Illustration of a pregnant woman. – Pixabay
- For two weeks, the “1000 Days Bubble” application, free and produced by healthcare professionals, has been available. It allows you to learn about endocrine disruptors.
- The objective: to give good reflexes to future parents or to those whose children are under 2 years old.
- Based on questionnaires, the application offers advice and practical sheets to navigate the jungle of endocrine disruptors.
They are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. As we know, endocrine disruptors have invaded our daily lives: plate, creams, sofa, bottle… Chasing these invisible products seems to be a waste of time. And yet, many French people worry about their omnipresence, especially when a baby is coming. This is why an application was created at the end of May.
A first, since there are many resources on this subject on the Internet (on theHandles, ARS, associations
Health Environment France,
Future generations…), But no educational application for the general public.
A personalized advice application for young parents
At the origin of this initiative: a partnership betweenRegional Union of Midwife Health Professionals (URPS) and the URPS liberal doctors in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Paca). This is rare, since several healthcare professions have worked hand in hand, and it is the liberals who are carrying the project, and not a hospital or a regional health agency. Health professionals have added the knowledge of the association
Health and Environment Association France (Asef) and the technological knowledge of the company
Exolis. This application, named
“Bubble 1,000 days”, is intended for couples who have passed the first trimester of pregnancy and for parents of children under 2 years old. “It has been medically identified that this is the period of greatest weakness in the face of endocrine disruptors,” explains Aurélie Rochette, president of the URPS midwife in Paca. same if the right reflexes will be useful whatever the age of the child.
To directly reach future parents, going through an application seemed the most appropriate. “We are in a young population, between 18 and 45 years old, so there is no technological brake, continues Aurélie Rochette. We wanted something self-educating, so that parents are truly autonomous. “
An invitation, therefore, to change your habits little by little. In their book Endocrine disruptors*, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Thomas Zoeller and Anne-Simone Parent raise this paradox: “Being exposed to endocrine disruptors is not a choice for anyone and keeps an intangible side, difficult to grasp. These aspects make the work of individual prevention even more difficult and its effectiveness more uncertain. However, individual protection through prevention (…) is it not unavoidable? “
“A moment conducive to changes of habit”
Concretely, the app, free and available on IOS and Android, offers five questionnaires, covering food as well as cosmetics or the use of plastic … With three time frames: you want a child, you are pregnant, your baby is born . From your answers, she will calculate a score and offer you appropriate advice. Not easy, however, to change everything overnight… “We are going to offer simple things. For example: do not heat food in a plastic container, but in a glass or a plate, it is within the reach of all budgets !, illustrates the midwife. And we know that pregnancy is a period conducive to changes in habits. “
Along with the questionnaires, practical sheets list basic information on endocrine disruptors. On the technical side, it is Exolis, a company that offers connected patient journeys, which is at the helm. “This application allows all families to self-assess their environment,” says Christophe Rosso, co-founder of Exolis. With verified information, since it is made by health institutions, but popularized and brought in a fun way so that anyone can find it. “
The app has been available since the end of May, but remains confidential for the moment. “Two weeks after the launch, there are between 500 and 1,000 downloads, which is not bad for a specific target, future and young parents,” explains Christophe Rosso. Rather basic, it should evolve as scientific data is refined on this problem which worries many. The designers are working on quizzes on organic labels, imagine offering a follow-up in improving habits, and wish to “involve the father more”, suggests Christophe Rosso.
“Too anxious and too complex”
Offering clear data and personalized advice on a subject as complex as endocrine disruptors, the bet was daring. Knowing that even scientists have difficulty agreeing on the definition of these substances. And that every month we discover new information on their consequences. “It was important that we unravel the data, because it is a somewhat subversive subject, admits the midwife. Yes, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of endocrine disruptors, and they are everywhere. Even citizens who would like to take an interest drop the matter because it is too anxiety-provoking and too complex. “
And yet, for his newborn baby, avoid the bottle full of bisphenol B (which, according to the latest news, is as harmful as bisphenol A), the plastic toy that he will suck non-stop, or even the cream for the buttocks full of
phenoxyethanol seems essential. Because some endocrine disruptors are suspected of having an impact on infertility, diabetes, obesity, neurodevelopmental disorders and cancers. Major public health issues today. “We are barely at the beginning of what we can know, warns Aurélie Rochette. Because studies are very difficult to conduct when we talk about fetal fertility … For tobacco, we realized that the risk of having a respiratory pathology exists for a child whose mother has not smoked, but whose the grandmother smoked during her pregnancy! This is to say if these studies need several decades to gain in solidity.
* Endocrine disruptors, Editions Mardaga, May 27, 2021, 19.90 euros.