Recommendations to improve preconception health and health care: strategies for implementation

Promoting preconception health and health care is widely accepted as a useful prevention strategy to lessen adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. There remains, however, a lack of national standards of practice or a comprehensive agenda to ensure that all women of childbearing age receive appropriate services that will enable them to achieve optimal health before any pregnancy. To address this need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative, which aims to improve the health of women before pregnancy. In 2005, the CDC sponsored the first National Summit on Preconception Care, bringing together over 400 participants to share their expertise and information about various activities currently underway. In conjunction with the National Summit, a Select Panel on Preconception Care, a group of experts and representatives of 35 national organizations and 22 CDC programs, was convened. Based on the literature, presentations made at the National Summit, and deliberations during the Select Panel meeting, the recommendations to improve Preconception Health and Health Care--United States were developed. In order to move the recommendations from paper to practice, the Select Panel was convened to develop strategies to implement the recommendations across three areas: clinical practice, consumer roles, and public health practice. Future plans include developing a research agenda, supporting existing and new research activities, and developing policy and financing initiatives that will advance the practice of preconception health and health care. In addition, a Second National Summit is being planned. This paper describes current and future activities to implement the recommendations.