The need of prenatal public health initiatives in Poland

Abstract

The author emphasizes the achievements of the Polish Gynecological Society in the field of improving the health indicators concerning perinatal mortality among infants during the last two decades in Poland. Attention is paid to the contribution of the members of the Society to organizational change in Polish health care after 1990, which resulted in the improvement of the care of mother and child. It is also underlined that the members of the Society contributed to the creation of early detection system of breast and cervical cancer in Poland. However, it is noteworthy that in ‘Polish Gynecology’ – the publication of the Polish Gynecological Society – the number of reports devoted to risky health behaviors of women during periconceptional period and pregnancy is scarce. The author draws attention to the percentage of women who smoke cigarettes and consume alcohol before and during pregnancy. Emphasis is also placed on the problem of nutritional disorders (mainly pathological methods of dieting) among Polish women during the reproductive period and in the first weeks of pregnancy (before the pregnancy is confirmed). These aspects may result in epigenetic changes shaping the phenotype of the offspring. The author refers to the Barker’s theory of Developmental Origins of Adult Diseases and warns that the abovementioned health behaviors of women may bring about negative effects for the offspring and future generations, namely susceptibility to chronic diseases: arterial hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Negative effects for the health of offspring may also result from low level of physical activity of women before and during pregnancy. The author concludes that it is necessary to intensify the efforts of the Polish Gynecological Society in the areaof prenatal public health.