Pregnancy must be prepared for 9 out of 10 French people. But most of them ignore the role of a healthy lifestyle before procreation, according to an Odoxa survey.
Nearly 800,000 babies are born each year in France. Active fertility, according to INSEE. But not everyone feels ready for this important event. If the majority of French people express their joy, the prospect of an unborn child can also be a source of stress. THE’Odoxa polling institute asked the population about pregnancy (1). Respondents recognize their lack of information. But for 91% of them, preparing for conception is a must.
Pregnancy is getting ready. On this point, almost all French people agree. In fact, this beautiful unit is falling apart. Only a quarter of those polled say they are ready to consult a health professional before conceiving. Those who want a child in the next two years are slightly more likely to say so. Others generally prefer to wait until the pregnancy is confirmed: one in two respondents expect to see a doctor once it has started.
Good nutrition
The pre-conceptual visit is recommended by the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS). It represents the opportunity to make future parents aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle even before procreating. But 10% of future parents realize it. However, this period is crucial because the fetus inherits the epigenetic changes that lifestyle can cause. Bad habits of the mother can also prove to be deleterious during gestation.
The French are all the same aware that they lack information. Two thirds of them believe that their availability is lacking. 54% also think that future parents are not well prepared. The survey responses seem to confirm this.
Just over a third of those surveyed agree that eating a good diet is important before conception. Awareness reflects the evolution of chronic diseases in society, according to Prof. Umberto Simeoni, president of the Grand Forum des Tout-Petits. “These so-called” civilization “diseases have become a major public health issue, which pushes us to rethink our health actions,” he says in the editorial of this survey.
Lasting repercussions
But as often, inequalities persist. The French surveyed consider that the mother’s hygiene of life is more important than that of the father… and even then, they suffer from serious shortcomings. Only 49% of respondents consider that regular physical activity is necessary before procreating. But 32% consider that this is not necessary for the well-being of the child. The result is not brighter on the food side. Less than a third believe that monitoring your diet should start before pregnancy. However, these are two parameters that reduce the risk factors for complications during pregnancy, in particular gestational diabetes.
70% of those polled think that the healthy lifestyle of the father influences the future health of the child. But the risk factors they put forward only partially correspond to reality. Two-thirds rightly cite tobacco and 56% alcohol. But only 16% cite diet and 8% regular physical activity as factors that can affect fetal development.
“A healthy lifestyle for parents and children during the 1,000 days has a positive and lasting impact on health,” recalls Professor Simeoni. He emphasizes that life choices have repercussions on several generations. “There is a great deal of scientific work leading to this observation: acting early makes it possible to reduce the probability of contracting chronic diseases,” he says.
(1) Odoxa survey for Le Grand Forum des Tout-Petits, conducted among 1,008 French people aged 20 to 40 who were surveyed online. Of these, 473 had children and 200 wanted a child within the next 2 years.
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