“It is beautiful to know that there is people who want to participate in studies such as BiSC to try to change the city where we live and where our children will grow”

This week, Sílvia Fochs, one of the nurses in the BiSC project, explains the content of the first visit of the participants who become part of the BiSC cohort around 12 weeks of gestation.

Throughout the visit, the participants have just been informed about the BiSC project, answer a small questionnaire about medical history and sign a set of consent; of a general nature (where they accept their participation in the study) and genetic (to be able to extract information from the biological samples that will be collected throughout the study, and to study the relation between certain diseases and the atmospheric contamination).

At the end of the visit, a clinical examination is carried out, which includes anthropometric measurements for participants such as; the weight and height, or the measure of the tricipital fold that helps to understand the body composition. It also measures blood pressure, which is very important at the cardiovascular level and can be affected throughout pregnancy and influenced by exposure to atmospheric pollutants, and a blood test is performed to be able to measure very small contaminants, able to reach the bloodstream and distribute itself throughout the human body.

All the collected data is indispensable and will be the basis to be able to see the evolution of the participants throughout the pregnancy. This is an essential visit, in which there is the first contact between the BiSC nurses with the participants and families of BiSC. A link is established between the participants and the project that, in some cases, such as the INMA Project in Sabadell, can be maintained for years, and although it is a bit scary to know everything that affects us, it is very nice to know that there is people who want to participate in studies such as BiSC to try to change the city where we live and where our children will grow, and without the participants themselves nothing would be possible.

The text has been written by Sílvia Fochs, BiSC nurse and the INMA cohort with a great experience.