Abstract
Introduction
Persistent Toxic Substances (PTS) are substances that are characterized by the cumulative effect at low doses inside the body. Exposure to PTS in pregnant and breastfeeding women, through food consumption, shows various harmful effects on the health of the mother, the fetus and the baby. The objective of this article is to analyze how pregnant and breastfeeding women perceive the presence of chemical substances in food and reflect on the accumulation, transmission and elimination of these substances.
Methodology
Descriptive and interpretive study under the qualitative research paradigm following a phenomenological and ethnographic perspective. As instruments to obtain the primary data we rely on 111 semi-structured interviews with pregnant and breastfeeding women, 4 focused ethnographies, 8 focus groups (63 women), 71 feeding diaries, 71 free listings. To encode the content of the speeches of pregnant and nursing women we rely on the N-Vivo 12 software.
Results
Pregnant and breastfeeding women are concerned about food quality controls. Women trust on local and seasonal foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables from non-extensive crops and close to their home. Foods that produce distrust in women are processed, packaged foods, red meat and large fish. The latter foods promote in women a perception of risk of contamination by chemical substances, manifesting a defenseless situation to maintain a diet without contaminants.
Conclusions
Pregnant and breastfeeding women in Spain have no information on the risk and danger of synthetic chemicals or PTS, with the exception of certain toxic substances such as mercury present in large fish. Women maintain a duality in their own care and that of the fetus or child. This circumstance implies that the women interviewed believe that PTS and synthetic chemicals may have different harmful effects on the mother and the degree of growth of the fetus and, subsequently, of the baby.
Key messages
Future mothers are worried about the type of product they eat, knowing that food influences healthy growth and development of the fetus. Pregnant and breastfeeding women often distrust “processed” or “industrial” foods, which they tend to associate with low quality and large amounts of additives and chemical substances.
Plastic waste
