Preconceptional health: risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes by reproductive life stage in the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study (CePAWHS).

This study used population-based data to examine how health status and risks vary by reproductive life stage, with particular focus on the proximal risks for preterm birth and low birthweight (LBW) infants in preconceptional and interconceptional women. Data are from the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study (CePAWHS), which included a telephone survey of a representative sample of 2,002 women ages 18-45 years residing in largely rural central Pennsylvania. Women were classified according to reproductive stage--preconceptional, interconceptional, and postconceptional--on the basis of pregnancy history and reproductive capacity.