Company-Morales, MiguelZafra Aparici, EvaCasadó, LinaAlarcón Montenegro, CristinaArrebola, Juan Pedro2022-12-222022-12-222021-04-14Company-Morales M, Zafra Aparici E, Casadó L, Alarcón Montenegro C, Arrebola JP. Perception and Demands of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Regarding Their Role as Participants in Environmental Research Studies. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 14;18(8):41491661-7827http://hdl.handle.net/10668/4538A significant proportion of scientific studies consider pregnant and breastfeeding women as vulnerable subjects. The objective of this study was to analyse the perception of pregnant and breastfeeding women regarding their participation in environmental research studies. Our work is a descriptive and interpretative observational study that has been developed under the qualitative research paradigm following a phenomenological and ethnographic perspective. The study involved 173 women selected intentionally in two Spanish autonomous communities. To obtain the primary data, we relied upon 111 interviews, four focused ethnographies and eight focus groups. The data encoding and analysis was carried out with the help of NVivo 12 software (QSR International, Boston, MA, USA). We evidenced the need of pregnant and breastfeeding women for more detailed and accurate information on the risk of environmental pollutant exposure during their crucial life stage. In addition, these women claimed for a more participatory role in research studies. Pregnant and breastfeeding women in Spain ask for greater interaction with researchers and propose a dialogical relationship between valid partners. We conclude that our pregnant and breastfeeding women claim more research focused on their collective, as well as clearer, more accessible and structured information on the risks of exposure to environmental contaminants. In addition, they do not want to simply be informants; rather, they ask to be active and empowered members by providing their opinions and arguments throughout the research process.enAtribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/PregnancyBreastfeedingVulnerable populationEnvironmental riskQualitative researchEmbarazoLactancia maternaPoblaciones vulnerablesRiesgos ambientalesInvestigación cualitativaMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::FemaleMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Reproductive and Urinary Physiological Phenomena::Reproductive Physiological Phenomena::Reproductive Physiological Processes::Reproduction::PregnancyMedical Subject Headings::Persons::Persons::Women::Pregnant WomenMedical Subject Headings::Disciplines and Occupations::Natural Science Disciplines::Science::Research::Empirical Research::Qualitative ResearchMedical Subject Headings::Geographical Locations::Geographic Locations::Europe::SpainMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Behavior::Feeding Behavior::Breast FeedingMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Psychological Phenomena and Processes::Mental Processes::PerceptionMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Environmental Pollution::Environmental ExposureMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Chemical Actions and Uses::Toxic Actions::Environmental Pollutantsresearch article33919934open access10.3390/ijerph180841491660-4601PMC8070940