UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health
Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment

Reproductive Health
and the Environment

A rapidly expanding body of research indicates that many reproductive health problems may be caused by exposure to chemicals that are widely dispersed in our environment and with which we come into contact on a daily basis. These problems include infertility, miscarriage, poor pregnancy outcomes, abnormal fetal development, early puberty, endometriosis, and diseases and cancers of reproductive organs.

We need continuing research on the relationships between specific chemical exposures and disease. And, in order to create healthier environments for fertility and reproductive health, we must translate the emerging science into preventive policy action, enhanced health care and heightened public awareness.

The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment was founded to do precisely this.

The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) is dedicated to creating a healthier environment for human reproduction and development by advancing scientific inquiry, clinical care and health policies that prevent exposures to harmful chemicals in our environment.

We focus on the intersection of science, medicine, policy and community engagement in each of our areas of activity: targeted research, expanding clinical practice, and advancing science-based policy solutions.

 

News

UCSF PRHE AJOG Paper - "Toxic Environmental Chemicals: The role of reproductive health professionals in preventing harmful exposure"

This paper was authored by: Patrice Sutton, MPH; Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH; Joanne Perron, MD; Naomi Stotland, MD; Jeanne A. Conry, MD, PhD; Mark D. Miller, MD, MPH; Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD.

The paper describes the role of health professionals for preventing exposure to harmful chemicals and provides advice on steps that health professionals can take such as taking an exposure history and asking about exposures at work, at home and in the community. 

See the press release here: http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/03/11667/ob-gyns-can-prevent-negative-health-impacts-environmental-chemicals

Food Matters: Food Quality in California's Children's Hospitals

PRHE's Jessica Trowbridge wrote this review for Physicians for Social Responsibility titled, "Food Matters: In Hospitals and For Prenatal Health". Read the full article and learn more about the link between nutrition, environmental chemicals and pregnancy.

Announcing the Reach the Decision Makers 2012 Nationwide Training Program

Are you a scientist, community-based leader, public health or health care professional with experience in environmental or reproductive health? Join Reach the Decision Makers and:

  1. Become a powerful communicator on environmental and reproductive health science.
  2. Learn to work in collaborative teams to educate the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on reproductive environmental health issues of importance to you and/or your community.
  3. Develop the skills and tools necessary to effectively engage USEPA policy makers.
  4. Establish relationships and partnerships with USEPA staff.

Learn more and apply today!

Patrice Sutton, PRHE Researcher and Director of the Community Outreach and Translation Core of PRHE's Pregnancy Exposure and Environmental Contaminants project, speaks at Kaiser Permanente's Food for Health Forum 2011

Making healthy food choices, choosing fruits and vegetables that are free of pesticides, locally-grown and sustainable, was the focus of Kaiser Permanente's 2011 Food for Health Forum. PRHE's Patrice Sutton was there to talk about healthy food choices. Kaiser Permanente's website has a brief video where speakers from the forum were interviewed on the subject. Watch the whole video or forward up to minute 1:36 to see Patrice's section.

You can learn more and view the Kaiser Permanent Food for Health Forum highlights video here:

click here

New Paper: Dr. Ami Zota's paper entitled "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs), and measures of thyroid function in second trimester pregnant women in California" is in press in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T)

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent organic chemicals widely used as flame retardants in consumer products since the 1970s.

Although PBDEs are being phased out, human exposure in the U.S. continues due to the slow replacement time of PBDEcontaining products and ingestion of contaminated foods.

Read more about the paper on the San Francisco Chronicle website:

Banned chemical levels high in pregnant women

You can also view the abstract on the ACS Publications website:

click here

Dr. Tracey Woodruff Comments about Glymes on Bay Area News

Click below to watch video of PRHE Director, Tracey Woodruff, discussing glymes and how they can be hazardous to reproductive health on KTVU (Oakland).

Health Affairs, the leading journal of health policy, has just published their first ever theme issue on environmental health (Environmental Challenges to Health).

PRHE researchers and collaborators have published three new articles in this groundbreaking issue. The articles are available for download at no cost:

  1. Reproductive Health and The Industrialized Food System: A Point Of Intervention For Health Policy – describes how it is not just what we eat but how our food is produced that matters to health.

  2. An Evidence-Based Medicine Methodology to Bridge the Gap Between Clinical And Environmental Health Sciences – describes an innovative new methodology that integrates the best of evidence based medicine with environmental health to systematically and transparently evaluate the environmental reproductive health evidence. Be sure to download the appendix for the complete paper.

  3. The Need For Better Public Health Decisions On Chemicals Released Into Our Environment –reviews how the new science is changing our understanding of the relationship between exposure to chemicals in the environment and disease and provides recommendations to improve current approaches to assessing health risks from environmental chemicals--- including changing the burden of proof so that chemicals are not presumed safe in the absence of scientific data.

Summary of Recommendations for Addressing Potential Health Risks from Nanomaterials in California

A report by the University of California, San Francisco's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment

University of California, San Francisco's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment announces the publication of "Recommendations for Addressing Potential Health Risks from Nanomaterials in California". The report provides recommendations for addressing potential health risks from nanomaterials to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), under the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), and to the State of California.

PRHE NHANES Study: Toxic Chemicals Found in Pregnant Women

"Environmental Chemicals in Pregnant Women in the US: NHANES 2003-2004," a new PRHE study published in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) in January, 2011, analyzes data for 163 chemicals in 286 pregnant women. The authors found that 43 banned and contemporary use chemicals, including PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phenols, PBDE flame retardants, phthalates, polycyclic 14 aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and perchlorate, were detected in 99-100% of pregnant women.

For more details on the study and to see video of PRHE Director, Tracey Woodruff, speaking about the significance of this study. Follow the story here.

PRHE Speaks Out on TSCA Reform

Activists Say TSCA Reform Necessary For New Risk Assessment Methods. Read more...

 

Toxic Matters brochure

PRHE is proud to present our "Toxic Matters" brochure. The recommendations in this brochure are designed for women, men and children and apply to everyone regardless of whether or not you are pregnant or are planning to have children in the future. Find out how to prevent exposure to toxic substances at home, in the workplace and in your community. Also learn what it takes to become a conscientious shopper and how to get the best household products for you and your family. Finally, learn how to start a conversation with your governmental representatives that will improve the overall health of all our communities.

To learn more and download a pdf version of Toxic Matters, click here.

Environmental Health and Women Media Coverage

Hormone Disruptors Podcast

PRHE Director, Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, and Sarah Janssen, MD, MPH, staff scientist in the Health and Environment Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), talk about the impact of hormone disruptors on reproductive health in UCSF's Focus on Women's Health podcast. Listen to the podcast here.

The UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health maintains an up-to-date resource of media coverage of UCSF scientists and their work on environmental health and women .

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds and Intersex Fish

A Response to Nicholas Kristof and Stephen Colbert.

We are pleased to announce that Shaping Our Legacy: Reproductive Health and the Environment, has been translated into Spanish and is available here.

Forjando nuestro legado: La salud reproductiva y el medio ambiente

Informe de la Cumbre sobre los Impactos Ambientales en la Salud Reproductiva y la Fertilidad

Nos complace anunciar que nuestra publicación Shaping Our Legacy: Reproductive Health and the Environment (Forjando nuestro legado: La salud reproductiva y el medio ambiente) ha sido traducida al español y se encuentra disponible en nuestro sitio.

 

 

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