Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Preconception Care”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 433 records · Page 24Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Patterns of vitamin, mineral and herbal supplement use prior to and during pregnancy.

At the antenatal clinic, 211 women were interviewed to assess vitamin, mineral and herbal use pre-conceptually and in the three trimesters of pregnancy. The majority of women (62%) used both a vitamin or mineral supplement and a herbal preparation during the course of pregnancy. Folate (70%), iron (38%) and multivitamins (27%) were the vitamin and mineral supplements most frequently taken by pregnant women. Ginger (20%) and raspberry leaf (9%) were the most frequently used herbal preparations. Women relied on advice from friends and relatives in deciding to use herbal preparations.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Recruitment, retention and characteristics of women in a prospective study of preconceptional risks to reproductive outcomes: experience of the Diana Project.

Preterm delivery, low birthweight, and intrauterine growth retardation are common and recalcitrant problems in many countries. Although much remains to be learned, we know particularly little about the relationships between preconceptional and early pregnancy exposures and these and other reproductive outcomes. The study presented here was primarily designed to investigate the relationships between nutritional exposures measured before and during pregnancy and reproductive outcomes. This paper describes methods used to recruit the required 1000 preconceptional women from the collaborating health maintenance organisation (HMO) and the retention of participants in this time-intensive study. The results presented demonstrate that an adequate completion rate (66.3%), and a remarkably representative sample of women that poses few threats to the study's validity, can be obtained by population-based recruitment of women from an HMO.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Workshop recommendations for the preconception cohort of the National Children's Study.

This paper summarises discussions on incorporating preconception recruitment in the National Children's Study (NCS); these were part of the workshop on Expanding Methodologies for Capturing Day-Specific Probabilities of Conception. Four key issues were discussed in relation to the NCS: (1) differences between pregnancy 'planners' and 'non-planners'; (2) a tiered approach to preconception data collection; (3) data gaps in preconception studies; and (4) assessment of early pregnancy in subsequent pregnancies for women with a child already in the study. Practical recommendations were developed for each theme, which have relevance for other prospective studies of conception, pregnancy and human development.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Use of periconceptional folic acid supplements in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of women who took folate supplementation prior to conception and in the first three months of pregnancy and/or increased folate dietary intake; to determine how folate supplementation varied with socio-demographic factors; and to describe the ways women had seen or heard about folate prior to pregnancy. METHODS: Two population-based surveys were used: the Victorian Survey of Recent Mothers 2000 and the 2001 NSW Child Health Survey. RESULTS: Thirty-six per cent of women in Victoria reported taking periconceptional folate supplements compared with 46% in NSW. In Victoria, 8%, and in NSW, 28% of women had increased dietary folate intake. In both surveys younger women, women with less education, less income, of non-English speaking background and women who were not married were less likely to take folate supplements in the recommended period. In Victoria, multiparous women were significantly less likely to take supplements. In NSW, women with an unplanned pregnancy and those living in rural areas were significantly less likely to take periconceptional folate supplements. Fifty-three per cent of women cited a general practitioner or obstetrician as a source of folate information and 45% cited family or friends; both of these sources were significantly associated with periconceptional folate supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: Less than 50% of women took periconceptional folate supplements. Among socially disadvantaged groups, the proportion was significantly lower. IMPLICATIONS: Since women are unlikely to achieve adequate folate intake periconceptionally without deliberate action, there remains the need for a multifaceted approach to providing women with information about folate. Future surveys are needed to monitor usage and knowledge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Folate intake and the primary prevention of non-neural birth defects.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether maternal periconceptional folate intake is associated with a reduction in selected non-neural birth defects in Western Australia (WA). METHODS: Case-control study of folate intake in women whose infants had orofacial clefts (62); congenital heart defects (151); urinary tract defects (117); limb reduction defects (26); or other major birth defects (119); and 578 control women. RESULTS: Neither folic acid supplements nor dietary folate intake in women not using supplements was significantly associated with a reduction in risk in any of the case groups. In contrast to neural tube defects, WA population data for orofacial clefts, heart defects, limb reduction defects and urinary tract defects showed no fall in prevalence since the introduction of folate promotion and voluntary food fortification. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides no evidence of folate being an important factor in the prevention of birth defects other than neural tube defects.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1993

Investigation of factors influencing folate status in women who have had a neural tube defect-affected infant.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate folate intake and blood levels of vitamins in women with and without a history of neural tube defect (NTD)-affected infant and to explore the relation between red cell and serum folate in those women. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine women with a history of NTD-affected infant, who had taken periconceptional vitamin supplements one year or more prior to the study and twenty-nine controls with no such history. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary intake of folate was assessed by questionnaire and blood levels of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin C were measured. RESULTS: Neither dietary intake of folate nor any of the blood vitamins measured were lower in the women with a history of NTD infant. The majority of women who had received periconceptional vitamin supplementation subsequently had adequate folate intakes and red blood cell folates greater than 160 micrograms/l. Smokers had lower plasma Vitamin C levels than nonsmokers. Multiple regression analysis suggested that the relation between red blood cell (RBC) and serum folate may differ between women with and without a history of NTD. CONCLUSIONS: Women with a history of NTD-affected infants may have different folate metabolism from those who have not.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Does early growth delay occur in diabetic pregnancy?

