BACKGROUND The preventative paradigm of preconception care is receiving increasing attention, yet its boundaries remain vague in three respects: temporally; agentially; and instrumentally. Crucially, it remains unclear just who is to be considered a 'potential parent', how soon they should take up preconception responsibilities, and how weighty their responsibilities should be. DISCUSSION In ...

Introduction: Preconception care is an integral part of healthcare services for women, in which the existing risks for pregnancy are evaluated. This study aimed to determine the frequency of preconception care and its importance for the health of mother, fetus, and newborn in years 2009-2012.  Methods: In this descriptive retrospective study, the study population included newly-pregnant mother...

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that preconception care may have an important role in preventing short and long term adverse health consequences for women and their offspring. This is particularly the case for women with chronic health conditions due to the rising prevalence of chronic disease in global populations. With this in mind, this paper presents an integrative systematic review of...

Preparation for pregnancy and management of modifiable risk factors result in favorable pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. Regarding this, the present study aimed to determine preconception lifestyle status and its predictors among women contemplating pregnancy. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 201 women aged 18-35 years contemplating pregnancy for the coming year. The data were coll...

INTRODUCTION Preconception care includes any intervention to optimize a woman's health before pregnancy with the aim to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) outcomes. Preconception care bridges the gap in the continuum of care, and addresses pre-pregnancy health risks and health problems that could have negative maternal and fetal consequences. It therefore has potential to further...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published national recommendations for improving preconception health and health care in response to unfavorable aspects of the health status of women and children in the United States. The publication explains that the national recommendations are part of a strategic plan for improving preconception health through the provision of clinical ca...

IN BRIEF Women with diabetes who are of reproductive age should receive preconception risk assessment and counseling to maximize pregnancy outcomes. This article summarizes the concept of preconception care for women with diabetes and provides a description of an implementation of collaborative preconception care for primary care and obstetrics and gynecology specialty providers.

BACKGROUND Despite strong evidence of the benefits of preconception interventions for improving pregnancy outcomes, the delivery and uptake of preconception care and periconceptional folate supplementation remain low. General practitioners play a central role in the delivery of preconception care. Understanding general practitioners' perceptions of the barriers and enablers to implementing prec...