BACKGROUND Preconception care may be an efficacious tool to reduce risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes that are associated with lifestyles and health status before pregnancy. We conducted a web-based cohort study in Italian women planning a pregnancy to assess whether a tailored web intervention may change knowledge and behaviours associated with risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes. ...

This is the issue of successful behavioral interventions and international comparisons that support the need for better primary health care in the United States. Men's preconception care is considered, and the issue rounds out with articles about the radiologic findings of fluid in the mastoid bone, sex of physicians and mortality rates, a diabetes drug review, and, as usual, some informative b...

background and aim: factors such as weight, diet, cigarette smoking and unprescribed drug use, and also environmental pollutants affect maternal health and the birth of the healthy neonates. the aim of this study was to investigate women's lifestyle during the preconception period in kalat, iran. materials & methods: this descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 118 married wome...

Providing care to adolescent girls and women before and between pregnancies improves their own health and wellbeing, as well as pregnancy and newborn outcomes, and can also reduce the rates of preterm birth. This paper has reviewed the evidence-based interventions and services for preventing preterm births, reported the findings from research priority exercise, and prescribed actions for taking...

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...

DIABETES AND CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS — Major congenital malformations remain the leading cause of mortality and serious morbidity in infants of mothers with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Several studies have established an association between elevated maternal glucose or glycohemoglobin levels during embryogenesis and high rates of spontaneous abortions and major malformations in newborns. Clinic...

Globally, lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) carry a disproportionately heavy burden of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity [1]. Too many women haemorrhage to death peripartum, develop acute stroke, renal failure, or pulmonary edema from uncontrolled hypertension, or are affected by severe sepsis, including after unsafe abortion [2]. And when bad things happen to a pregnant woman,...

CME This clinical content conforms to AAFP criteria for continuing medical education (CME). See CME Quiz Questions on page 438. Preconception care is defined as personalized care for men and women that is focused on reducing maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, increasing chances of conception, and preventing unintended pregnancies. Family physicians have the opportunity to discuss risk ...