“An investment in the health of women is an investment in the health of this and future generations”
Duration: 2015 – 2018
Chaired by Dr Linda Giudice, USA and Dr Jeanne Conry, USA
Project Contact:
General enquiries
What is reproductive and developmental environmental health?
One key influencer that women increasingly need to take into account with their health is the environment in which they live.
Over the past fifteen years, an expanding body of evidence has implicated the role of harmful environmental exposures on health, including:
- Increased rates of cancer
- Increased neurodevelopmental disorders
- Increased birth defects
- Pregnancy complications
Globally, minimising environmental threats to human health and reproduction is a necessity if we are to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination, and therefore progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
Working group activities
Working group members are concerned scientists and health care providers who believe that education, advocacy and research are essential to increase awareness of the environment’s impact on our health.
It is about the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the care products we use.
Women need to make healthy choices for their lives, their family’s lives, and for their future generations. BUT, society needs to ensure that healthy choices are possible.
Activities include:
- Working with regional leaders in obstetrics and gynecology around the globe to identify the important environmental risks that are specific to their countries
- Identifying best approaches for dissemination of their work, with online education, a virtual university, “Train the Trainers” courses, Global conferences, and a Resource Toolkit for successful dissemination of information
- Education, Advocacy and Research are the critical unifying themes for all work
- Collaborating with the World Health Organization, the Endocrine Society, International Federation of Fertility Societies
- Identifying medical training opportunities to incorporate environmental health into all levels of training
- Collaborating with existing FIGO committees so that environmental health is considered in each area
Working group publications
- Toxic environmental exposures in maternal, fetal and reproductive health (2018)
- Environmental Toxicants and Reproductive Health (2017)
- Health Practictioners' Warning on the Impacts of Chemical Contamination on Human Health (2017)
- Early Avoidable Environmental Exposures (2017)
- FIGO at WHO, 2017: Early Avoidable Environmental Exposures
- FIGO Discussion Document: Setting an Agenda for Reproductive Environmental Health (2016)
- FIGO Opinion Press Release on Toxic Chemical Exposure (2015)
- FIGO 2015 Pre-Congress Workshop: Setting an Agenda for Environmental Reproductive Health (2015)
World Environment Day
World Environment Day is organised by the UN to encourage worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries.
Working group members:
Members 2015-2018:
Dr Linda Giudice - Chair, USA
Dr Jeanne Conry - Co-Chair, USA
Professor Gian Carlo Di Renzo - Ex officio, Italy
Professor Richard Anderson, UK
Professor Riana Bornman, South Africa
Professor Maria Dolores Gomez Roig, Spain
Professor Hong-Nerng Ho, Taiwan
Dr Ntodeni Ndwamato, South Africa
Dr Edgar Ivan Ortiz, Columbia
Dr Jorma Toppari, Finland
Dr Tracey Woodruff, USA