Provision of specific preconception care messages and associated maternal health behaviors before and during pregnancy

Substance Use and Preconception Care: A Review of the Literature

“…According to Oza-Frank et al, preconception counseling on alcohol use was not found to alter alcohol use rates among the women in later stages of their pregnancies (14). They also found that the smoking rate was almost 25%, which was much lower than the alcohol use rate among the same population.…”

“…The finding from Oza-Frank et al that preconception counseling negatively affected women's likelihood to smoke only in the last 3 months of pregnancy is a good indication that barriers exist in the provision of effective PCC (14) but that there is a need for preconception counseling (83). Health professionals serve men and women from diverse backgrounds, and it is imperative that practitioners provide culturally sensitive PCC.…”

“…These findings include percentages that were higher than those of Tsai et al who found that 13% of non-pregnant women of childbearing years engaged in binge drinking during 2001-2003 (13). Oza-Frank et al found that the alcohol use rate was as high as 70% at 2-6 months post-delivery in their sample of 3446 women (14). This rate was derived from a questionnaire item that concerned women's alcohol use within the past 2 years, which included the preconception period.…”

Preconception Care of the Obese Woman

“…5,6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)datafromthepastdecadereveal that only one third of women report receivingpreconceptioncareintheyearpreceding pregnancy. 7,8 In 2004, women reported a significant number of issues that would be appropriate to address in a preconception visit. Tobacco use was reported in 23%, alcoholusein50%,multivitaminuseinonly 35%, 18% reported at least 4 psychosocial stressors, and nearly half, as expected, were overweight or obese.…”

“…However, in the same cohort of women there was no difference in preconception dieting or exercise in those who had received messaging on maintain a healthy weight. 7 The difference likely relates to the ease of behavior change to add a daily dietary supplement compared with the multifaceted nature of interventions required to maintain a healthy weight.…”