OBJECTIVE: To identify the date of ovulation in pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes in order to assess the validity of the concept of early growth delay. DESIGN: Identification of ovulation by measurement of urinary luteinising hormone and assessment of fetal growth using ultrasound scan. SETTING: Diabetic pre-pregnancy and antenatal clinic in a teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty women with Type 1 diabetes who had attended a pre-pregnancy clinic. MEASURES: Urinary LH, by laboratory and kit methods, during conception cycles. Human chorionic gonadotrophin measured in early pregnancy. Early ultrasound scans by a single observer blind to menstrual and ovulation dates. OUTCOME: Gestation calculated from ovulation date and gestation estimated from menstrual dates, compared with gestation at age indicated by early ultrasound scan. RESULTS: When the date of ovulation was identified in 20 women with Type 1 diabetes there was no evidence of growth delay in any pregnancy. When gestation was estimated from menstrual dates there was apparent early growth delay in six pregnancies. CONCLUSION: This study, together with others discussed, indicates that early growth delay is probably an artefact of incorrectly estimated ovulation date.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗
PubMed1995

Fertility and pregnancy outcome following large loop excision of the cervical transformation zone.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if large loop excision of the transformation zone affects subsequent fertility and pregnancy outcome. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: A teaching hospital serving a regional population. SUBJECTS: One thousand women who had undergone large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) for the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) between 1989 and 1991. Two controls were matched for each of the 149 women who had a singleton pregnancy progressing beyond 20 weeks of gestation following treatment, with regard to age, parity, height, husband's or partner's social class and smoking habits to account for common independent risk factors for adverse obstetric outcome and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intention to conceive, number of pregnancies, gestation, low birthweight, mean birthweight, mode of delivery, and duration of labour. RESULTS: Out of a cohort of 1000 women who underwent LLETZ for the treatment of CIN, 653 women replied to a postal questionnaire. When asked up to 54 months after treatment, 130 women (19.9%) had become pregnant and 47 (7.2%) had tried to become pregnant. A total of 199 pregnancies from 178 women was identified from the cohort of women. For the 149 women from the case cohort, the mean birthweight was 3380 g compared with 3373 g in the control group (P = 0.88). The incidence of low birthweights in pregnancies progressing to at least 37 weeks of gestation was 3.1% in the treated group, compared with 3.2% in the control group (P = 0.98). Following LLETZ, 9.4% of deliveries were preterm (< 37 weeks of gestation), compared with 5.0% in the control group (p = 0.12). There was no significant difference in mean gestation, mode of delivery, indication for caesarean section or duration of labour between the women who had undergone LLETZ and the controls. CONCLUSION: When socio-epidemiological factors associated with the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia are controlled for, LLETZ does not appear to exert an independent adverse effect on subsequent pregnancy outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

European postcoital tests: opinions and practice.

OBJECTIVE: To assess differences in opinion and practice with regard to the postcoital test in Europe. DESIGN: Multilingual questionnaire survey among heads of departments of obstetrics and gynaecology with large fertility clinics in 16 European countries. SUBJECTS: Of 203 heads of departments, each responsible for 882 infertility cases per year (95% CI 657-1107) 145 (71%) responded. INFORMATION SOUGHT: Use of the postcoital test: its timing in relation to cycle and coitus, methodology used for the test, cut-off level of normality and treatments applied for abnormal test results. RESULTS: The postcoital test is used in 92% (and routinely in 68%) of departments. There are large differences in timing of the test in relation to menstrual cycle and coitus, in microscopic magnification used, and in cut-off levels of normality. More than 10 different treatments are applied for abnormal test results. CONCLUSION: Guidelines of the World Health Organisation are not followed and divergence in practice and opinion is wide enough to question whether infertile couples are better off with than without the test.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1996

No change in sexual activity during preconceptional multivitamin supplementation.

OBJECTIVE: To study sexual activity related to preconceptional multivitamin supplementation. DESIGN: The rate of sexual activity (weekly sexual intercourse number) was compared before and during multivitamin supplementation and between women with multivitamin and placebo-like trace element supplementation. SETTING: The Hungarian randomised double blind controlled trial of periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred and eighty-seven women with multivitamin and 655 women with trace element supplementation in the preconceptional period. RESULTS: There was no difference in the rate of sexual activity between the multivitamin and the trace element groups. CONCLUSION: Multivitamins do not increase sexual activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Folates in the periconceptional period: are women getting enough?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of folic acid supplementation prior to conception and in the first trimester of pregnancy, and to identify sociodemographic variables associated with the use of supplements. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: District general hospital in the south in England. POPULATION: Nine hundred and sixty-three randomly selected pregnant nulliparous caucasian women recruited from May 1994 to February 1996 inclusive. METHODS: Questionnaire administered at approximately 16 weeks gestation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intakes of supplemental folic acid before conception and during pregnancy. RESULTS: 31.5% (303/963) (95% CI 28.5-34.4) of pregnant women reported using supplements containing folic acid prior to conception. The proportion using pre-conceptional folic acid increased by approximately 1% per month during the 22 months of the study. 38.1% (367/962) (35 1 to 41.2) of women began taking folic acid only after the confirmation of pregnancy, and this proportion appeared constant over time. Young age, smoking and low educational attainment were statistically significant predictors of failure to use folic acid both before and during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Use of folic acid before conception in nulliparous women is much higher than the 2% to 3% reported in earlier studies of all pregnant women, and appears to be increasing. However, many women still only begin taking folic acid after conception, despite current health education strategies. New approaches, focusing on women who are currently least likely to take folic acid those who are young, are of low educational backgrounds, and are smokers - may now be required. Given the inevitably of unplanned pregnancies, efforts must also be made to increase the currently static uptake of folic acid immediately after the confirmation of pregnancy.

Adult↗