A number of infectious diseases should be considered for inclusion as part of clinical preconception care. Those infections strongly recommended for health promotion messages and risk assessment or for the initiation of interventions include Chlamydia infection, syphilis, and HIV. For selected populations, the inclusion of interventions for tuberculosis, gonorrheal infection, and herpes simplex...

Care for women with HIV infection has specific challenges before conception and during pregnancy that should be addressed in a comprehensive, standardized plan of care. Preconception care for HIV-infected women includes health recommendations and counseling for safer sexual practices, contraception, and pregnancy planning. The goals are: (1) to improve the health of the woman before conception;...

OBJECTIVE Diabetic women are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes that can be improved by preconception care. Our goal was to evaluate the quality of medical care in diabetic women who undergo fertility treatment and compare it with the quality of medical care in diabetic women with spontaneous pregnancies. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This retrospective study on reproductive-age w...

OBJECTIVES In the industrialized world, the mean age at which mothers give birth to their first child has increased. The purpose of this article was to review the available evidence in order to optimize preconception care in women who have postponed childbearing to the later years of the reproductive life cycle. METHODS Review of literature. RESULTS There is a paucity of evidence and rigoro...

PROBLEM/CONDITION Preconception health is a broad term that encompasses the overall health of nonpregnant women during their reproductive years (defined here as aged 18-44 years). Improvement of both birth outcomes and the woman's health occurs when preconception health is optimized. Improving preconception health before and between pregnancies is critical for reducing maternal and infant morta...

The recent publications on preconception health and care are very interesting (1). Indeed, the ethical issues are important concerns. The published article by Kihlbom focused upon preconception genetic screening with expanded panels, but it is only for one trait (2). I would like to share the practice in my country on the screening of complex endemic genetic problems. In Thailand, genetic carri...

In the recent past there has been a significant improvement in the quality of life and vast reduction in Human Immunodeficiency Virusrelated mortality rates. The advent of antiretroviral therapy has largely contributed to this drastic increase in the life expectancy of Human Immunodeficiency Virus -infected individuals. In this review we have discussed about fertility issues in -infected people...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of a preconception counseling program tailored for teens with type 1 diabetes on cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral outcomes and to assess its cost-effectiveness. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 88 teens with type 1 diabetes from two sites were randomized into the READY-Girls (Reproductive-health Education and Awareness of Diabetes in Youth for Gir...

OBJECTIVE  There is a growing interest in developing and offering more systematic preconception healthcare. However, it is unclear how this might be regarded by ethnically diverse communities at higher risk of poor maternal and child health outcomes. We sought to explore perceptions about preconception health and care among women from these communities to identify opportunities and challenges f...