Discuss how preconception care contributes to healthy pregnancy and positive pregnancy outcomes.
Preconception care involves early detection and reduction of modifiable risk factors, done to improve chances of conception, ensure a healthy pregnancy and delivery, and prevent maternal-fetal morbidity.
The article by Genuis and Genuis (2016) opens with the emerging concerns in maternal-fetal medicine, specifically with the rise in incidence of preterm birth and pediatric chronic illness. There has also been recent publications that have linked prenatal determinants with various conditions and illnesses such as neural tube defects, autism, neurodevelopmental disorders, learning disabilities, impaired IQ in children, asthma, pediatric allergies, hypospadias, various lethal pediatric and early adolescent cancers, and various adolescent and adult-onset diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis, eating disorders, cardiovascular disease, various metabolic disorders, and some cases of “compromised bone health”).
It is also important to note how the first three months of pregnancy involve rapid and critical growth of the baby’s body structure and organ systems. Therefore, preconception care is important, as not all women who get pregnant have planned to do so; therefore, they may not think to reduce their exposure to alcohol, caffeine, or drugs that are detrimental to the baby’s development. They are also likely not to be taking the adequate nutrition and supplements needed for that crucial first trimester.
Significant lifestyle changes are also more likely to “stick” if implementation is started prior to pregnancy, as women usually feel fatigued or less than optimal during that first trimester. Other interventions, such as immunizations, smoking and alcohol cessation and pharmaceutical use, should be performed or addressed prior to conception so outcomes are optimized.
The path that preconception care takes to arrive to the goal of healthy pregnancy and positive pregnancy outcomes therefore, is education of reproductive aged women, seeing as all preconception care can be applicable in improving health status even to those who are not planning for pregnancy. Like they say, prevention is better than cure. In some cases though, such as neural tube defects, it seems that prevention may be the only cure there is.
Genuis, S. J., & Genuis, R. A. (2016). Preconception care: a new standard of care within maternal health services. BioMed Research International, 2016. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2016/6150976/