecologist-obstetrician)
Since November, the city of Strasbourg has offered 800 pregnant women the benefit of a special prescription to protect them from endocrine disruptors.
Already known for having initiated “Sport on prescription” in 2012, the city of Strasbourg is still innovating to keep its inhabitants in good health. On November 16, the city launched the “green prescription”, prescribed by professionals (midwife, general practitioner or gynecologist) which now allows 800 pregnant Strasbourg women to receive products and information in order to avoid endocrine disruptors.
Concrete action to target and eliminate endocrine disruptors
Without realizing it, endocrine disruptors surround us on a daily basis, in the air we breathe, in water, soil and especially in the composition of many food products. However, we now know that these harmful substances are the cause of developmental abnormalities and serious pathologies affecting mothers and their children.
“All these chemical products with consequences such as cancers, diabetes, autistic syndrome, malformation, reduced fertility or precocious puberty, have invaded our daily lives. They are found in plastic but also in beauty products, cleaning products, air fresheners, paint, etc. details in the pages of ReleaseAlexandre Feltz, deputy mayor in charge of public health.
According to research, fetal life is one of the exposure windows during which endocrine disruptors are particularly harmful. Based on this observation, the green prescription therefore gives the right to free access, for seven months, to a weekly basket of vegetables from local organic farming, but also awareness sessions on the risks of endocrine disruptors and the means of protect themselves from it. All financed by an envelope of 500,000 euros from the city. A substantial sum, but which according to the elected official, “pwill reduce the number of obese children, diabetics, or even genital malformations”.
“It’s more than a basket of organic products, it’s a long-term bet”
For Dr Odile Bagot, gynecologist, author of Endocrine disruptors: war is declared (Editions Mango, 2020) and precisely practicing in Strasbourg, the initiative is very interesting in several respects:
“The action is not limited to giving a basket of organic vegetables to pregnant women, it goes much further. With this prescription, women also receive information as well as several hours of training to know how to start eating without risk, but also to know the containers, hygiene products, household products and the risks that can impact their health and that of their child. It is a whole that is offered in this period of psychic transparency where a change of lifestyle is facilitated and it is in this educational perspective that it is interesting.”
The other interest, according to the doctor, obviously concerns the unborn child by launching a long-term bet to give the best chance to his child during the first 1,000 days of life (9 months of gestation and the first 2 years of life).
“This initiative is also essential for the newborn. By influencing a healthier and less harmful lifestyle change during pregnancy, the benefits, both for breastfeeding women and the baby, last well beyond childbirth. It is an education that will have beneficial repercussions on all early childhood” she confirms.
At the end of the experiment, the city of Strasbourg will assess its impact by measuring the change in behavior of volunteer families vis-à-vis endocrine disruptors. And if the green prescription has the same success as prescription sport, perhaps it will soon be followed by other municipalities concerned by the health of its inhabitants?