In a manifesto published on the Figaro website, a group of experts call on health professionals and future parents not to trivialize preparation for pregnancy.
French couples are not preparing enough for pregnancy, according to some health professionals. In a manifesto published on the Figaro website, a group of experts warned of the dangers of this non-preparation. According to them, future parents are not sufficiently informed or sensitized on the subject.
However, as they point out, the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends taking vitamin B9 (or folate) before conception, in order to avoid the risk of disability and abnormalities. A practice that is still too little respected in France: only 23% of women take it, according to the 2016 perinatal survey. In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, this figure climbs to 45%.
Experts have thus decided to sound the alarm bell on the subject "Because it is the first weeks of pregnancy that are crucial, even before it is known to the mother: it is at this time that the fetal nervous system begins to develop, and that the abnormalities of neural tube closure may occur ”.
"We cannot remain passive"
The signatories of the manifesto call for an active awareness of future parents and health professionals. They call on gynecologists, midwives, doctors, nurses, etc., to unite and better inform couples. "We should not miss any opportunity to talk about it and support women in their prevention, especially as access to vitamin B9 is simple", they write. They also urge the public authorities to go further in prevention, in particular by including it in the curriculum of medical schools.
Finally, they ask the couple not to trivialize the preparation for pregnancy: "This requires awareness of good health including alcohol, tobacco, vaccinations, by combining it with adequate supplementation to guarantee minimal risk."
Here are the signatories of the manifesto:
- Doctor Philippe Bouhanna, Unit Manager of the Prenatal Diagnosis Center at the American Hospital, Sèvres-Babylone Ultrasound Center.
- Francois Haffner, president of the National Spina Bifida and Associated Disabilities Association.
- Doctor Thierry Harvey, head of the Maternity department at the Diaconesses GH.
- Professor Michel Zerah, head of the disability unit, in the pediatric neurosurgery department at the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital; Chiari Reference Center Syringomyelia and spinal and medullary malformations (CS-Mavem).