Publikationer

Research | Forskning - peer review

The Arctic populations have high blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Exposure to POPs was related to adverse health effects e.g. immune, neurological and reproductive systems. This study investigates associations between serum POP levels and haematological markers in Greenl… The Arctic populations have high blood concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Exposure to POPs was related to adverse health effects e.g. immune, neurological and reproductive systems. This study investigates associations between serum POP levels and haematological markers in Greenlandic pregnant women. This cross-sectional study included 189 women enrolled in 2010–2011 at the Greenlandic West coast by the inclusion criteria ≥18 years of age and had lived for 50% or more of their life in Greenland. The associations between the sum of the POP variables polychlorinated biphenyls (sumPCBs), organochlorine pesticides (sumOCPs), perfluoroalkylated substances (sumPFASs) and 24 haematological markers were analysed using linear regression adjusted for age, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, gestation week, plasma-cotinine and alcohol intake. It showed a significantly inverse association between several haematological markers (eosinophil, lymphocyte, neutrophil and white blood cells) and sumPCBs, sumOCPs and sumPFASs. In addition, the monocyte, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, plateletcrit and platelet count markers were significantly inversely associated with sumPFASs, but the haematocrit and mean erythrocyte corpuscular volume were positively associated with sumPFASs. In conclusion, exposure to POPs influenced several haematological markers, especially cell count parameters, suggesting immunosuppressive potential of POPs in Greenlandic pregnant women. The data need further investigations. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

BACKGROUND: A dominant context for pregnant women in the Western world is medical technologies such as ultrasound and screening. It has been argued that such technologies may result in tentative pregnancies, which may be particularly prominent in the first trimester. However, little is known about h… BACKGROUND: A dominant context for pregnant women in the Western world is medical technologies such as ultrasound and screening. It has been argued that such technologies may result in tentative pregnancies, which may be particularly prominent in the first trimester. However, little is known about how women experience early pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To explore the everyday experiences and expectations of first trimester pregnant women in a medicalized context of comprehensive and routine prenatal screening. DESIGN: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews analysed using thematic analysis. SETTING: Between May 2015 and January 2016, participants were recruited from two general practices and one obstetric ultrasound unit in Aarhus, Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty, first trimester pregnant women (15 primiparae, five multiparae) aged 21-39 years. RESULTS: Early pregnancy is often kept secret in the first trimester due to a higher risk of miscarriage. However, the pregnancy is very real in the lives of the pregnant women who make it meaningful through practices of information seeking, listening to the body and anticipating the different milestones in pregnancy. First trimester screening represents one such milestone that is expected to mark a new and more certain phase in the pregnancy. A majority expects to terminate following a prenatal diagnosis, but this does not seem to influence their engagement with the pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The pregnant women use medical technologies to mark a milestone in pregnancy but do not expect all concerns to disappear upon a normal screening result. The majority of women acknowledge that pregnancy involves simultaneous feelings of happiness and worry. Læs mere